- Court: Oregon Supreme Court
- Area(s) of Law: Criminal Law
- Date Filed: 08-04-2022
- Case #: S067880
- Judge(s)/Court Below: Flynn, J. for the Court; Walters, C.J.; Balmer, J.; Flynn, J.; Duncan, J.; Nelson, J.; Garrett, J.; & Nakamoto, S.J. pro tempore.
- Full Text Opinion
Defendant appealed his conviction for third-degree sexual abuse. Defendant assigned error to the trial court’s jury instruction that the culpability required of the “does not consent” element of ORS 163.415 is “criminal negligence.” Defendant argued Appellate decision should be reversed because the authority the case rested on had been overturned. A person commits third degree sexual abuse when “(a) [t]he person subjects another person to sexual contact and: (A) [t]he victim does not consent to the sexual contact[.]” ORS 163.415(1). The Court reasoned that the Oregon legislature intended for the “conduct” elements of a crime to have “knowingly” culpability. The Court reasoned that the grammatical structure of ORS 163.415(1) suggests that the “does not consent” element is a “circumstance” and not “conduct” and therefore is not subject to a “knowingly” culpability. Further, the Court reasoned that if the legislature had intended the “does not consent” element to have a “knowingly” culpability, they would have specified it in the text. Accordingly, the court held that the “does not consent” element only requires a “criminally negligent” culpability. Affirmed.