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S44772 State v. Acremant
State: Oregon
Docket No: (CC995133C1;SCS44772)
Case Date: 03/17/2005

FILED: March 17, 2005

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON

STATE OF OREGON,

Respondent,

v.

ROBERT JAMES ACREMANT,

Appellant.

(CC995133C1; SC S44772)

On automatic and direct review of the judgment of conviction and sentences of death imposed by the Jackson County Circuit Court.

Ross G. Davis, Judge.

Argued and submitted July 21, 2004.

Eric Johansen, Deputy Public Defender, Salem, argued the cause for appellant. With him on the appellant's brief was David E. Groom, Public Defender. With him on the appellant's supplemental brief was Peter A. Ozanne, Executive Director, Office of Public Defense Services. With him on the appellant's reply brief were Peter A. Ozanne, Executive Director, and Peter Gartlan, Chief Defender, Office of Public Defense Services.

Robert J. Acremant, pro se, Salem, filed the appellant's pro se second supplemental brief and reply brief.

Janet A. Metcalf, Assistant Attorney General, Salem, argued the cause for respondent. With her on the briefs were Hardy Myers, Attorney General, Mary H. Williams, Solicitor General, and Kaye E. McDonald, Assistant Attorney General.

Before Carson, Chief Justice, and Gillette, Durham, Riggs, De Muniz, and Balmer, Justices.*

CARSON, C. J.

The judgment of conviction and sentences of death are affirmed. The case is remanded to the circuit court for further proceedings.

*Kistler, J., did not participate in the consideration or decision of this case.

CARSON, C. J.

This case is before us on automatic and direct review of defendant's convictions for four counts of aggravated murder involving two victims and his sentences of death. See former ORS 163.150(1)(g) (1997), repealed by Or Laws 1999, ch 1055, § 1; (1) ORAP 12.10 (providing for such review). Defendant asks this court to reverse his convictions and sentences of death or, alternatively, to vacate his sentences of death and remand for resentencing. We affirm the judgment of conviction and the sentences of death. Because the trial court erred by entering more than one aggravated murder conviction for each victim, however, we remand the case for entry of a corrected judgment of conviction to reflect defendant's guilt as to the charge of aggravated murder for each victim based upon alternative aggravating factors.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

As discussed below, defendant pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated murder for the deaths of two victims. The state introduced evidence of the following facts relating to those murders during defendant's subsequent penalty trial.

Defendant murdered Roxanna Ellis ("Ellis") and Michelle Abdill ("Abdill") in Medford, Oregon, on December 4, 1995. Before her death, Ellis had operated a property management company with her daughter, Lori Ellis ("Lori"). On the morning of December 4, Ellis left her office for an 11:00 a.m. appointment to show a residence on Sheraton Court in Medford. When Ellis later missed a 2:00 p.m. appointment scheduled for that day, Lori became concerned for her mother. Lori repeatedly paged and called Ellis on her cellular telephone but initially received no response. Eventually, at about 4:00 p.m. that afternoon, Ellis telephoned Lori and told Lori that she was doing some shopping. Lori testified that Ellis normally responded immediately to any page or telephone call from Lori and that Ellis was uncharacteristically quiet during their telephone conversation. When Lori asked Ellis why she had missed her 2:00 p.m. appointment, Ellis responded that she must have had the wrong address. When Lori asked Ellis why she had not answered Lori's pages and telephone calls, Ellis responded that all the telephone circuits must have been busy.

Abdill was Ellis's domestic partner. At about 4:30 p.m. on December 4, Abdill received a telephone call at her workplace. After she got off the telephone, Abdill informed a coworker that Ellis had a problem with her vehicle and that Abdill was leaving to help her. Abdill also left a message on Lori's telephone answering machine, stating that she was going to help Ellis with a dead battery and that she would call Lori back to let her know what was happening.

Later that night, after she did not hear from either Ellis or Abdill again, Lori drove to the Sheraton Court residence where Ellis had had her 11:00 a.m. appointment. When she turned on to Sheraton Court, Lori saw Ellis's pickup truck driving away. Lori attempted to follow the truck and to get the driver's attention by honking and flashing her lights, but the driver did not stop and eventually eluded her. After she lost sight of the truck, Lori stopped at a service station and called Abdill's mother to tell her that "something was wrong." Lori then returned to the Sheraton Court residence, where she met with Dan Abdill ("Dan"), Abdill's brother. After finding Abdill's unlocked vehicle parked in front of that residence with Abdill's purse in plain view, Lori and Dan contacted the police.

During their subsequent investigation of the disappearance of Ellis and Abdill, the police interviewed two neighbors of the Sheraton Court residence, Toni Newman ("Newman") and her then-14-year-old son Chris Newman ("Chris"), who also were tenants of Ellis. Chris reported that, on the afternoon of December 4, he had seen Ellis's truck parked in front of the Sheraton Court residence and then, later that evening, backed into the garage of that residence. Chris also reported that, on that same afternoon, he had spoken with a man –- whom he identified during the penalty trial as defendant -- in the driveway of the Sheraton Court residence. Chris reported that the man had told Chris that he was going to be Chris's new neighbor and that he was moving a few things. Newman also reported that, when she returned home from work on the evening of December 4, she had seen a man in front of the Sheraton Court residence. Both Newman and Chris described the man whom they had seen in front of the Sheraton Court residence to a police sketch artist.

On December 7, 1995, Ellis's truck was located in a parking lot in Medford. The bodies of Ellis and Abdill were discovered in the bed of the truck, wrapped in drapes and covered by cardboard boxes and an assortment of other things. The bodies of both women had been bound with duct tape, and both women had been shot twice in the head. A witness, Van Duser, reported to the police that, on the evening of December 4, he had seen and spoken with a man –- whom he identified during the penalty trial as defendant –- who had parked Ellis's truck in that parking lot and then walked away. Van Duser also described the man whom he had seen in the parking lot to a police sketch artist.

On December 10, 1995, defendant's mother, Bradshaw, contacted the police to report her fear that defendant might be responsible for the murders of Ellis and Abdill based upon defendant's behavior on the day of their disappearance and his resemblance to the composite sketch that the police had publicized of the suspect in the case. Bradshaw informed the police that she recently had moved from California to Medford with defendant and that, when they first had arrived in Medford, Ellis had taken them to view the residence on Sheraton Court. During that interview, Bradshaw showed the police cardboard boxes that she had used during her move to Medford. The police recognized address labels on those boxes as matching address labels found on boxes covering the victims' bodies in Ellis's truck.

That same day, the police interviewed defendant's brother, Kenneth Acremant, Jr. ("Kenneth Jr."), who also resided in Medford. Kenneth Jr. reported that, before the disappearance of Ellis and Abdill, defendant had made a telephone call from Kenneth Jr.'s workplace, the "Tiki Lodge." A caller identification device on Ellis's telephone showed that Ellis had received a telephone call from the "Tiki Lodge."

Subsequently, after obtaining a copy of defendant's fingerprints from the California Department of Justice, the police identified fingerprints found on the duct tape wrapping the victims' bodies as belonging to defendant. The police also identified fingerprints found inside the Sheraton Court residence as belonging to defendant. In addition, the police determined that a footprint found on the bumper of Ellis's truck was consistent with tennis shoes that belonged to defendant.

At approximately 4:15 a.m. on December 13, 1995, defendant was arrested in Stockton, California. Pursuant to a warrant, the police searched the motel room where they had found and arrested defendant. During that search, the police discovered a .25 caliber gun that later proved to be the weapon used in the murders of Ellis and Abdill. The police also found a homemade silencer device covered with DNA material that later proved to be consistent with being a mixture of DNA material from both Ellis and Abdill.

