State v. Poole

Defendant appeals from his convictions after a jury trial for assaulting a public safety officer, ORS 163.208(1), 1 and assault in the fourth degree, ORS 163.160(1). 2 We reject defendant’s assignments of error asserting that the trial court erred in denying his motions for judgment of acquittal on those charges on the ground that there was insufficient evidence that the victim suffered physical injury. However, we agree with defendant that the trial court impermissibly commented on the evidence pertaining to those charges by instructing the jury that pain lasting for an hour constitutes…