State v. Knobel

Defendant appeals his conviction for unlawfully obtaining contents of communications. -ORS 165.540(1) (c). He argues that the statute is unconstitutional under both the Oregon and United States Constitutions and that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a judgment of acquittal and in failing to admit evidence of the victim’s bias. We reverse and remand.

In July, 1986, defendant, a reporter for a local newspaper, Freedom to Express, interviewed Deputy Graves of the Josephine County Sheriffs office. Graves testified at trial that, approximately five minutes after their conversation…