Subsequently to his arrest, defendant made several statements to the police in which he confessed to the murders of Ellis and Abdill, as well as confessed to the unrelated murder of a man, Scott George ("George"), in Visalia, California. In his statements about the Ellis and Abdill murders, defendant told the police that, on the morning of December 4, 1995, he had used the telephone at the Tiki Lodge to set up an 11:00 a.m. appointment with Ellis to view the residence on Sheraton Court as part of a robbery plan. Defendant reported that he had targeted Ellis because he had thought that her position as a property manager would give her access to large sums of cash. When Ellis met defendant at the Sheraton Court residence, defendant handcuffed her and took her purse, but came to realize over the course of the day that Ellis lacked means to make immediate withdrawals of cash from either her credit cards or from the bank accounts of the property management company. Eventually, defendant allowed Ellis to telephone her daughter to explain her absence from the office. In an effort to salvage his robbery plan, defendant also directed Ellis to telephone Abdill and to ask Abdill to come to the Sheraton Court residence. After Abdill arrived, defendant tied up and gagged both women. Later that evening, he forced Ellis and Abdill to climb into the back of Ellis's truck. Defendant subsequently shot both women twice, drove them to the parking lot where their bodies later were discovered, and then covered their bodies with materials that he found in Ellis's truck. The next morning, defendant returned to the parking lot and covered the victims' bodies with additional cardboard boxes that he had brought.

After his arrest, the state extradited defendant from California to Oregon. For his crimes against Ellis and Abdill, the state charged defendant with four counts of aggravated murder, ORS 163.095(1)(d) and ORS 163.095(2)(d) (counts one to four of the indictment); (2) two counts of first-degree kidnaping, ORS 163.235(1)(c) (counts five and six); (3) and one count of first-degree robbery, ORS 164.415(1)(a) (count seven). (4)

On September 11, 1996, defendant pleaded guilty to all the charged offenses, and the trial court sentenced defendant on the noncapital crimes. Beginning on September 23, 1997, the trial court conducted a separate penalty trial to allow a jury to determine defendant's sentences for the aggravated murder convictions. On October 27, 1997, the jury unanimously concluded as to both murders that defendant had acted deliberately, that he posed a continuing risk to society, and that he should receive a death sentence. (5) The trial court accordingly sentenced defendant to death for each murder. See ORS 163.150(1)(f) (trial court shall sentence defendant to death if jury affirmatively answers each issue under ORS 163.150(1)(b)). This court's automatic and direct review of defendant's judgments of convictions and sentences of death followed.

II. ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

On review before this court, defendant raises 25 assignments of error. (6) We have reviewed all those assignments of error and conclude that, except for one relating to the entry of multiple aggravated murder convictions for each victim, none is well taken. A number of defendant's assignments of error have been answered in other decisions by this court, are moot, or otherwise do not merit further discussion. (7) We address defendant's remaining assignments of error below in the order that he presented them.

A. Application of ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) (1997) to Defendant's Penalty Trial

Before the start of his penalty trial and again before the trial court instructed the jury, defendant objected to the application of the statutory jury instruction in ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) (1997) to his penalty trial, because he had committed his crimes before its effective date. See Or Laws 1997, ch 784, § 1 (effective date of Oct 4, 1997). That statutory provision, set out post, requires the trial court to instruct the jury to consider any aggravating evidence and any victim-impact evidence, along with any mitigating evidence, in answering the question set out in ORS 163.150(1)(b)(D). The trial court overruled defendant's objections and instructed the jury pursuant to ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) (1997).

In two assignments of error, defendant contends that the application of ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) (1997) to his penalty trial violated the prohibitions against ex post facto laws contained in Article I, section 21, of the Oregon Constitution and Article I, section 10, of the United States Constitution. (8) This court previously resolved defendant's state and federal constitutional arguments relating to the retroactive application of the victim-impact evidence provision of ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) (1997) in the state's favor in State v. Guzek, 336 Or 424, 86 P3d 1106 (2004) (Guzek III). As explained below, in this case, we further reject defendant's constitutional arguments relating to the aggravating evidence provision of ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) (1997), because the 1997 amendment to that statutory jury instruction did not alter the evidence admissible in an Oregon death-penalty sentencing proceeding.

Before turning to defendant's arguments, we first provide background relating to the statutory framework at issue. ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) (1997) is the statutory jury instruction that accompanies the question set out in ORS 163.150(1)(b)(D), that is, "[w]hether the defendant should receive a death sentence." The question set out in ORS 163.150(1)(b)(D) was added to the Oregon death-penalty sentencing statute in 1989 and was amended to its current wording in 1991. Or Laws 1989, ch 790, § 135b; Or Laws 1991, ch 885, § 2. (9) Unlike the three other statutory questions under ORS 163.150(1)(b), ORS 163.150(1)(b)(D) frames a discretionary determination for the jury and is not subject to any burden of proof. See State v. Fanus, 336 Or 63, 70, 79 P3d 847 (2003), cert den, __ US __, 124 S Ct 2416, 158 L Ed 2d 987 (2004) (noting same).

Although a version of ORS 163.150(1)(b)(D) has been part of the Oregon death-penalty sentencing statute since 1989, the evidence relevant to the jury's consideration of that question has changed in recent years. In construing the 1989 version of the sentencing statute, a majority of this court concluded that the question set out in ORS 163.150(1)(b)(D) operated solely as a mechanism for the jury to consider mitigating circumstances in deciding whether a defendant should be sentenced to death. See State v. Guzek, 322 Or 245, 263, 906 P2d 272 (1995) (so holding as to ORS 163.150(1)(b)(D) (1989)) (Guzek II). Based upon that conclusion, this court held that only evidence relating to the existence of mitigating circumstances was relevant to the jury's determination under ORS 163.150(1)(b)(D) (1989). Id.

In 1995, however, the legislature amended ORS 163.150(1)(a) to provide explicitly that, in addition to evidence relating to mitigating circumstances, victim-impact evidence and aggravating evidence also may be relevant to the jury's determination of the question under ORS 163.150(1)(b)(D). See Fanus, 336 Or at 70 (noting same). ORS 163.150(1)(a) (1995) provided, in part:

"In the [aggravated murder sentencing] proceeding, evidence may be presented as to any matter that the court deems relevant to sentence including, but not limited to, victim impact evidence relating to the personal characteristics of the victim or the impact of the crime on the victim's family and any aggravating and mitigating evidence relevant to the issue in paragraph (b)(D) of this subsection[.]"

Or Laws 1995, ch 531, § 2 (emphasis added). (10) Defendant here committed his crimes in December 1995, after the effective date of that 1995 amendment to ORS 163.150(1)(a). See Or Laws 1995, ch 531, § 2 (effective date of July 7, 1995).

At the time when the 1995 Legislative Assembly amended ORS 163.150(1)(a), the jury instruction set out in ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) did not direct the jury to consider either victim-impact evidence or aggravating evidence in answering ORS 163.150(1)(b)(D). Instead, ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) (1995) provided:

"In determining [whether the defendant should receive a death sentence], the court shall instruct the jury to answer the question 'no' if one or more of the jurors find there is any aspect of the defendant's character or background, or any circumstances of the offense, that one or more of the jurors believe would justify a sentence less than death." Subsequently, however, the 1997 Legislative Assembly amended the jury instruction in ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) to reflect the 1995 changes to ORS 163.150(1)(a) respecting the admissibility of victim-impact evidence and aggravating evidence relevant to the jury's determination under ORS 163.150(1)(b)(D). ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) (1997) provided:"The court shall instruct the jury to answer the question in paragraph (b)(D) of this subsection 'no' if, after considering any aggravating evidence and any mitigating evidence concerning any aspect of the defendant's character or background, or any circumstances of the offense and any victim impact evidence as described in subsection (1)(a) of this section, one or more of the jurors believe that the defendant should not receive a death sentence."

Or Laws 1997, ch 784, § 1 (emphasis added). Over defendant's objections, the trial court instructed the jury in defendant's penalty trial pursuant to ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) (1997), notwithstanding the fact that that statutory provision became effective after defendant had committed his crimes.

With that background in mind, we turn to the merits of defendant's arguments. As briefly noted above, __ Or at __ (slip op at 12), this court previously has held that retroactive application of the victim-impact provisions of both ORS 163.150(1)(a) (1995) and ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) (1997) is not prohibited by either the state or the federal constitutions. See Guzek III, 336 Or at 439-47 (so holding). (11) We therefore consider below only defendant's constitutional challenges to the application of the aggravating evidence provision of ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) (1997).

