State v. White

In this criminal appeal, we are asked to explain the correct application of ORS 161.067, the so-called anti-merger statute, in circumstances in which a defendant is charged with multiple counts of burglary based on the same incident. The Court of Appeals held that the trial court misapplied ORS 161.067 when it denied defendant’s request to merge two convictions for first-degree burglary. State v. White, 202 Or App 1, 121 P3d 3 (2005). The state contends that the Court of Appeals is wrong and that the trial court’s decision was correct. As we shall explain, we agree with the Court of Appeals…