Earlier this blog discussed the unusual position taken by the Oregon Attorney General regarding smoking around children as the basis for a crime. Well today the Oregon Supreme Court unanimously disapproved of that position. The opinion is here.

Frankly, the opinion was not much of a surprise. The state’s position was so extreme several attorneys around the state wondered aloud whether the Attorney General had tanked the case. I’m not so sure of that, but extreme positions rarely help one win before the court. In the end, reason prevailed. There’s a whole lot of bad parenting in the world, but that doesn’t mean we should fill our prisons with lousy parents. If we did, may I suggest we start with the Lohans and Kardashians?

This story in the Oregonian is a great example of how easily a family, any family, can suddenly be caught up in the criminal justice system. Teenagers behave as…well….teenagers. And increasingly, those juvenile actions can become a crime. Especially worth noting is that these crimes could have been charged as a felony.

Note:  Bronson James LLC. did not represent any individuals in this case, and has no knowledge of the matter beyond what has been reported in the press.

Last week I had oral argument before the Oregon Supreme Court at Ashland High School. My case, involving a drug suppression issue, went well and was largely uneventful. After mine, however, the court heard two consolidated cases that frankly shocked me.

In State v. Baker-Kroft and State v. McCants the state charged parents of minor children with felony mistreatment for alleged environmental hazards in the home. In one case, it was small toy choking hazards, in the other it was clutter surrounding overloaded electrical outlets. But the truly shocking turn came when the Assistant Attorney General stated that it was her office’s opinion that any environmental hazard is subject to a felony charge, including smoking. The Court asked if two habitual smoker parents smoked around children in the home, if this was a felony in the eyes of the Attorney General. Yes, AAG Inge Wells replied. The Court further clarified if she understood that under that position, virtually any parent smoker was a potential felon. Yes, she replied again.

In my opinion, this is far beyond what the Legislature ever intended of the statute. But it goes to show how state prosecutors will push a law to obtain a conviction. And it also shows just how easily an unsuspecting family can end up facing criminal charges, and the loss of their children.