In Guzek III, this court observed that both the state and federal constitutions prohibit application of laws fitting within the "fourth category" of laws that Justice Chase had described in his opinion in Calder v. Bull, 3 US (3 Dall) 386, 390-91, 1 L Ed 648 (1798) –- that is, "'[e]very law that alters the legal rules of evidence, and receives less, or different testimony, than the law required at the time of the commission of the offen[s]e, in order to convict the offender.'" Guzek III, 336 Or at 434, 445. Despite that shared acceptance of Calder, however, this court has interpreted the Oregon Constitution as prohibiting a broader range of evidentiary changes than the United States Supreme Court had delineated for purposes of the United States Constitution. Specifically, this court has identified evidentiary changes triggering the state constitutional prohibition against ex post facto laws as including any "laws that alter the rules of evidence in a one-sided way that makes the conviction of the defendant more likely." Id. at 435 (quoting State v. Fugate, 332 Or 195, 213, 26 P3d 802 (2001) (internal quotation marks omitted)). By contrast, the Supreme Court has identified evidentiary changes triggering the federal constitutional prohibition against ex post facto laws as including only evidentiary changes that "alter[] the sufficiency-of-evidence standard or otherwise 'reduc[e] the quantum of evidence necessary to meet the burden of proof' to convict." Id. at 445-46 (quoting Carmell v. Texas, 529 US 513, 532-33, 120 S Ct 1620, 146 L Ed 2d 577 (2000)). Finally, because it is analogous to a guilt-phase criminal trial, the court in Guzek III determined that both the state and the federal constitutional protections against such evidentiary changes extend to a death-penalty sentencing proceeding. Id. at 436, 436 n 11.

In this case, defendant contends that, by instructing the jury to consider aggravating evidence in answering ORS 163.150(1)(b)(D), the 1997 amendment to ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) altered the rules of evidence in a one-sided way that made the imposition of a death sentence more likely. In Guzek III, this court held that Article I, section 21, of the Oregon Constitution prohibited the retrospective application of the "any aggravating evidence" provisions of both ORS 163.150(1)(a) (1995) and ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) (1997) to the defendant's penalty trial for aggravated murders committed in June 1987. In reaching that conclusion, this court explained that, because the state previously had been limited to introducing only aggravating evidence relevant to the first three statutory questions under ORS 163.150(1)(b), ORS 163.150(1)(a) (1995) and ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) (1997) expanded the scope of aggravating evidence admissible in a death-penalty sentencing proceeding by purportedly authorizing the state also to introduce aggravating evidence specifically relevant to ORS 163.150(1)(b)(D). Because such a change in the law benefits only the state, this court unanimously concluded that it "undoubtedly qualifies as a 'one-sided' change that makes the imposition of a sentence of death more likely[.]" Id. at 438.

By contrast to the defendant in Guzek III, however, defendant here committed his crimes after the effective date of the 1995 amendment to ORS 163.150(1)(a). Thus, at the time when defendant committed his crimes, the legislature already had modified the sentencing statute to provide for the introduction of aggravating evidence relevant to ORS 163.150(1)(b)(D). Contrary to defendant's assertions, nothing about the 1997 amendment to the jury instruction in ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) either expanded the scope of aggravating evidence, or diminished the scope of the mitigating evidence, admissible under ORS 163.150(1)(b)(D). Although it is true that ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) (1995) did not require the trial court to instruct the jury to consider aggravating evidence in deciding ORS 163.150(1)(b)(D), such an instruction would not have been impermissible at the time that defendant had committed his crimes. That is so because the 1997 amendment to the jury instruction in ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) merely conformed that jury instruction to the evidentiary change that the 1995 Legislative Assembly already had made. See ORCP 59 B ("In charging the jury, the court shall state to them all matters of law necessary for their information in giving their verdict."); see also ORS 136.330(1) (ORCP 59 B applies to criminal trials). In short, defendant's state and federal ex post facto arguments lack merit, because the 1997 amendment to ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) did not alter the evidence admissible in an Oregon death-penalty sentencing proceeding so as to make imposition of a death sentence more likely or so as to reduce the quantum of proof necessary to impose such a sentence. The trial court therefore did not err in instructing the jury pursuant to ORS 163.150(1)(c)(B) (1997). (12)

B. Motion to Suppress Statements to Police Following Arrest

Before the start of his penalty trial, defendant moved to suppress inculpatory statements that he had made in response to police questioning on the day of his arrest. The trial court denied defendant's motion, and defendant assigns error to that ruling.

The following undisputed facts relating to defendant's assignment of error are taken from the trial court's findings of fact and from the record. See State v. Stevens, 311 Or 119, 135, 806 P2d 92 (1991) (this court is bound by trial court's findings of historical fact if constitutionally sufficient evidence in record supports them). As noted previously, __ Or at __ (slip op at 5-6), defendant was arrested in Stockton, California, at approximately 4:15 a.m. on December 13, 1995. After his arrest, defendant was transported to a station house of the Stockton Police Department, where he was placed alone in an interview room and was fed breakfast. At approximately 7:30 a.m. that same morning, Medford Police Detectives Newell and Skinner met with defendant. Defendant was not handcuffed. At the outset of the interview, the detectives identified themselves and informed defendant that their interview with him was being recorded. The detectives also read defendant standard Miranda warnings (13) and confirmed that defendant understood the rights that those warnings described.

After initially speaking with the detectives for a short time, defendant stated, "I think that I do need a lawyer. I do." The detectives responded to that statement by informing defendant that the interview would end if defendant wished to see a lawyer. The detectives then continued to speak with defendant for approximately 13 more minutes. During that time, the detectives stated that they were "disappointed" that defendant had elected to terminate the interview, that they were interested in hearing defendant's side of the story, and that they were curious about defendant's motive for the murders. They also discussed the extradition process with defendant and informed him that he would have the opportunity to see a judge that same day. In response to those statements, defendant asked the detectives about their theory of the motive for the crimes, as well as asked whether any arrest warrants had issued for him in California. Finally, before leaving the interview room, Newell stated:

"We're going to be here a few days. Uhm, we're doing search warrants and we're conducting interviews so, and I'm telling you this just for information. Uhm, if you change your mind and would like to talk to us, you can do so. All you need to do is contact the jail staff and say get a hold of Stockton detectives immediately. I want to talk to Medford detectives and these guys here will know how to get in touch with us. We spent last night in Visalia. Uhm, we will probably spend the night here I'm guessing.

"* * * * *

"Yeah, we're out of here. Wish you luck, bud. I think we'll be seeing you again, all right."

Shortly after the detectives exited the interview room, another police officer entered the room, handcuffed defendant, and then left him alone again. Approximately one hour later, defendant knocked on the door to the interview room and requested to speak with the Medford detectives.

In response to defendant's request, two different detectives, Medford Police Detectives George and Doney, met with defendant. At the outset of that interview, those detectives identified themselves and removed defendant's handcuffs. Those detectives also reminded defendant that the interview with him was being recorded and again read him standard Miranda warnings. Defendant subsequently made inculpatory statements relating to both the Ellis and Abdill murders and to the George murder.

As noted above, before the start of the penalty trial, defendant moved to suppress the statements that he had made during the interview with George and Doney on the day of his arrest, as well as any evidence that had derived from those statements. He argued that suppression was required under both the state and federal constitutions because the police had failed to cease all questioning after he requested a lawyer and because his statements to George and Doney had been involuntary. Following a hearing, the trial court denied defendant's motion, stating:

"I am of the view that [defendant] did invoke his right to counsel. The law directs when that is done that all questioning cease. That did not occur precisely in this case. There was some conversation that took place after that[,] that is an irregularity. They could have done more as far as affording him an opportunity to contact an attorney. That also is an irregularity.

"I further find that [defendant] did on his own, quite apart from any law enforcement officers, reinitiate contact and ask to talk with the police officers. There [were] two different officers that [sic] than the two that he originally talked with. The two original ones were Newell and Skinner, and the other two were Officer Doney and Officer Tim George.

"The question posed to the Court, as I see it, is whether or not the irregularities enumerated were so egregious that the law should not recognize [defendant's] reinitiation of contact, and I am going to find that there were irregularities, but they were not so egregious that the law should not allow recontact, so the recontact was appropriate and was done voluntarily on the part of [defendant], and there were two other considerations.

