59 results for 'judge:"Ortega"'.
J. Ortega finds the juvenile court properly ordered the Oregon Department of Corrections to disclose a father’s mental health records to the Department of Human Services for use in dependency proceedings involving the father’s child. “Father has not provided a basis on which we could reverse the juvenile court’s order based on a lack of statutory authority to issue the order.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: April 17, 2024, Case #: A181606, Categories: Family Law
J. Ortega finds the trial court erred in dismissing an employee's claims of unlawful employment discrimination and whistleblowing. “There is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether plaintiff’s protected activity was a substantial factor in defendant’s decision to terminate his employment.” Reversed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: April 17, 2024, Case #: A177073, Categories: Employment, Whistleblowers
J. Ortega finds the trial court did not violate defendant’s right to allocution when it ”muted” him for being verbally abusive in court. The time for an allocution had passed, and “defendant was speaking to the court in a way that the court had authority to curb.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: A180024, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Trespass
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J. Ortega invalidates two Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities rules after finding the Land Conservation and Development Commission did not provide sufficient notice for one and exceeded its statutory authority in enacting the other. “Adopted rule does cover a subject matter not specified in the notice” and “statutes do not authorize LCDC to revoke an acknowledgement of a TSP, which is part of a local government’s acknowledged comprehensive plan.”
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: A180037, Categories: Zoning
J. Ortega finds the trial court erred in admitting the state’s proffered evidence regarding defendant’s gang affiliation. State “failed to meet its burden to establish that it was offering a theory of relevance for the evidence that does not depend on propensity reasoning.” Reversed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: A174188, Categories: Evidence, Firearms, Assault
J. Ortega finds the trial court properly accepted evidence obtained during a traffic stop that led to defendant’s condition plea. “The registration plate for defendant’s truck was in violation…supporting the trial court’s conclusion that there was probable cause to stop defendant for a traffic violation.”
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: A178003, Categories: Evidence, Search
J. Ortega finds the trial court properly excluded evidence of an alternative suspect. The fact that victim “lived with a man who had been accused of sexually abusing another child did not support a reasonable inference that the third party had the opportunity or means to commit the charged offenses, which were alleged to have occurred in defendant’s home while [victim] lived with defendant.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: A177061, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Ortega finds the trial court properly held defendant in contempt of court, ORS 33.015, for violating a restraining order issued under the Family Abuse Protection Act after finding that he had the requisite mental state for contempt. The court “applied the correct legal standard and therefore did not err in finding defendant in contempt on that basis.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: December 28, 2023, Case #: A176499, Categories: Contempt, Family Law
J. Ortega finds the juvenile court properly asserted jurisdiction over an eight-year-old against her mother’s objection. “Although it did not expressly find that [the child’s] welfare would be endangered without oversight of the court and the department, there is evidence in the record to support that finding.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: December 28, 2023, Case #: A181642, Categories: Family Law
J. Oretga finds the trial court properly made extensive factual findings, including demeanor-based credibility findings, in an estate administration case. Petitioner “has not identified any basis for reversing the judgments.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: December 20, 2023, Case #: A175326, Categories: Family Law
J. Ortega finds the trial court properly excluded evidence impeaching the victim. “Defendant’s proposed cross-examination of the victim was not relevant impeachment evidence because it would not have contradicted her testimony.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: December 20, 2023, Case #: A176889, Categories: Evidence, Robbery
J. Ortega finds the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) properly dismissed an appeal of a land use decision made by the Klamath County Board of Commissioners because the deadline to file and serve a corrected notice of intent to appeal had passed. “Petitioners’ failure to file and serve a corrected NITA when ordered to do so was not viewed by LUBA as a technical violation but as a jurisdictional defect in service.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: December 20, 2023, Case #: A182303, Categories: Government, Property
J. Ortega finds the juvenile court properly terminated a mother’s parental rights in her absence. “Counsel was unaware of the specific reason for mother’s absence at…trial, had no information about her whereabouts, and so had no basis for asserting good cause as a basis for a continuance or for asking the court not to proceed in mother’s absence.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: November 29, 2023, Case #: A181083, Categories: Family Law
J. Ortega finds that while the trial court plainly erred by failing to instruct the jury that a culpable mental state attached to the “substantial risk of physical injury” element of resisting arrest, the error was harmless. “The jury’s findings that the defendant knew that his conduct was assaultive…indicated that the jury would not have found that the defendant was unaware of the risk of physical injury posed by his conduct.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: November 29, 2023, Case #: A178813, Categories: Resisting Arrest, Jury Instructions
J. Ortega finds the trial court erred in placing conditions on defendant, convicted of violating a stalking protective order, that were not announced in open court. The state concedes the error. Reversed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: November 29, 2023, Case #: A179905, Categories: Sentencing
J. Ortega finds the trial court erred by issuing a $92,000 equalizing judgment against a wife in a domestic relations case. “Wife acquired that property by gift and continuously held it separately…requiring the trial court to award the property to wife as her separate property.” Reversed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: November 29, 2023, Case #: A175355, Categories: Family Law, Property
J. Ortega finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion for a judgment of acquittal (MJOA) on one count of fourth-degree assault, maintaining that the evidence was insufficient to prove the physical-injury element for the purpose of his conviction. Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: November 15, 2023, Case #: A176485, Categories: Evidence, Assault
J. Ortega finds the trial court properly sentenced defendant, convicted of two counts of first-degree robbery, to two 90-month prison sentences. “Despite the minimal value of the stolen property, bringing, showing, and threatening to attack the store owner with a shuckle or knife made defendant’s offenses more dangerous, providing support for more severe penalties.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: November 15, 2023, Case #: A177075, Categories: Robbery, Sentencing
J. Oretga finds the trial court erred in issuing a sentence denying defendant, convicted of assault, eligibility for post-conviction programs, but finds the court should not correct the error because the requisite findings could have been supported by the record. The state concedes the error. Reversed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: November 15, 2023, Case #: A176871, Categories: Sentencing, Assault
J. Ortega finds the juvenile court erred by determining that DHS made reasonable efforts toward reunification of a mother with her 20-month-old son. “The record here does not establish that sending an outside provider into the prison was the only or necessary means to provide mother with a substance abuse evaluation while incarcerated.” Reversed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: October 25, 2023, Case #: A180845, Categories: Family Law