By Daniel Lewkow The Oregon Council on Civil Rights recently released a groundbreaking report that ought to change our criminal justice system. The independent, fact-based, non-partisan study found that Oregon district attorneys often charge young people in a way that is “harsh and costly” and “at odds with a contemporary brain science.” It recommends that
Non-Unanimous Jury Convictions and Oregon District Attorneys Yesterday, reporters discovered that a website was being built by Multnomah County District Attorney (DA) Rod Underhill and, perhaps, the Oregon District Attorneys Association (ODAA). The website was quickly taken down, but the mistake forced Underhill to go on the record and prematurely reveal plans for a potential
May 9, 2017- by David Rogers, Executive Director. Do you know who your district attorney is? If you do, you are among a very small percentage of the public. District attorneys (DAs) are arguably the most powerful people in the criminal justice system, but the public doesn’t know who they are. Why does this matter?
March 1, 2017 — Oregon voters overwhelmingly support a proposal to reduce penalties for drug possession, according to a new poll. The poll comes as a new bill, Oregon HB 2355, supported by Oregon Attrney General Ellen Rosenblum and the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon (ACLU of Oregon,) would change small-scale drug possession to a misdemeanor instead
July 9, 2015 – by David Rogers, Executive Director. There are some serious problems we need to tackle in our criminal justice system, like dramatic prison growth and spending in the U.S. We are dumping billions of dollars into locking people up while ignoring the strategies best designed to create safe and healthy communities. Meanwhile,