Thomas C. Bostwick
Attorney at Law
825 Liberty Street NE
Salem, Oregon
97301
Phone: (503) 370-7745
e-mail: tbostwic@cyberis.net
Fax: (503) 370-7832
April 13, 2000
Lawrence J. Friedman
Legal Administrator
Legal Defense Fund
P.O. Box 2487
Stockton, California 95201-2487
Re: State of Oregon vs.
Robert Alan Roeder
Marion County Circuit Court No. 99C51188
Dear Mr. Friedman:
In March 1999, Oregon
State Trooper Robert Roeder became the subject of an investigation by
the Oregon State Police regarding testimony he was to give at a traffic
court hearing in Marion County, Oregon. The investigation involved an
off-duty citation written in October 1998. An Internal Affairs
investigation had been ongoing involving Roeder pertaining to a number
of personnel matters that had arisen with his patrol sergeant. Most of
the complaints against him were insignificant. He was also under
investigation for some claimed authorized military leave which may well
have been the issue between Roeder and the Oregon State Police.
In early March 1999,
Roeder’s supervisor learned of a traffic citation that was issued at
Roeder’s instigation by another trooper during a freeway incident in
October 1998. It was set for trial in late March 1999. Due to the
failure of the on-duty trooper to follow standard procedure in the
processing of the citation, Roeder was "quizzed" by his patrol
sergeant about the citation and the specific charges filed, as he had
not been provided a copy of it by the on-duty trooper. Due to a
misunderstanding between Roeder and the on-duty trooper who filled out
the citation, there was a dispute as to whether Roeder "paced"
the offending driver leading to a speeding charge. The investigation
revolved around what Roeder had told the on-duty trooper at the scene
and what he believed he could truthfully testify to at the subsequent
court hearing. When the citation was brought to Roeder’s attention in
March 1999, and he received a copy to review, he discussed the VBR
charge with experienced troopers. Roeder advised his sergeant he could
not proceed on the VBR charge because he believed he could not
truthfully testify that he "paced" the driver pursuant to the
definition of "pace" as set forth in the Oregon State Patrol
Policy and Procedures Manual.
Roeder’s supervisors,
for unknown reasons, determined that Roeder was being untruthful in his
discussions with his sergeant about the citation. Internal Affairs,
which had already been involved in conducting personnel investigations
against Roeder, was asked to investigate his participation in the
October 1998 citation and in essence tried to set up a situation wherein
they could catch him in what they believed to be a false swearing
situation.
A trial was held in front
of a traffic court referee on March 31, 1999, wherein Roeder moved to
dismiss the VBR citation based upon the misunderstanding, and proceeded
on the second charge of careless driving. Thereafter, at the trial,
based upon the testimony of Roeder as well as the testimony of the
offending motorist, the motorist was found guilty of that charge.
Roeder was subsequently
interviewed by two detectives assigned to the Internal Affairs section
of the State Police in the presence of two representatives of the Oregon
State Police Officer’s Association. His statement clarified his
beliefs as to what had occurred in October 1998, at the scene of the
traffic stop, and his participation at the hearing in March 1999.
Nonetheless, the matter was referred to the Marion County District
Attorney’s Office, who, in essence, took the point of view of the
investigators and the matter became the subject of some on-going lengthy
discussions between LDF panel attorney, Tom Bostwick, of Salem, and the
District Attorney’s Office. The deputy district attorney handling the
case was insistent that Roeder resign from the Oregon State Police in
return for his agreement not to pursue criminal charges. Even though
Bostwick supplied the deputy district attorney with information that
supported Roeder’s position, the matter was set for Grand Jury, and as
usually occurs, the Grand Jury returned as indictment.
Bostwick’s preparation
with the aid of an investigator, G.E. Mallow, assistance of Roeder and
other members of the State Police, some of whom were affiliated with the
Oregon Police Officer’s Association, led to the conclusion that the
state was mischaracterizing the case. The day prior to trial, the case
was reassigned to a judge, Bostwick believed was fair and had good
common sense. Therefore, he advised Roeder to waive his right to a jury
trial and proceeded to try the case to the court. The testimony at trial
went as expected. The court was convinced that Roeder acted
professionally during the traffic stop in October 1998, and gave
truthful testimony at the traffic hearing in March 1999. Fortunately,
the trial judge analyzed the case, in a manner similar to Bostwick, and
gave a detailed letter opinion discussing the testimony and evidence
and, ultimately, not only found Roeder not guilty, but innocent of all
charges.
Sincerely,
Tom C. Bostwick
Attorney at Law
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