- Court: Oregon Supreme Court
- Area(s) of Law: Post-Conviction Relief
- Date Filed: 10-03-2024
- Case #: S070313
- Judge(s)/Court Below: Flynn, J.; Duncan, J.; Garrett, J.; DeHoog, J.; James, J.; Masih, J.; Nakamoto, J.
- Full Text Opinion
Anthony Lee Benjamin filed for post-conviction release after the court denied his motions for release. Anthony assigned error to the court’s conclusion that the 60-day limit in ORS 136.290 that applies to pretrial detention, did not apply to retrials. The State argued that ORS 136.290 applies only to the first trial and not any retrials. ORS 136.290 establishes a 60-day limit on how long a defendant “may remain in custody pending commencement of the trial of the defendant.” The Court reasoned that from the text and context of ORS 136.290 it is clear the statute applies to retrials and if the legislature did not want it to apply it could have said so. Collins v. Foster, 299 Or at 90, 94, 698 P2d 953 (1985). The Court further reasoned that the legislative history suggested that ORS 136.290 was enacted to protect defendants from the harm from being held in pretrial detention for extended duration. The Court concluded that ORS 136.290 did apply to retrials but, because Anthony is no longer in custody, the petition for habeas corpus was denied.