State v. Campbell

Defendant appeals his conviction for robbery. ORS 164.415. He contends that the trial court erred in instructing the jury:

“If you find that a firearm was pointed at another within firing range, then you are permitted but you are not required to infer that the firearm was loaded.”

The Supreme Court approved a virtually identical instruction in State v. Vance, 285 Or 383, 591 P2d 355 (1979). Six years later, the Supreme Court took a new look at instructions on inferences in State v. Rainey, 298 Or 459, 693 P2d 635 (1985), where the defendant had been convicted for knowingly delivering a…