State v. Gonzalez-Valenzuela

The constituent components of the majority opinion’s PGE/Gaines deconstruction are (at least for me) ultimately, abstractly, unassailable. Accordingly, I concur in the disposition. Nevertheless, with due regard for the majority’s closely reasoned treatment, I write separately to highlight some frankly troubling features of our holding.

First, our result — that a parent’s mere surreptitious possession of drugs in his or her child’s presence violates ORS 163.575(l)(b) — is arguably inconsistent with that statute’s legislative intent, as elucidated in State v. McBride, 352 Or 159, 281 P3d 605…