"I did closely scrutinize what was said, and what [defendant] said to the police officers during the time after he asked for a lawyer was not any incriminating statement. In other words, he didn't let any cat out of the bag. He was not psychologically overcome. I don't think that he was in a position where he could as a reasonable person say 'Well, I've already told them[,] so what's the use of not talking?' So there was no psychological overburden, and he didn't make any disclosures that were so serious that he felt he had already told them what they wanted to know. That is a pivotal consideration, in the Court's view, and it is for those reasons that I'll deny the Motion to Suppress in its entirety."

Before this court, defendant asserts that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress his statements. Defendant contends that the admission of those statements during his penalty trial was contrary to ORS 163.150(1)(a) (14) and violated his right against compelled self-incrimination and the derivative right to counsel under Article I, section 12, of the Oregon Constitution and the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, (15) and his due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. (16) For the reasons explained below, we reject defendant's arguments. (17)

1. Validity of Defendant's Waiver of Right to Have Counsel Present at Custodial Interrogation

We first consider whether defendant made a valid waiver of his right to counsel under Article I, section 12, and the Fifth Amendment at the time when he made the challenged statements to George and Doney. To be valid under both the state and federal constitutions, a waiver of the right to counsel must be knowing, intelligent, and voluntary under the totality of the circumstances. State v. Joslin, 332 Or 373, 386, 29 P3d 1112 (2001) (Article I, section 12); Edwards v. Arizona, 451 US 477, 482, 101 S Ct 1880, 68 L Ed 2d 378 (1981) (Fifth Amendment). Although we are bound by its findings of historical fact, we review a trial court's conclusions regarding a defendant's waiver of the right to counsel for legal error. State v. Montez, 309 Or 564, 571-73, 789 P2d 1352 (1990).

Consistently with our usual practice, we begin by considering defendant's arguments under the Oregon Constitution. See State v. Kennedy, 295 Or 260, 262, 666 P2d 1316 (1983) (court considers all questions of state law before reaching federal constitutional claims). This court previously has held that, when a suspect in custody unequivocally asserts his or her right to counsel, then the police must cease further questioning and grant the suspect's request for a lawyer. State v. Kell, 303 Or 89, 95-100, 734 P2d 334 (1987). As explained in Montez, this court adopted that rule to "protect a suspect in custody from being 'badgered' by the police." 309 Or at 572 (quoting Oregon v. Bradshaw, 462 US 1039, 1044, 103 S Ct 2830, 77 L Ed 2d 405 (1983)). After a suspect in custody asserts the right to counsel, however, the suspect remains free to waive that right by initiating further contact with the police. Kell, 303 Or at 95-100.

The trial court in this case concluded that defendant made an unequivocal request for counsel when he told Newell and Skinner, "I think that I do need a lawyer. I do." The trial court also concluded that, despite defendant's unequivocal request, those detectives failed to cease the interrogation.

We agree with both of those legal conclusions. See State v. Charboneau, 323 Or 38, 55, 913 P2d 308 (1996) (court examines whether defendant's request for lawyer unequivocal as matter of law); Montez, 309 Or at 572-73 (examining whether officer's questions constituted continued interrogation as matter of law). Defendant's statement, when viewed in its entirety, expressed unambiguously that he wished to speak with a lawyer before talking to the detectives. Although Newell and Skinner appeared to recognize defendant's intent in making that statement, they nevertheless continued to probe defendant by repeatedly expressing curiosity about his motive for the crimes and by informing defendant that they were interested in hearing defendant's side of the story.

As the trial court observed, defendant did not respond to that probing by making any further inculpatory statements to Newell and Skinner. Defendant nevertheless argues, however, that the failure of Newell and Skinner to cease the interrogation and provide him with a lawyer rendered his subsequent statements to George and Doney inadmissible. Although he acknowledges that he initiated that subsequent police contact, defendant contends that he did so only because Newell and Skinner's failure to provide him with a lawyer had caused him to think that "his attempt to gain counsel was futile, and that he might as well talk to the police."

We are unpersuaded by defendant's argument. Although Newell and Skinner unlawfully continued the first interview after defendant had invoked his right to counsel, that unlawful conduct did not induce defendant's subsequent statements to George and Doney. Instead, the police left defendant alone after terminating that first interview, and defendant himself reinitiated contact with the Medford detectives after having no further police contact for the period of one hour. When George and Doney responded to defendant's request to speak with the detectives, they again ensured that defendant understood that he had the right to remain silent and to have counsel present for any police interrogation. Defendant confirmed that he understood those rights and then asked the detectives what they wished to know about the crimes. Although it is true that George and Doney met with defendant before any effort had been made to secure a lawyer for him, nothing in the record suggests that defendant reinitiated contact with the police because he believed that the police would not fulfill that request. Indeed, as noted above, George and Doney began the interview by confirming that defendant understood that he had the right to counsel, and Newell and Skinner also had informed defendant that he would have a hearing before a judge that same day. We further reject defendant's suggestion that the passage of an hour's time gave rise to a reasonable inference that the police had planned to deny defendant's request for counsel. In view of the totality of the circumstances, we conclude that defendant made a knowing and voluntary waiver of his right to counsel under Article I, section 12, before making the challenged statements to George and Doney.

We reach that same conclusion when we consider defendant's arguments under the Fifth Amendment. Similarly to this court, the United States Supreme Court has held that the Fifth Amendment requires the police to cease all questioning after a suspect invokes his or her right to counsel, unless the suspect initiates further contact on his or her own. Edwards, 451 US at 484. As described above, defendant here initiated the interview with George and Doney without any police prompting. In addition, as the trial court stressed, defendant did not make any inculpatory statements in response to Newell and Skinner's probing after he had invoked his right to counsel. Cf. Missouri v. Seibert, __ US __, 124 S Ct 2601, 159 L Ed 643 (2004) (recitation of Miranda warnings insufficient to render confession admissible under Fifth Amendment when warnings came during same interrogation in which defendant already had made essentially same confession before receiving any warnings). In sum, the trial court did not err in rejecting defendant's argument that his statements were inadmissible because they had been obtained in violation of his right to counsel under Article I, section 12, and the Fifth Amendment.

2. Voluntariness of Defendant's Statements

We next consider whether defendant's statements to George and Doney were voluntary for purposes of Article I, section 12, the Fifth Amendment, and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The test for voluntariness under both the state and federal constitutions is whether, under the totality of the circumstances, it is apparent that the "defendant's will was not overborne and his capacity for self-determination was not critically impaired." State v. Vu, 307 Or 419, 425, 770 P2d 577 (1989); see also Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 US 218, 93 S Ct 2041, 36 L Ed 2d 854 (1973) (applying same test for purposes of Fifth Amendment and Due Process Clause). In reviewing the voluntariness of a defendant's statements, we are bound by the trial court's findings of historical fact, but must assess independently the ultimate legal determination of voluntariness. Stevens, 311 Or at 135.

In this case, defendant contends that his statements during his interview with George and Doney were involuntary because he had been held "isolated" and sometimes handcuffed in an interrogation room for several hours before making those statements. As further support for his argument, he points out again that Newell and Skinner failed to terminate the first interview immediately after his request for a lawyer and then failed to take any steps to obtain a lawyer for him.

We agree with the trial court that those facts are insufficient to provide the basis for the conclusion that defendant's statements were involuntary. As discussed above, defendant made no additional inculpatory statements to Newell and Skinner after his request for counsel during the first interview. The conditions of defendant's custody also certainly were not so oppressive as to undermine defendant's ability to exercise his free will. Finally, none of the detectives made any promise of leniency or otherwise employed subterfuge to obtain defendant's statements. The trial court did not err by denying defendant's motion to suppress those statements.

C. Admission of Evidence of Body of Unrelated Victim

In another assignment of error, defendant contends that the trial court erred by denying his motion to exclude evidence of the body of George (the man who defendant confessed to killing in California) during defendant's penalty trial. Before turning to defendant's arguments, we first provide the relevant factual background. See Stevens, 311 Or at 126-27 (this court bound by trial court's findings of fact and, if trial court did not make express findings respecting all pertinent historical facts, then court presumes that trial court found facts consistent with its ultimate conclusion).

