State v. Cooper

Defendant was charged by a complaint in District Court with the misdemeanor of promoting gambling in the second degree. ORS 167.122. The trial court sustained her demurrer to the complaint, and the state appeals. It did so on the grounds that the complaint (1) fails to state sufficient facts to constitute an offense and (2) is not definite and certain. ORS 135.630(4) and (6). We agree and affirm.

The state argues that an accusatory instrument 2 is sufficient if it describes the offense in the words of the statute and contains all of the elements of the crime. Although there has been a trend in…