Oregon v. Rhodes

In this criminal case, defendant was charged with the crime of driving while under the influence of intoxicants (DUII), ORS 813.010, after a police officer discovered him slumped over in the seat of his pickup, which was parked along a city street with its engine running. The drivers door was slightly open and the interior dome light was on. The officer opened the door further, discovering a beer can and the odor of alcohol. Prior to his DUII trial, defendant moved the district court to suppress all evidence obtained from his person and his vehicle on the ground that the officer was attempting to perform a community caretaking function, that the officer had no authority to perform such a function and that, in the absence of any such authority, precedent from this court and from the Court of Appeals required that all evidence discovered by the officer after he opened the door be suppressed. The trial court suppressed all the evidence. On the states appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed. State v. Rhodes, 106 Or App 312, 314, 807 P2d 322 (1991). We affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals, but on different grounds.