During the above-described interview with defendant on December 13, 1995, about the Ellis and Abdill murders, Detectives George and Doney also asked defendant about the earlier murder of George in California and, specifically, questioned defendant about where he had hidden George's body. Although he admitted to murdering George, defendant refused to disclose the location of George's body to the detectives.

At some point during that interview, defendant's father, Kenneth Acremant, Sr. ("Kenneth Sr."), arrived at the station house of the Stockton Police Department where defendant was being held. Detective Newell, along with two other detectives, spoke with Kenneth Sr. about defendant's confessions to the three murders and requested that Kenneth Sr. ask defendant about the location of George's body. Without informing defendant that the detectives had instructed him to do so, Kenneth Sr. asked defendant where he had hidden George's body when he spoke with defendant that same day. Defendant also refused to disclose the location of George's body to Kenneth Sr.

After having failed to obtain any information from defendant, Kenneth Sr. informed the police that he suspected that defendant had hidden George's body in one of the mine shafts or in the cave on Kenneth Sr.'s ranch. (18) The police made arrangements with Kenneth Sr. to search his ranch on December 18, 1995. The police did not ask Kenneth Sr. to speak with defendant again about the location of George's body.

On December 17, 1995, Kenneth Sr. had another visit with defendant. During that visit, Kenneth Sr. informed defendant that the police would be searching Kenneth Sr.'s ranch the next day with police dogs trained to detect a deceased human body. Kenneth Sr. again did not disclose to defendant that the detectives previously had asked him to question defendant about the location of George's body. Defendant advised Kenneth Sr. that he had hidden George's body in a particular mine shaft on Kenneth Sr.'s ranch that was used for dumping trash. The police searched that mine shaft the next day and discovered George's body.

Before the start of his penalty trial, defendant moved to exclude evidence of the statements that he had made to Kenneth Sr. on both December 13 and 17, along with the derivative evidence of George's body. Defendant argued that, because the police had directed Kenneth Sr. to ask defendant about the location of George's body, Kenneth Sr. had acted as an agent of the state during both his interviews with defendant and, for that reason, should have provided defendant with Miranda warnings before questioning defendant. The state disputed that Kenneth Sr. had acted as an agent of the state during his second interview with defendant and asserted that, in any event, the police would have discovered George's body through ordinary investigative procedures even if defendant had not disclosed its location to Kenneth Sr.

After a hearing, the trial court determined that, as a matter of law, Kenneth Sr. "was still acting as an agent of the police" during the second interview with defendant on December 17. As the factual basis for that legal conclusion, the trial court stated:

"I think the time frame, the closeness in time is strong –- is a strong indicator that there had not been enough lapse of time.

"I think there's a –- you know, always a tremendous psychological conversion, the forces on any parent in this situation. And I think that the tremendously conflicting position that a parent finds himself in in this situation is very –- and these facts that are before the Court –- is one of great difficulty and great desire to cooperate. And I think that the suggestion by the police enlisted him as an agent, and he still wanted to comply, and that was part –- and he testified that that was part of the motivating feature. So, I believe that he was still an agent of the police [during the interview on December 17, 1995]."

Based upon that conclusion, the trial court determined that Kenneth Sr. had been required to provide defendant with Miranda warnings and that his failure to do so required the court to suppress defendant's statements. (19) The trial court further ruled, however, that the evidence of George's body was admissible because the state had proved that it was "absolutely inevitable" that the police would have discovered George's body in any event through ordinary investigative procedures. Defendant assigns error to that ruling.

Before this court, defendant focuses his arguments upon whether the trial court correctly concluded that the state had proved by a preponderance of the evidence that it would have discovered George's body in any event through ordinary investigative procedures. See State v . Johnson, 335 Or 511, 522-26, 73 P3d 282 (2003) (discussing "inevitable discovery" doctrine). For its part, the state challenges the trial court's conclusion that Kenneth Sr. had acted as an agent of the state during his second interview with defendant. The state also argues that, even if Kenneth Sr. had been acting as an agent of the state, he was not required to inform defendant of his rights under Article I, section 12, because the "compelling" circumstances giving rise to the warnings requirement under Article I, section 12, are not present when a suspect is unaware that he or she is speaking to a police agent. See State v. Smith, 310 Or 1, 7, 791 P2d 836 (1990) (warning of rights under Article I, section 12, of Oregon Constitution required when police questioning occurs in "setting which judges would and officers should recognize as 'compelling'" (quoting Magee, 304 Or at 265; internal quotation marks omitted)); cf. Illinois v. Perkins, 496 US 292, 294, 110 S Ct 2394, 110 L Ed 2d 243 (1990) (Fifth Amendment does not require Miranda warnings when suspect is unaware that he or she is speaking with state agent).

We do not address defendant's argument regarding the trial court's inevitable discovery ruling or the state's second argument regarding the circumstances when Article I, section 12, requires a police agent to provide warnings to a suspect. Instead, we affirm the trial court's ruling because we conclude that, as a matter of law, Kenneth Sr. was not acting as a police agent on December 17 and, therefore, that his actions did not implicate Article I, section 12. See Outdoor Media Dimensions Inc. v. State of Oregon, 331 Or 634, 659-60, 20 P3d 180 (2001) (discussing "right for the wrong reason" principle for affirming judgment of trial court). (20)

In Smith, this court explained that, in deciding whether a private citizen acted as a "police agent" as a matter of law, a court must examine "if the police were directly or indirectly involved to a sufficient extent in initiating, planning, controlling or supporting" the citizen's activities. 310 Or at 13 (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). In that case, this court rejected the defendant's argument that his cellmate had acted as an agent of the state when the cellmate obtained information from the defendant that incriminated him in his wife's murder. In reaching that conclusion, this court observed that the cellmate had initiated contact with the sheriff's deputies about the defendant's statements and that the deputies had informed the cellmate that he could pass the information along, but was not required to do so. Id. at 14. The court also pointed out that the deputies had not made any deals with the cellmate for the information and that the cellmate had testified that his principle motivation for his information gathering "was his revulsion at the manner in which the victim was killed." Id.

In this case, we similarly conclude that the facts do not support the legal conclusion that Kenneth Sr. had been acting as an agent of the state at the time of his second interview with defendant on December 17. Although the police had asked Kenneth Sr. to question defendant about the location of George's body on December 13, the police had not instructed Kenneth Sr. to continue to try to obtain that information after defendant refused to disclose it. Rather, the police proceeded to make plans with Kenneth Sr. to search his ranch and to follow other leads that had surfaced. Indeed, the trial court found that, as a factual matter, Kenneth Sr.'s primary motivation for questioning defendant a second time about the location of George's body was Kenneth Sr.'s own personal desire to provide assistance to the police in the face of his son's crimes. Because the police lacked sufficient involvement in controlling and directing Kenneth Sr.'s actions on December 17 to render him a state agent, Kenneth Sr.'s actions did not implicate Article I, section 12. For that reason, the trial court did not err in admitting evidence of George's body during defendant's penalty trial.

D. Entry of Multiple Aggravated Murder Convictions for Each Victim

As noted previously, defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated murder involving Ellis, ORS 163.095(1)(d) and (2)(d), and two counts of aggravated murder involving Abdill, ORS 163.095(1)(d) and (2)(d). In its judgment, the trial court entered two aggravated murder convictions for each victim without any objection from defendant.

Citing this court's decision in State v. Barrett, 331 Or 27, 10 P3d 901 (2000), defendant assigns error to the entry of two aggravated murder convictions for each victim. Defendant acknowledges that, because he did not object to the imposition of multiple convictions for each victim, he did not preserve this assignment of error. He urges, however, that this court should consider this claim of error as an "error apparent on the face of the record[.]" ORAP 5.45(6); see State v. Reyes-Camarena, 330 Or 431, 435, 7 P3d 522 (2000) (explaining and applying plain error doctrine). For its part, the state concedes that the judgment is erroneous and further agrees that, although it is unpreserved, this court nevertheless should exercise its discretion to review and correct that error.

