## Facts

- Police entered Arnold Weldon Nix’s farm after a tip and found dozens of emaciated animals (mostly horses and goats) and multiple animal carcasses in various stages of decay.
- The state charged Nix with numerous counts of animal neglect, with each count tied to a different animal and alleged within the same time span.
- A jury convicted Nix of 20 counts of second-degree animal neglect (ORS 167.325).
- At sentencing, the state argued the convictions should not merge because the offenses involved multiple “victims” under Oregon’s anti-merger statute, ORS 161.067.
- Nix argued animals are not “victims” for ORS 161.067 purposes and that the neglect statutes protect the public or owners rather than the animals.
- The trial court merged the 20 guilty verdicts into one conviction on the view that only humans can be “victims” under ORS 161.067.
- The Court of Appeals reversed, concluding animals can be “victims,” and remanded for entry of separate convictions and resentencing.
- The Oregon Supreme Court granted review and, on the merits, affirmed the Court of Appeals; later, it vacated its own and the Court of Appeals’ opinions and dismissed the appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction.

## Issues

1. Under ORS 161.067, can animals qualify as “victims” of second-degree animal neglect such that neglect of different animals in a single criminal episode supports separate convictions rather than merger?
2. Whether the state had statutory authority to appeal in this misdemeanor case, and if not, whether the appellate courts lacked subject matter jurisdiction.

## Decision

- On the merits, the Oregon Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals and held that animals can be “victims” under ORS 161.067 for the crime of second-degree animal neglect.
- The court concluded that each neglected animal constituted a separate victim; therefore, Nix committed 20 separately punishable offenses, and the trial court erred by merging the counts.
- The case was remanded for entry of separate convictions and resentencing consistent with that holding.
- In a later jurisdictional ruling, the Oregon Supreme Court determined the state lacked statutory authority to appeal a misdemeanor conviction; it vacated both appellate opinions and dismissed the appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

## Legal Principles

- ORS 161.067 permits separate convictions from the same conduct or criminal episode when the offense involves more than one “victim,” yielding as many separately punishable offenses as there are victims.
- The meaning of “victim” under ORS 161.067 is determined with reference to the statute defining the crime of conviction, focusing on the entity whose interests the legislature intended that offense to protect.
- For second-degree animal neglect (ORS 167.325), the protected interest is the welfare of the animals subject to mistreatment; each animal harmed by neglect may be treated as a separate “victim” for anti-merger purposes.
- Appellate jurisdiction depends on statutory authorization to appeal; absent such authorization, appellate courts lack subject matter jurisdiction and must dismiss, vacating merits dispositions issued without jurisdiction.

## Conclusion

The court’s merits analysis treated each neglected animal as a distinct “victim” under ORS 161.067, requiring separate convictions for neglect of multiple animals, but the appellate decisions were later vacated and the appeal dismissed because the state lacked statutory authority to appeal the misdemeanor judgment.


State v. Nix, 355 Or. 777, 334 P.3d 437 (Or. 2014)