State v. Hughes

We are a nation governed by the rule of law upon which our liberty depends. This case involves a deprivation of defendant’s liberty because of his involuntary mental commitment pursuant to ORS chapter 426.1 The majority rejects defendant’s claim that constitutional error occurred in the hearing that led to his commitment and the resulting deprivation of his liberty because of, in its view, his failure to raise a “reviewable” issue on appeal. I emphatically dissent for the reasons that follow.

An understanding of this case begins with ORS 426.100(1)(d), which provides, in relevant part, that in…