In Barrett, this court determined that, although the state properly may charge a defendant with multiple counts of aggravated murder for a single victim based upon the existence of different aggravating circumstances under ORS 163.095, the aggravating circumstances listed under ORS 163.095 do not constitute "separately punishable offenses" for purposes of former ORS 161.062(1). (21) Id. at 36. Based upon that conclusion, this court held that, when a trial court convicts a defendant of multiple counts of aggravated murder for the death of a single victim based upon different aggravating circumstances, the trial court should enter only one judgment of conviction of aggravated murder for that victim, with the judgment enumerating each of the supporting aggravating factors. Id. at 37.

In light of this court's holding in Barrett, we agree with defendant and the state that the judgment entered is erroneous. We therefore remand the case for entry of corrected judgment of conviction reflecting defendant's guilt on the charge of aggravated murder for each victim, with the judgment separately enumerating the aggravating factors upon which each conviction is based.

E. Trial Court's Grant of State's Motion to Supplement the Record

In another assignment of error, defendant contends that the trial court erred by granting the state's motion to supplement the record after the trial court reporter inadvertently erased approximately 90 minutes of the audio recording of defendant's penalty trial. Before turning to our discussion of defendant's arguments, we first provide the relevant factual background.

As noted previously, __ Or at __ (slip op at 9), after the jury made the requisite findings under ORS 163.150(1)(b), the trial court entered the judgment of conviction and sentenced defendant to death on October 27, 1997. On November 13, 1997, the trial court's electronic reporter was duplicating the audiotapes of defendant's penalty trial at the request of the district attorney's office in Tulare County, California, for the preparation of that state's case against defendant for the murder of George. In the process of duplicating the tapes, the trial court reporter inadvertently reversed the original tape and the blank tape on the duplicator, and 90 minutes of the audio recording of defendant's penalty trial on October 10, 1997, were erased.

On November 26, 1997, the trial court clerk submitted to this court the death-penalty review packet relating to defendant's case. See ORAP 12.10(3), (4) (immediately after entry of judgment of conviction and sentence of death, trial court clerk shall prepare death-penalty review packet and send original copy to State Court Administrator). On December 30, 1997, after learning about the erased audiotape, the prosecutor filed a motion with the trial court to supplement the record or, alternatively, to submit an agreed narrative statement. (22) The prosecutor supported his motion with an affidavit from the trial court reporter describing how the audiotape inadvertently had been erased, along with the trial court reporter's log of the trial events that the erased tape had recorded. The trial court reporter's log showed that the erased tape had included the entire testimony of seven state witnesses and the beginning of the testimony of an eighth state witness.

In addition to those materials, the prosecutor also supported his motion with his own affidavit attesting to the trial events that the erased audiotape had recorded. In that affidavit, the prosecutor attested that the following trial events had occurred before the trial court: (1) defense counsel submitted a motion in limine to exclude victim-impact testimony relating to the murder of George, which the trial court granted; (2) defense counsel renewed his previously denied motion to exclude evidence of George's body, which the trial court declined to revisit; and (3) the state submitted a proposed written order relating to the trial court's previous ruling on defendant's constitutional challenges to the composition of the jury pool, which the trial court declined to sign to allow defense counsel the opportunity to respond. In addition to those events, the prosecutor also averred that the following trial events had occurred before the jury: (1) Deputy Mark Moore, Department of Corrections, testified on behalf of the state about a rope made of bed sheets that he found in defendant's cell; (2) Shawn Harper, defendant's former cellmate, testified on behalf of the state about witnessing defendant practicing a stabbing motion with a pencil; (3) Kevin Louis Clark, Deputy Coroner for Calaveres County, California, testified on behalf of the state about picking up George's body from Kenneth Sr.'s ranch, and he identified state exhibit 98 as a photograph of George's body wrapped in a body bag; (4) Thomas Crabtree, Deputy Coroner for Tulare County, California, testified on behalf of the state about taking x-rays of George's body while it was still in the body bag, and he identified state exhibit 98 as a photograph of George's body wrapped in a body bag; (5) Dr. John Miller testified on behalf of the state about having been George's dentist, and he identified state exhibits 101 and 102 as x-rays that Miller had taken of George's jaw on July 31, 1991; (6) Dr. Peter Raventos, forensic odontologist for Tulare County, California, testified on behalf of the state about removing the upper and lower jaws from George's body, about making a positive identification of George's body from his dental records, and identified state exhibits 103 and 104 as the x-rays that he had taken of George's jaws; and (7) Timothy Sola, a crime technician with the Visalia Police Department in California, testified on behalf of the state about George's body having been wrapped in several layers of plastic and duct tape, about attending George's autopsy, about physical evidence removed from George's body during the autopsy, and he identified state exhibit 4 as a photograph of George's body on the autopsy table. Following that testimony, the prosecutor further attested that the defense counsel had objected outside the presence of the jury to the introduction of state exhibit 108, a color photograph of the bullet wounds to George's head. The prosecutor attested that the trial court had overruled defendant's objection and also had denied defendant's subsequent request that a black-and-white photograph be substituted for that color photograph. Finally, the prosecutor averred that the state had called Dr. Gary Walter, whose erased testimony concerned his qualifications as a forensic pathologist licensed to practice in California.

In his response to the state's motion, defendant agreed with the state that the erasure of the audiotape had been inadvertent. Defendant argued, however, that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to rule upon the state's motion because the death-penalty review packet for defendant's case already had been filed with this court. See also ORAP 12.10(1), (3) (providing that no notice of appeal is required and describing requirements for death-penalty review packet). Defendant also rejected the state's offer to stipulate to an agreed narrative statement and asserted that neither defense counsel nor defendant had sufficient memory of the trial events to advise the trial court "as to how the missing record can be adequately reconstructed."

At the hearing on the state's motion on January 27, 1998, the trial court rejected defendant's argument that it lacked jurisdiction to supplement the record. The trial court also allowed the state's motion to supplement the record, stating specifically:

"[The prosecutor's affidavit] corresponds to my recollection of the testimony, the issues raised, and the rulings of the Court.

"I cannot supplement that Affidavit with specificity regarding the State and Federal Constitutional grounds that the defense raised –- just as [the prosecutor] has indicated in his cross-examination that he cannot –- other than to say that every state and federal –- and [defense counsel's] consistency and thoroughness and professionalism in –- professionalism –- in citing both the State and Federal grounds on each of [defense counsel's] objections was routine during the trial and occurred, and I believe occurred on these rulings also.

"As far as the victim impact statements or the victim impact issue regarding what was admissible in relation to the Scott George murder, his death, he was not a victim in these proceedings. [Defense counsel] moved against that. The State conceded that, and I ruled that that would not come in; it didn't come in.

"As far as the Motion to Suppress, my clear recollection, as far as the father's statements, whether or not the father was an agent of the police and needed to Mirandize, that no new legal grounds or factual grounds were discovered during the trial portion that had not been fully articulated in the Motion to Suppress itself.

"I'm going through the Affidavit, which is the pause. Regarding Deputy Mark Moore from the Oregon intake center, this was the law enforcement person that testified about the two feet of rope made from strips of sheeting, bed sheets, I agree with [the prosecutor's] Affidavit that there was one objection made, and it was sustained. And it was made by the defense, and it was sustained as to whether or not prisoners sometimes use ropes as weapons, and I sustained that objection. At that point I wasn't concerned what other inmates did.

"I have nothing to add in relation to the testimony of Shawn Harper beyond the Affidavit. Again, I find it is accurate. I find the whole thing, the whole Affidavit, is accurate.

"As far as the pictures were concerned, I ruled on several pictures in this case, and I ruled that the amount of pictures were not excessive; that they were not unduly inflammatory, and once I ruled that way on the color photos, there was no reason for me, then, to want to insert or think that it was appropriate, in their place, to put a black and white photo.

"The black and white photo, had it been available –- I don't know if it was available or not –- I ruled that I would not order a substitution of that. Clearly a black and white photo is less vivid and, perhaps, less demonstrative than a color photo.

