Criminal Appeal Brief

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Cover Page
2. Table of Authorities
3. Statement of the Case
4. Assignments of Error
5. Summary of Argument
6. Statement of Facts
7. Argument
8. Conclusion
9. Certificate of Compliance
10. Certificate of Filing and Service

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF OREGON

APPELLANT'S OPENING BRIEF

Attorney for Defendant-Appellant:

[________________________________]
[________________________________] (OSB No. [________________________________])
[________________________________]
[________________________________], Oregon [________________________________]
Telephone: [________________________________]
Email: [________________________________]

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Cases

Statutes

Rules

I. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Nature of the Action: This is a criminal action in which Defendant-Appellant was charged with [________________________________].

Nature of the Judgment: The judgment was entered on [__/__/____] in the [________________________________] County Circuit Court, the Honorable [________________________________] presiding. The judgment was based on ☐ a jury verdict / ☐ a bench trial / ☐ a guilty plea / ☐ a no-contest plea.

Charges and Disposition:

Timeliness of Appeal: Notice of appeal was filed on [__/__/____], within 30 days of the judgment. (ORS 138.071.)

(ER-[____].)

II. ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

Assignment of Error No. 1

The trial court erred in [________________________________].

Preservation: This issue was preserved by [________________________________]. (Tr [____].)

Ruling: The trial court ruled: "[________________________________]." (Tr [____].)

Assignment of Error No. 2

The trial court erred in [________________________________].

Preservation: This issue was preserved by [________________________________]. (Tr [____].)

Ruling: The trial court ruled: "[________________________________]." (Tr [____].)

Assignment of Error No. 3

[________________________________]

III. SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT

[________________________________]

IV. STATEMENT OF FACTS

A. State's Case

[________________________________]

(Tr [____].)

B. Defense Case

[________________________________]

(Tr [____].)

V. ARGUMENT

A. [ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1 HEADING]

[________________________________]

1. Standard of Review

☐ Errors of law are reviewed for legal error. (State v. Gaines, 346 Or 160, 171 (2009).)

☐ Abuse of discretion applies to discretionary rulings, including evidentiary decisions and sentencing. (State v. Rogers, 330 Or 282, 312 (2000).)

☐ Sufficiency of the evidence — the court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the state and determines whether a rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements beyond a reasonable doubt. (State v. Hall, 327 Or 568, 570 (1998).)

☐ Plain error applies under ORAP 5.45(1) when no objection was made below. The error must be (1) an error of law, (2) obvious and not reasonably in dispute, and (3) apparent on the face of the record. (Ailes v. Portland Meadows, Inc., 312 Or 376, 382 (1991).)

[________________________________]

2. Applicable Legal Principles

[________________________________]

3. Analysis

[________________________________]

4. Harmless Error

☐ Under State v. Davis, 336 Or 19 (2003), constitutional errors are reviewed under the harmless-error standard of Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18 (1967) — the state must prove the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.

☐ Under ORS 138.222(6), non-constitutional errors are reviewed under the standard that the error had little likelihood of affecting the verdict.

[________________________________]

B. [ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 2 HEADING]

[________________________________]

1. Standard of Review

[________________________________]

2. Applicable Legal Principles

[________________________________]

3. Analysis

[________________________________]

4. Harmless Error

[________________________________]

C. [ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS AS NEEDED]

[________________________________]

VI. CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, Defendant-Appellant respectfully requests that this Court:

☐ Reverse the judgment of conviction.
☐ Reverse and remand for a new trial.
☐ Modify the judgment as follows: [________________________________].
☐ Vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing.
☐ [________________________________]

Respectfully submitted,

Date: [__/__/____]

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]
Attorney for Defendant-Appellant

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

Pursuant to ORAP 5.05(1)(d), I certify that this brief complies with the word-count limitation and contains [________________________________] words, as counted by [________________________________] word-processing program. This brief does not exceed the 10,000-word limit for opening briefs in the Court of Appeals.

Date: [__/__/____]

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]

CERTIFICATE OF FILING AND SERVICE

I, [________________________________], certify that on [__/__/____], I filed the foregoing Appellant's Opening Brief with the State Court Administrator by:

☐ Electronic filing via the Oregon Judicial Department eFiling system
☐ U.S. Mail

And served copies on the following parties:

☐ U.S. Mail, first-class, postage prepaid
☐ Electronic service
☐ Hand delivery

Date: [__/__/____]

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]

STATE-SPECIFIC NOTES FOR OREGON

1. Word Limit: In the Court of Appeals, opening and answering briefs may not exceed 10,000 words; reply briefs 3,300 words. In the Supreme Court, 14,000 words; reply 4,000 words. (ORAP 5.05.)

2. Font Requirements: Must use proportionally spaced type — Arial, Times New Roman, or Century Schoolbook — in no smaller than 14-point size. (ORAP 5.05.)

3. Notice of Appeal: Must be filed within 30 days after the judgment is entered. (ORS 138.071.)

4. Excerpt of Record: Appellant must file an excerpt of record containing relevant portions of the lower court record. (ORAP 5.50.)

5. Preservation Requirement: Oregon strictly requires preservation of error. Each assignment of error must identify where the issue was preserved below. (ORAP 5.45.)

6. Plain Error Review: Unpreserved errors are reviewed only for plain error — the error must be an error of law, obvious, and apparent on the face of the record. (Ailes v. Portland Meadows, Inc., 312 Or 376 (1991).)

7. Petition for Review: After the Court of Appeals decision, a party may petition for review by the Oregon Supreme Court within 35 days. (ORS 2.520; ORAP 9.05.)

8. Merger Doctrine: Oregon applies the merger doctrine — a conviction for a lesser-included offense merges into the greater offense. (State v. Block, 300 Or 616 (1986).)