Offenses Against Persons

ORS 163.275
Coercion

(1)

A person commits the crime of coercion when the person compels or induces another person to engage in conduct from which the other person has a legal right to abstain, or to abstain from engaging in conduct in which the other person has a legal right to engage, by means of instilling in the other person a fear that, if the other person refrains from the conduct compelled or induced or engages in conduct contrary to the compulsion or inducement, the actor or another will:

(a)

Unlawfully cause physical injury to some person;

(b)

Unlawfully cause physical injury to some animal;

(c)

Unlawfully cause damage to property;

(d)

Engage in conduct constituting a crime;

(e)

Falsely accuse some person of a crime or cause criminal charges to be instituted against the person;

(f)

Cause or continue a strike, boycott or other collective action injurious to some person’s business, except that such a threat is not deemed coercive when the act or omission compelled is for the benefit of the group in whose interest the actor purports to act;

(g)

Testify falsely or provide false information or withhold testimony or information with respect to another’s legal claim or defense; or

(h)

Unlawfully use or abuse the person’s position as a public servant by performing some act within or related to official duties, or by failing or refusing to perform an official duty, in such manner as to affect some person adversely.

(2)

Coercion is a Class C felony. [1971 c.743 §102; 1983 c.546 §4; 1985 c.338 §1; 2007 c.71 §45; 2015 c.751 §1]

Notes of Decisions

The prohibition of this section reaches areas of free speech, rendering the statute unconstitutionally overbroad. State v. Robertson, 293 Or 402, 649 P2d 569 (1982)

This section is susceptible to narrowing construction and, as so construed, is not overbroad and does not violate Article I, section 8 of Oregon Constitution. State v. Stone, 84 Or App 575, 735 P2d 577 (1987), Sup Ct review denied

“Induce” means to influence or persuade person to do something that person otherwise would not have done or to not do something that person otherwise would have done. State v. Pedersen, 242 Or App 305, 255 P3d 556 (2011), Sup Ct review denied

Recruiter for Oregon Army National Guard is “public servant.” State v. Fox, 262 Or App 473, 324 P3d 608 (2014), Sup Ct review denied

Defendant’s use of physical force alone to move victim’s body against victim’s will cannot constitute crime of coercion, absent evidence that victim was compelled or induced to move own body out of fear that defendant would otherwise assault victim. State v. Powe, 314 Or App 726, 497 P3d 793 (2021)

Law Review Citations

51 OLR 483, 492, 493 (1972); 20 WLR 351 (1984)

Source

Last accessed
Mar. 11, 2023

REMOVE ADS