State v. Barr

"A criminal defendant has the right to have their sentence announced in open court. A trial court commits reversible error if it does not do so.”

Defendant was convicted of multiple property crimes and raises three assignments of error. The Court rejected the first two assignments regarding denial of Defendant’s motion for a judgment of acquittal and error of imposing upward durational departure sentences. The Court focuses on the third assignment of error. Defendant argues that the Court erred by ordering payment of “per diem” fees as part of the sentence on eight counts without announcing the order at sentencing. The State responded that the error was either moot or harmless because no per diem fees would in actuality be collected. “A criminal defendant has the right to have their sentence announced in open court. A trial court commits reversible error if it does not do so.” The Court determined that because ORS 169.151 allows for a city or county to seek per diem reimbursement for pretrial detention if the person is ultimately convicted, and because the Defendant was held in the county jail for 50 days pretrial, the error was not moot nor harmless. The Court held the trial court erred by including the unannounced term in the sentencing judgment. Remanded for resentencing on eight counts, otherwise affirmed.