"I admitted the color photos because I did not believe that they were unduly gruesome, inflammatory, would not counter the balance of fairness that the law requires in this case. And they were not unduly numerous in number, the photos that were received, and that's the same ruling I made on all the photos.

"I did not tie that ruling to any particular statutory, Constitutional, or evidentiary rule basis. It was just a fact decision that I made. I recall that the testimony of Dr. Gary Walter was the testimony that –- which is on the record except for, I believe, the first part of his describing his credentials and the –- and I do not believe that his credentials were challenged, and I firmly know that, had they been, I would have recognized him as an expert because I believe that it was clear that he was an expert; that the balance of his testimony which is on the record is the culmination of all the testimony regarding the body, photographs, and all that stuff that led up, and that is with us.

"That concludes what I'm going to say about that. Once again, I rule that I have jurisdiction to do this. I have it as Judge in this court; that the Affidavit attached to the Motion to Supplement the Record by [the prosecutor] is accurate; and that I will supplement the record with that Affidavit and the comments that I have just made."

After the trial court granted the state's motion to supplement the record, the transcript settled without further objection. Defendant then filed a motion with this court titled "Objection To Settling Transcript/Motion to Vacate Trial Court Order Supplementing Transcript." The state opposed that motion, and this court denied it. (23)

On review, defenda

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Filed: June 30, 2011 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON In Re: Complaint as to the Conduct of J. MARK LAWRENCE, Accused. (OSB 08-115; SC S058778) En Banc On review of the decision of a trial panel of the Disciplinary Board. Argued and submitted May 2, 2011. Paula Lawrence, McMinnville, argued and cause and filed the briefs for accused. Stacy Hankin, Assistant Disciplinary Counsel, Tigard, argued the cause and filed the brief for the Oregon State Bar. PER CURIAM The complaint is dismissed. PER CURIAM The issue in this lawyer disciplinary proceeding is whether the accused, by releasing a partial transcript of a juvenile hearing to the press, violated Rule of Professional Conduct (RPC) 8.4(a)(4), which prohibits a lawyer from engaging in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice. A trial panel found the accused guilty of violating RPC 8.4(a)(4) and suspended him for 60 days. We review the decision of the trial panel de novo. ORS 9.536(2); BR 10.6. Because we conclude that

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the Bar failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the accused's conduct caused prejudice to the administration of justice, we dismiss the complaint. The facts are straightforward and largely undisputed. In 2007, the accused represented a juvenile male who, along with another male friend, allegedly had touched or swatted several female classmates on the buttocks and had danced in front of the females in a lascivious manner. The incident occurred at the students' middle school. After being informed of the youths' behavior, the vice principal and a police officer interviewed the victims. Based on those interviews, the accused's client and his friend were arrested by a McMinnville Police Officer on February 22, 2007. On February 23, the Yamhill County Juvenile Department filed a delinquency petition alleging that the accused's client had committed acts that, if done by an adult, would have constituted five counts of first-degree sexual abuse and five counts of third-degree sexual abuse. At an initial detention hearing that same day, the court ordered the youths to remain in custody. The events giving rise to this disciplinary action arose out of a second detention hearing held on February 27, 2007, before Judge John Collins. The accused called two of the victims to testify on behalf of his client. The female victims testified that the youths were their friends and that they did not find the youths to be threatening in any way. Regarding the alleged sexual abuse, the female victims testified that the touching or swatting was not sexual in nature but rather was mere horseplay. The victims also testified that they felt pressured by the vice principal and the police officer to make the touching sound hurtful and uncomfortable when it was not. By the second detention hearing, the case was receiving substantial media 2

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attention. Judge Collins allowed the press to attend the detention hearing, but prohibited the press from recording the proceedings. The parties dispute whether the judge prohibited only video recordings or also prohibited audio recordings.1 A number of newspaper and television stories reported the events and testimony at the hearing. After the hearing, the accused obtained a copy of the official audio recording of the hearing and had a partial transcript prepared that contained the victims' testimony. In March 2007, a reporter contacted the accused about the February 27 hearing. The reporter, who was not present at the hearing, expressed disbelief that the female victims had felt pressured by the vice principal and the police officer to make the youths' actions seem sexual. The accused offered to give the reporter a copy of the partial transcript when it was available. The accused believed that it would have been improper to give the reporter the official audio recording of the hearing but thought that the transcript could be released. The accused contacted Deborah Markham, the deputy district attorney handling the case, to see if she objected to releasing the transcript. Markham told the accused that she believed that the court would have to consent. The accused then released the transcript to the reporter without obtaining permission from Judge Collins. Deputy District Attorney Deborah Markham testified that Judge Collins prohibited video recording. Judge Collins testified that he might have prohibited the press from recording the detention hearing, but that he did not remember whether he did so or not. He did remember allowing video recording at a later hearing in the proceeding. The accused testified that Judge Collins prohibited video recording but that he could not remember if the judge prohibited audio recording.
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When Judge Collins learned that the transcript had been released -following news reports that cited the transcript -- he called a meeting with Markham and the accused and told them to release no other transcripts. The testimony from the accused, Markham, and Judge Collins differs regarding that meeting. The accused described the meeting as relaxed and said that Judge Collins had stated that the release of the transcript was permissible. Markham testified that Judge Collins was "very concerned" about the release of the transcript and that Judge Collins said that the accused's disclosure violated the law. Judge Collins testified that the accused did not get his consent to release the transcript, but that he was not sure if the accused needed to do so under the circumstances of the case, particularly given the presence of the press at the hearing. In Judge Collins's description, the meeting was not contentious; although he requested that the parties refrain from releasing any additional transcripts, he did not "feel like [he] needed to be firm" and so did not issue an order barring further releases. In April 2008, several months after the juvenile case was resolved, Tim Loewen, director of the Yamhill County Juvenile Department, reported the accused's action of releasing the transcript to the Bar. After investigating the matter, the Bar charged the accused with violating RPC 8.4(a)(4)2 by releasing to the press "information
2

RPC 8.4(a) provides, in relevant part: "It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to: "* * * * * "(4) engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of

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appearing in the record" of a juvenile case without court consent, in violation of ORS 419A.255(1) and (3).3 The Bar alleged that the accused had "usurped" Judge Collins's authority to control the proceeding by not seeking the court's consent before releasing the transcript, and thereby had caused prejudice to the administration of justice. In the proceeding before the trial panel, the accused argued that his release of the transcript did not violate ORS 419A.255 for each of three independent reasons: (1) the transcript that he had prepared was not a part of the record of the case and so was not subject to ORS 419A.255; (2) Judge Collins had consented to the release of the information contained in the transcript when he allowed the press to attend and report on

justice[.]"
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ORS 419A.255 provides, in relevant part:

"(1) The clerk of the court shall keep a record of each case, including therein the summons and other process, the petition and all other papers in the nature of pleadings, motions, orders of the court and other papers filed with the court, but excluding reports and other material relating to the child, ward, youth or youth offender's history and prognosis. The record of the case shall be withheld from public inspection but is open to inspection by the child, ward, youth, youth offender, parent, guardian, court appointed special advocate, surrogate or a person allowed to intervene in a proceeding involving the child, ward, youth or youth offender, and their attorneys. The attorneys are entitled to copies of the record of the case. "* * * * * "(3) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (7) of this section, no information appearing in the record of the case or in reports or other material relating to the child, ward, youth or youth offender's history or prognosis may be disclosed to any person not described in subsection (2) of this section without the consent of the court * * * ."

