State v. Roberts

This is an appeal from a mental commitment proceeding pursuant to ORS ch 426. The only issues warranting discussion are procedural.

Prior to the commencement of the hearing, petitioner’s attorney requested that witnesses be excluded. The court granted the request. After the petitioner’s father and a former roommate had testified, a person from the district attorney’s office, who was present as an observer, indicated that he recognized petitioner as a person who had been in the courthouse about a month before the hearing and had been involved in an altercation with police officers. Over…