March 30, 2004
A Statutory Look At Juries Of Inquest
What State Law Says About What To Expect
Earlier today, District Attorney Michael Schrunk announced that he would conduct a public inquest once the investigation into the officer-involved shooting death of 28-year-old Jahar Perez was concluded.
Here, to help us begin to understand the process of the public inquest, we will compile the relevant portions of the Oregon Revised Statutes governing the process of public inquests, attempting to pull together disparate elements from different sections of state law.
We begin with the relevant portions of ORS Chapter 146:
146.135 Authority to order inquest. (1) The district attorney for the county where the death occurs may order an inquest to obtain a jury finding of the cause and manner of death in any case requiring investigation.
(2) For the purpose of conducting an inquest, the district attorney shall have the powers of a judicial officer as described by ORS 1.240 and 1.250.
(3) The district attorney shall advise the jury of inquest as to its duties and instruct the jury on questions of law.
(4) The district attorney shall cause a record of the inquest proceedings to be made which shall include the written order of inquest, a record of the testimony of witnesses and the written verdict of the jury.
(5) Within a reasonable time after the verdict is returned, the record of inquest shall be filed in the district medical examiner’s office for the county where the inquest was held.
(6) A copy of the order of inquest and verdict of the jury shall be filed in the State Medical Examiner’s office.
(7) The record of inquest shall be available for inspection as provided by ORS 146.035 (5).
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146.145 Jury of inquest. (1) The district attorney shall order the inquest to be held at a specified time and place and as provided in ORS 10.810 and 10.820 shall summon a jury of inquest to inquire into the cause and manner of death.
(2) Upon receipt of a copy of the order of inquest, the sheriff shall select, as provided by law, not less than eight prospective members of the jury of inquest.
(3) The sheriff shall obtain a summons for each prospective juror selected and cause the summons to be served upon such juror.
(4) At the time and place of the inquest the sheriff shall report to the district attorney the names of all prospective jurors summoned.
(5) A prospective juror may be excused by the district attorney if the juror was related or closely associated with the deceased, was a witness to the death or shows good cause that the juror may be biased.
(6) From among the prospective jurors not excused, six members of the jury of inquest shall be drawn by lot.
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146.155 Inquest proceedings. (1) The six members of the jury of inquest shall be sworn by the district attorney to:
(a) Inquire into who the deceased person was, when and where the deceased person came to death, the cause of death and the manner of death.
(b) Give a true verdict thereof according to the evidence produced during the inquest.
(2) The district attorney shall subpoena as a witness any person who the district attorney believes has knowledge of facts relevant and material to the inquiry. The jury of inquest may request but may not require that other persons be subpoenaed.
(3) The district attorney shall examine each witness as to all facts which the district attorney deems relevant and material to the inquiry. After examination by the district attorney, the members of the jury may inquire of the witness provided that their examination is relevant and material.
(4) When the examination of witnesses is closed, the district attorney shall advise the jury as to their duty under law, and as to questions of law arising from the facts or posed by the jury.
(6) The verdict shall be delivered to the district attorney.
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146.165 Verdict; findings; testimony and verdict of inquest as admissible evidence in subsequent proceedings. (1) The jury shall give its verdict in writing, signed by its members, setting forth its findings from the evidence produced:
(a) Who the deceased person was;
(b) When and where the deceased person came to death;
(c) The cause of death; and
(d) The manner of death.
(2) The verdict of a jury of inquest shall not preclude nor require a criminal charge by the grand jury or district attorney.
(3) The testimony of any witness before a jury of inquest shall not be admissible evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding except:
(a) A criminal trial in which the witness is charged with perjury or false swearing arising from the testimony given before the jury of inquest.
(b) A civil or criminal trial in which the testimony before the jury of inquest is offered as a prior inconsistent statement to impeach the same witness.
(4) The verdict of a jury of inquest shall not be admitted into evidence in any trial.
One portion of 146.135 above states, "For the purpose of conducting an inquest, the district attorney shall have the powers of a judicial officer as described by ORS 1.240 and 1.250" As such, what follows are the relevant portions referenced there.
1.240 Powers of judicial officers. Every judicial officer has power:
(1) To preserve and enforce order in the immediate presence of the judicial officer, and in the proceedings before the judicial officer, when the judicial officer is performing a duty imposed by statute.
(2) To compel obedience to the lawful orders of the judicial officer, as provided by statute.
(3) To compel the attendance of persons to testify in a proceeding pending before the judicial officer in the cases and manner provided by statute.
(4) To administer oaths in a proceeding pending before the judicial officer, and in all other cases where it may be necessary, in the exercise of the powers and the performance of the duties of the judicial officer.
1.250 Punishment for contempt. For the effectual exercise of the powers specified in ORS 1.240, a judicial officer may punish for contempt, in the cases and manner provided by statute.
One portion of 146.145 states, "The district attorney shall order the inquest to be held at a specified time and place and as provided in ORS 10.810 and 10.820 shall summon a jury of inquest to inquire into the cause and manner of death." As such, what follows are the relevant portions referenced there.
10.810 Definition. A jury of inquest is a body of six persons, legally qualified to serve as jurors, summoned from the inhabitants of a particular district before the district attorney, sheriff or other ministerial officer, to inquire of particular facts.
10.820 Number of jurors required to concur. The verdict of a jury of inquest is sufficient if two-thirds of the jurors concur therein.
By all accounts, the investigation into the shooting will be completed by sometime next week, after which the District Attorney's office will examine its findings. At some point relatively soon after they have done so, they will outline the timeframe for conducting a public inquest into the matter.
Comments (1)
The One True b!X on 30 Mar 2004
For those of you who saw a slightly different title to this item at first, fear not. All I did was correct the tense of "inquest." Nothing about the post itself was altered.