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the hearing; and (3) the information in the transcript could be released under ORS 419A.255(5)(b) and (d), which list certain exceptions to the confidentiality of juvenile records. Even assuming that he did violate ORS 419A.255, the accused asserted, he did not violate RPC 8.4(a)(4), because his conduct was not prejudicial to the administration of justice. That was so, according to the accused, because the defendant and the victims supported releasing the transcript and because the information contained in the transcript had already been made public as a result of the press attending and reporting on the hearing. Thus, in the accused's view, no harm -- actual or potential -- resulted from his conduct. The trial panel found by clear and convincing evidence that the accused had violated RPC 8.4(a)(4) and suspended the accused from the practice of law for 60 days. The trial panel first determined that ORS 419A.255(3) prohibited the accused from releasing the partial transcript to the press without the consent of the trial court and that the accused had violated the statute in doing so. With little discussion, the trial panel then found that the evidence that the accused had violated the statute also was sufficient to show prejudice to the administration of justice and thus that the accused had violated RPC 8.4(a)(4). The accused sought review in this court. To prove a violation of RPC 8.4(a)(4), the Bar must prove (1) that the accused lawyer's action or inaction was improper; (2) that the accused lawyer's conduct occurred during the course of a judicial proceeding; and (3) that the accused lawyer's conduct had or could have had a prejudicial effect upon the administration of justice. See In re Kluge, 335 Or 326, 345, 66 P3d 492 (2003) (citing In re Haws, 310 Or 741, 746-48, 6

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801 P2d 818 (1990)) (so stating for identically worded former DR 1-102(A)(4)). Because we find the issue to be dispositive, we begin by examining the third element -- whether the accused's conduct had or could have had a prejudicial effect on the administration of justice -- and assume, without deciding, that the accused's conduct violated ORS 419A.255(3) and otherwise satisfied the test set out in Kluge and Haws. Prejudice to the administration of justice "may arise from several acts that cause some harm or a single act that causes substantial harm to the administration of justice." Kluge, 335 Or at 345. This court has identified two components to the "administration" of justice: "1) The procedural functioning of the proceeding; and 2) the substantive interest of a party in the proceeding." Haws, 310 Or at 747. "A lawyer's conduct could have a prejudicial effect on either component or both." Id. The Bar argues that the accused's conduct, a single act, resulted in prejudice to the administration of justice because it had the potential to cause substantial harm to the procedural functioning of the court. The Bar asserts, "Substantial potential harm to the administration of justice occurs whenever a lawyer interferes in or usurps the court's ability to do its job in a proceeding pending before it." The Bar states that the accused "usurped" the court's authority by not seeking Judge Collins's consent prior to releasing the transcript. The Bar cites three disciplinary cases to support its position that the accused's conduct resulted in substantial potential harm to the administration of justice. First, in In re Eadie, 333 Or 42, 36 P3d 468 (2001), this court found a violation of former DR 1-102(A)(4) where the accused lawyer submitted a proposed order containing a 7

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misrepresentation that was intended to influence the judge in changing the trial date. Id. at 58. That conduct substantially harmed the procedural functioning of the court because it resulted in the judge acquiescing to a trial date preferred by the accused and made it necessary for the judge to resolve a dispute resulting from the accused's misrepresentation and to redraft an order. Id. Second, in In re Morris, 326 Or 493, 953 P2d 387 (1998), this court concluded that the accused lawyer had engaged in a single act of conduct that had the potential to cause substantial harm, either to the procedural functioning of the court or to the substantive interests of the parties, when she knowingly filed a notarized document that she had altered. Id. at 502-03. Third, in In re Thompson, 325 Or 467, 940 P2d 512 (1997), this court found a violation of former DR 1-102(A)(4) where the accused lawyer physically confronted a judge after receiving an adverse decision. That conduct caused substantial harm to the administration of justice because the accused's ex parte communication with the judge "unfairly attack[ed] the independence, integrity, and respect due a member of the judiciary." Id. at 475. The conduct also had the potential to cause substantial harm, because it could have influenced the judge to change her decision or to recuse herself from the case. Id. In each of the preceding cases, the accused lawyer engaged in conduct that had the potential to disrupt or to improperly influence the court's decision-making process, Thompson, 325 Or at 475; that created unnecessary work for the court, Eadie, 333 Or at 58; or that had the potential to mislead the court, Morris, 326 Or at 503. Moreover, in Eadie and Morris, the accused lawyers made knowing misrepresentations to the court. Similarly, in Kluge, the accused lawyer's conduct in knowingly filing an 8

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untimely motion to disqualify the trial judge and then failing to serve the motion on opposing counsel caused prejudice to "the procedural functioning of the judicial system by imposing a substantial burden upon both opposing counsel and [the trial judge] to undo the accused's actions." 335 Or at 346. In this case, the Bar has made no showing, as required by Kluge and Haws, that the accused's conduct harmed the procedural functioning of the judicial system, either by disrupting or improperly influencing the court's decision-making process or by creating unnecessary work or imposing a substantial burden on the court or the opposing party. Nor has the Bar shown that his conduct had the potential to result in any of the above. Certainly, Judge Collins did not testify that the accused's actions interfered with Judge Collins's conduct of the juvenile proceeding. Although the Bar correctly asserts that ORS 419A.255 gives the trial court control over the release of protected information in a juvenile record -- and, as noted, we assume without deciding that the accused acted improperly in not seeking the trial court's consent -- the Bar's theory fails to take into account the fact that the information contained in the partial transcript that the accused released was presented in open court and had already been reported by the press.4 It is difficult to see how the accused's release of the same information, in the context of this case, had the potential to cause any harm to the proceeding, much less substantial harm.

Article I, section 10, of the Oregon Constitution grants members of the public, including the press, the right to attend juvenile hearings. State ex rel Oregonian Pub. Co. v. Deiz, 289 Or 277, 284-85, 613 P2d 23 (1980).

4

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See Kluge, 335 Or at 345 (prejudice to the administration of justice may arise from "several acts that cause some harm or a single act that causes substantial harm"). Indeed, the Bar makes no effort to show that the accused's conduct could have resulted in new information being made public or that the release of the partial transcript itself had any potential impact on the proceeding. In fact, after the press attended the hearing and the accused released the transcript, Judge Collins allowed members of the press to listen to the official audio recording of the hearing. Nevertheless, the Bar asserts that Judge Collins was sufficiently "concerned" about the release of the information to call the accused and Markham to his chambers to discuss the incident. The fact that Judge Collins was "concerned" and met with the accused and Markham does not, by itself, demonstrate the potential for substantial harm to the procedural functioning of the court. Judge Collins himself stated that, although "in a perfect world," he probably would not have wanted the transcript released, in the context of this case and the open court provision of Article I, section 10, of the Oregon Constitution, the release of the partial transcript was likely permissible without his consent because "if [the press is] * * * going to know the information and report the information, at least get it right." Judge Collins's testimony, then, does not demonstrate that the accused's conduct impacted the procedural functioning of the court, even if the accused's conduct was cause for "concern." Nor does the Bar offer any evidence to prove that the release of the partial transcript harmed the substantive interests of the accused's client, the victims, or the state. The accused released the transcript, with the support of his client, in response to an 10

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inquiry from the media and in order to respond to inaccuracies appearing in some media reports. The accused maintained the confidentiality of the victims' names in the transcript, referring to them by their initials, consistent with an earlier order by Judge Collins. In this proceeding, the accused also submitted letters from the two victims who testified (and their parents) that stated their support for the release of the partial transcript. Finally, there was no testimony from the Yamhill County Juvenile Department that the release of the partial transcript had any effect on its substantive interests or its ability to prosecute the case. The Bar appears, instead, to take the position that virtually any violation of a statute, rule, or court order that occurs during the course of a court proceeding and relates to the conduct or any procedural aspect of that proceeding necessarily is prejudicial to the administration of justice. The Bar asserts, in effect, that "substantial potential" harm is implicit in the accused's conduct. Our cases, however, require proof by clear and convincing evidence that an accused's conduct in a specific judicial proceeding caused actual or potential harm to the administration of justice and, when only one wrongful act is charged, that actual or potential harm must be "substantial." Kluge, 335 Or at 345; Haws, 310 Or at 748. Here, the Bar's evidence did not prove that substantial harm resulted or could have resulted from the accused's conduct. We conclude that the Bar has not proved by clear and convincing evidence that the accused violated RPC 8.4(a)(4). The accused's conduct did not result in such prejudice, because there is no evidence that the release of the partial transcript, which contained solely information already presented in open court and reported by the press, 11

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harmed the procedural functioning of the judicial system. Nor is there any evidence that the substantive rights of the accused's client, the other juvenile defendant, the victims, or the state were harmed. "Prejudice to the administration of justice" requires such a showing. Haws, 310 Or at 747-48. The complaint is dismissed.

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