Oregon Prosecutors Say a Court Ruling Has Weakened Protections for Drug-Exposed Children

After an Appeals Court ruling in State v Stevens in September, 20 Washington County drug-endangered children cases face reversal.

Following the Stevens ruling, the Washington County District Attorney’s Office filed motions to dismiss charges in 20 cases involving drug-endangered children.

In Stevens, the court heard that Brandon James Stevens inflicted injury on T, an 18-month-old child of the woman he was living with.

When T’s mother took T to the hospital, he was treated for severe internal injuries. A urinalysis revealed that T had methamphetamine in his system.

The presence of drugs resulted in the first-degree criminal mistreatment charge, but, on appeal, Stevens contended that evidence of T’s positive test, seen with defendant’s admission that he had used methamphetamine several times in the week leading up to T’s hospitalization, is not sufficient to permit a finding that he deprived T of conditions necessary and adequate for T’s health and safety.

Stevens claimed he withheld physical care from T rather than created an environmental risk to him. The judges agreed and reversed the finding of criminal mistreatment.

The Washington County cases with controlled substances such as methamphetamine, marijuana, and fentanyl that were dismissed following the Stevens ruling involve situations where children were exposed to active drug use by adult caregivers in the children’s living environment.

Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton said, “This ruling makes it more difficult to protect children and hold accountable those who threaten their well-being.”

The Oregon District Attorney’s Association (ODAA) and the Washington County DA’s Office are now actively seeking new legislation to address this gap in Oregon’s law.

The Oregon legislature will consider the ODAA 2026 Proactive Legislative Agenda during the 2026 legislative session.