Preliminary Provisions

ORS 131.315
Special provisions

Text
Annotations 7

(1)

If conduct constituting elements of an offense or results constituting elements of an offense occur in two or more counties, trial of the offense may be held in any of the counties concerned.

(2)

If a cause of death is inflicted on a person in one county and the person dies therefrom in another county, trial of the offense may be held in either county.

(3)

If the commission of an offense commenced outside this state is consummated within this state, trial of the offense shall be held in the county in which the offense is consummated or the interest protected by the criminal statute in question is impaired.

(4)

If an offense is committed on any body of water located in, or adjacent to, two or more counties or forming the boundary between two or more counties, trial of the offense may be held in any nearby county bordering on the body of water.

(5)

If an offense is committed in or upon any railroad car, vehicle, aircraft, boat or other conveyance in transit and it cannot readily be determined in which county the offense was committed, trial of the offense may be held in any county through or over which the conveyance passed.

(6)

If an offense is committed on the boundary of two or more counties or within one mile thereof, trial of the offense may be held in any of the counties concerned.

(7)

A person who commits theft, burglary or robbery may be tried in any county in which the person exerts control over the property that is the subject of the crime.

(8)

If the offense is an attempt or solicitation to commit a crime, trial of the offense may be held in any county in which any act that is an element of the offense is committed.

(9)

If the offense is criminal conspiracy, trial of the offense may be held in any county in which any act or agreement that is an element of the offense occurs.

(10)

A person who in one county commits an inchoate offense that results in the commission of an offense by another person in another county, or who commits the crime of hindering prosecution of the principal offense, may be tried in either county.

(11)

A criminal nonsupport action may be tried in any county in which the dependent child is found, irrespective of the domicile of the parent, guardian or other person lawfully charged with support of the child.

(12)

If the offense is theft, forgery or identity theft and the offense consists of an aggregate transaction involving more than one county, trial of the offense may be held in any county in which one of the acts of theft, forgery or identity theft was committed.

(13)

When a prosecution is for violation of the Oregon Securities Law, the trial of the offense may be held in the county in which:

(a)

The offer to purchase or sell securities took place or where the sale or purchase of securities took place; or

(b)

Any act that is an element of the offense occurred.

(14)

When a prosecution under ORS 165.692 (Making false claim for health care payment) and 165.990 (Penalties) or 411.675 (Submitting wrongful claim for payment of public assistance or medical assistance) and 411.990 (Penalties) (2) and (3) involves Medicaid funds, the trial of the offense may be held in the county in which the claim was submitted for payment or in the county in which the claim was paid.

(15)

(a)

If the offense is stalking under ORS 163.732 (Stalking) and involves contacts as defined in ORS 163.730 (Definitions for ORS 30) in more than one county, trial of the offense may be held in any county in which a contact occurred.

(b)

If the offense is violating a court’s stalking protective order under ORS 163.750 (Violating a court’s stalking protective order), trial of the offense may be held in the county in which the defendant engaged in conduct prohibited by the order or in the county in which the order was issued. [1973 c.836 §15; 1987 c.603 §26; 1989 c.384 §1; 1993 c.680 §28; 1995 c.496 §7; 2007 c.584 §3; 2009 c.212 §1]

See also annotations under ORS 131.340, 131.350, 131.360 and 131.370 in permanent edition.

Notes of Decisions

Charging of entire criminal act in county where some events of criminal act occurred does not violate Article I, section 11. State v. Johnson, 6 Or App 195, 487 P2d 115 (1971), Sup Ct review denied

Venue may be laid in county either in which conduct constituting a crime occurred, or in which the results of the alleged act were intended to occur. State v. Hall, 26 Or App 17, 552 P2d 272 (1976)

When an indictment charges that a criminal agreement was made in a certain county, a conviction cannot rest on proof that the agreement was made in a different county and only subsequent acts in pursuance of the agreement occurred in the county where the making of the agreement is alleged. State v. Roper, 286 Or 621, 595 P2d 1247 (1979)

Where jury was entitled to infer from evidence that defendant who was charged with rape in first degree subjected victims to “forcible compulsion,” one element of charged crime in or within one mile of Multnomah County, Multnomah County trial court did not err in rejecting defendant’s lack of venue argument and denying his motion or judgment of acquittal. State v. Sanarrita, 102 Or App 349, 794 P2d 457 (1990)

Legislature may properly specify location of county boundaries for judicial purposes and provision of this section relating to venue of offense committed on boundary of two or more counties or within one mile thereof is constitutional. State v. McCown, 113 Or App 627, 833 P2d 1321 (1992), Sup Ct review denied

As used in this section, “theft” does not include identity theft and therefore did not provide basis for venue in Multnomah County for prosecution of Clackamas County identity-theft charges where evidence showed that defendant stole personal identification of others from lockers in Clackamas County and those items of personal identification were recovered from defendant’s residence in Multnomah County. State v. Berndt, 282 Or App 73, 386 P3d 196 (2016), Sup Ct review denied