135.405 Plea
discussions and plea agreements.
(1) In cases in which it appears that the interest of the public in the
effective administration of criminal justice would thereby be served, and in
accordance with the criteria set forth in ORS 135.415 and the prohibitions set
forth in ORS 135.418, the district attorney may engage in plea discussions for
the purpose of reaching a plea agreement.
(2) The district
attorney shall engage in plea discussions or reach a plea agreement with the
defendant only through defense counsel, except when, as a matter of record, the
defendant has effectively waived the right of the defendant to counsel or, if
the defendant is not eligible for appointed counsel, has not retained counsel.
(3) The district
attorney in reaching a plea agreement may agree to, but is not limited to, one
or more of the following, as required by the circumstances of the individual
case:
(a) To make or
not to oppose favorable recommendations as to the sentence which should be
imposed if the defendant enters a plea of guilty or no contest to the offense
charged;
(b) To seek or
not to oppose dismissal of the offense charged if the defendant enters a plea
of guilty or no contest to another offense reasonably related to the defendant’s
conduct; or
(c) To seek or
not to oppose dismissal of other charges or to refrain from bringing potential
charges if the defendant enters a plea of guilty or no contest to the offense
charged.
(4) Similarly
situated defendants should be afforded equal plea agreement opportunities.
(5)(a) A district
attorney may provide a plea offer and agreed disposition recommendation to the
defendant at the time of arraignment or first appearance of the defendant for a
crime in open court under an early disposition program established under ORS 135.941.
(b) Unless
extended by the court, a plea offer and agreed disposition recommendation made
under paragraph (a) of this subsection expire upon completion of the
arraignment. Except for good cause, a court may not extend a plea offer and
agreed disposition recommendation under this paragraph for more than seven days
for a misdemeanor or 21 days for a felony. [1973 c.836 §170; 2001 c.635 §10;
2001 c.962 §79; 2013 c.525 §2; 2017 c.650 §8; 2018 c.37 §5]
135.406 [1997 c.313 §3; repealed by 2009
c.178 §35]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
36
cases (
7 in the last 5 years), 1976–2026 · leading case:
State v. King
State v. King (2017)
or · cites it 7×
“Citing ORS 135.405, the state argues that silence in a plea agreement about future prosecution is not a promise by the prosecutor to refrain from future prosecution.”
State v. Tucker (1993)
or · cites it 8×
“GUILT-PHASE ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR Pre-Trial Motions Defendant contends that it was error under ORS 135.405 and 135.415, Article I, section 20, of the Oregon Constitution, [8] and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States [9]…”
State v. McDonnell (1990)
or · cites it 8×
“Defendant claims that the district attorney *782 abdicated his role prescribed in ORS 135.405, which provides that only the district attorney may engage in plea discussions.”
Rise v. Board of Parole (1987)
or · cites it 10×
“A district attorney's authority to conduct plea negotiations is governed by ORS 135.405 to 135.415. ORS 135.405(3) provides: "The district attorney in reaching a plea agreement may agree to, but is not limited to, one or more of the following, as required by the circumstances of…”
State v. Cunningham (1994)
or · cites it 2×
“The court went on to hold that ORS 135.405(4), which provides that similarly situated defendants should be given equal plea bargaining opportunities, represented a coherent, systematic policy.”
Trujillo v. Maass (1991)
or · cites it 2×
“425 (responsibility of defense counsel) recognize the legitimacy of plea discussions in many cases and the responsibility of a trial attorney to insure that the defendant is informed about the statutory procedure, including the trial judge's role and discretion under ORS 135.”
State v. Cloutier (1979)
or · cites it 2×
“[13] See ORS 135.405, especially subsection (3): The district attorney in reaching a plea agreement may agree to, but is not limited to, one or more of the following, as required by the circumstances of the individual case: (a) To make or not to oppose favorable recommendations…”
State v. Heisser (2011)
or · cites it 2×
“” 5 ORS 135.405 provides, in part: “(3) The district attorney in reaching a plea agreement may agree to, but is not limited to, one or more of the following, as required by the circumstances of the individual case: “(a) To make or not to oppose favorable recommendations as to…”
State v. McDonnell (1992)
or · cites it 2×
“Defendant argued that the district attorney had abdicated his prescribed role in the plea discussion process, ORS 135.405 et seq., and allowed it to be usurped by the victim's parents.”
State v. Buchholz (1989)
orctapp · cites it 8×
“836, § 170, amended ORS 135.405 to add subsection (4). The Senate Judiciary Committee intended that the amendment reflect the ABA Standards of Criminal Justice.”
State v. Buchholz (1990)
or · cites it 3×
“THE STATUTORY ISSUE ORS 135.405(4) provides: “Similarly situated defendants should be afforded equal plea agreement opportunities.”
State v. Reynolds (1979)
orctapp · cites it 3×
“3 See ORS 135.405(2). 4 ORS 135.405(3): "(3) The district attorney in reaching a plea agreement may agree to, but is not limited to, one or more of the following, as required by the circumstances of the individual case: "(a) To make or not to oppose favorable recommendations as…”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 135.405(1) — 2 cases
State v. McDonnell (1990)
or
“Defendant claims that the district attorney *782 abdicated his role prescribed in ORS 135.405, which provides that only the district attorney may engage in plea discussions.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 135.405(2) — 2 cases
State v. Reynolds (1979)
orctapp
“3 See ORS 135.405(2). 4 ORS 135.405(3): "(3) The district attorney in reaching a plea agreement may agree to, but is not limited to, one or more of the following, as required by the circumstances of the individual case: "(a) To make or not to oppose favorable recommendations as…”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 135.405(3) — 8 cases
State v. King (2017)
or
“Citing ORS 135.405, the state argues that silence in a plea agreement about future prosecution is not a promise by the prosecutor to refrain from future prosecution.”
Rise v. Board of Parole (1987)
or
“A district attorney's authority to conduct plea negotiations is governed by ORS 135.405 to 135.415. ORS 135.405(3) provides: "The district attorney in reaching a plea agreement may agree to, but is not limited to, one or more of the following, as required by the circumstances of…”
State v. Heisser (2011)
or
“” 5 ORS 135.405 provides, in part: “(3) The district attorney in reaching a plea agreement may agree to, but is not limited to, one or more of the following, as required by the circumstances of the individual case: “(a) To make or not to oppose favorable recommendations as to…”
State v. Reynolds (1979)
orctapp
“3 See ORS 135.405(2). 4 ORS 135.405(3): "(3) The district attorney in reaching a plea agreement may agree to, but is not limited to, one or more of the following, as required by the circumstances of the individual case: "(a) To make or not to oppose favorable recommendations as…”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 135.405(3)(b) — 1 case
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 135.405(4) — 7 cases
State v. Cunningham (1994)
or
“The court went on to hold that ORS 135.405(4), which provides that similarly situated defendants should be given equal plea bargaining opportunities, represented a coherent, systematic policy.”
State v. Tucker (1993)
or
“GUILT-PHASE ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR Pre-Trial Motions Defendant contends that it was error under ORS 135.405 and 135.415, Article I, section 20, of the Oregon Constitution, [8] and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States [9]…”
State v. Buchholz (1990)
or
“THE STATUTORY ISSUE ORS 135.405(4) provides: “Similarly situated defendants should be afforded equal plea agreement opportunities.”
State v. Buchholz (1989)
orctapp
“836, § 170, amended ORS 135.405 to add subsection (4). The Senate Judiciary Committee intended that the amendment reflect the ABA Standards of Criminal Justice.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 135.405(5) — 2 cases
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 135.405(6)(a) — 1 case
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.