State v. Bray

Placing evidence on the record as a sealed exhibit for appellate review does not qualify as discovery.

Victim filed a notice of interlocutory appeal with the Oregon Supreme Court regarding a violation of her rights as a victim under the Oregon Constitution, Article I, sections 42 and 43, specifically the right to refuse a discovery request. Defendant was convicted of rape and other various crimes, and Victim brought a civil suit against him. After the incident but before she called the police, Victim made a number of Google searches on her computer. Defendant was unable to obtain copies of Victim's hard drive or the searched material. For the civil suit, copies of Victim's hard drives were made, and Defendant moved to compel production of one of the copies to be placed under sealed record for appellate review in his criminal case. Victim claimed that this was a violation of her rights as a victim. The trial court held that this did not violate her rights as a victim. Victim then filed this appeal. First, the Supreme Court held that, procedurally, a notice of interlocutory appeal was improper and that a petition for review should have been filed; the Court exercised its discretion to hear the matter. The Court then agreed with the trial court that the victim's rights were not violated because preserving the copy of the hard drive under seal for appellate review was not "discovery". Affirmed.