Ashcroft v. PSRB

FILED: May 5, 2005 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON DOUGLAS ALLEN ASHCROFT, Respondent on Review, v. PSYCHIATRIC SECURITY REVIEW BOARD, Petitioner on Review. (PSRB 00-1711; CA A118137; SC S51508) En Banc On review from the Court of Appeals.* Argued and submitted January 5, 2005. Katherine H. Waldo, Assistant Attorney General, Salem, argued the cause and filed the brief for petitioner on review. With her on the brief were Hardy Myers, Attorney General, and Mary H. Williams, Solicitor General. Harris S. Matarazzo, Portland, argued the cause and filed the brief for respondent on review. BALMER, J. The decision of the Court of Appeals is affirmed. The order of the Psychiatric Security Review Board is vacated, and the case is remanded to the board for further proceedings. * Judicial Review from the Psychiatric Security Review Board. 192 Or App 467, 86 P3d 102 (2004). BALMER, J. The issue in this case is whether, for purposes of ORS 161.295, alcohol dependence is a "mental disease or defect" or, instead, is a "personality disorder." The Court of Appeals held that it was a personality disorder. For reasons that this court set out at greater length in Tharp v. PSRB , 338 Or 413, 338 P3d 413 (2005), we similarly conclude that alcohol dependence is a personality disorder as that term is used in ORS 161.295(2) and that, therefore, it is not a mental disease or defect. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals.