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Oregon Prosecutors Say a Court Ruling Has Weakened Protections for Drug-Exposed Children Crime & Courts By Diane Megaw On Dec 9, 2025 FILE - Oregon Supreme Court Building - October 2024 | Photo by Seth Smigelski After an Appeals Court ruling in State v Stevens in September, 20 Washington County drug-endangered children cases face reversal. Tidings Insight The ruling means some child drug-exposure cases may not fit current mistreatment law, so county prosecutors and ODAA are pushing a 2026 fix to cover detectable controlled substances. 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. Tidings Context Oregon’s first-degree criminal mistreatment law targets withholding necessary care, and the Stevens decision found that detectable meth exposure alone did not prove that kind of present deprivation. 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. Tidings Timeline Sep 10 2025 – Court of Appeals reverses mistreatment count in State v Stevens. Dec 8 2025 – Washington County DA moves to dismiss 20 drug-endangered children cases. 2026 session – ODAA seeks ORS 163.205 fix for detectable drug exposure. Share Twitter Facebook ReddIt WhatsApp Pinterest Email