Oregonians like to pride themselves on being leaders in such things as protecting beaches and imposing deposit fees on a variety of bottles. When it comes to transparency of government, however, we have nothing to brag about. Just ask a group of journalism students at the University of Oregon. Earlier this year the students asked
DALLAS — The Dallas County district attorney, Faith Johnson, often reminds voters that she recently won a rare murder conviction against a white police officer who shot into a car full of teenagers, killing a black 15-year-old boy. “They couldn’t get that conviction in New York. They couldn’t get it in California. They couldn’t get
A shift in prosecuting strategy that allows some drug offenders to be charged with misdemeanors instead of felonies led to plummeting felony conviction rates for all racial demographics in Multnomah County, according to a Sept. 15 Criminal Justice Commission report. Multnomah County adopted the policy change last year, months before the state passed a law
The Oregon District Attorney Association is taking heat from criminal justice reform advocates for inviting a controversial speaker to its summer conference two weeks ago. The organization invited St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch, who handled the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. McCulloch’s presentation was ill-received by some of the
Robert McCulloch assured the city of Ferguson, repeatedly and occasionally in all caps, that he was “fair and impartial in every matter” concerning the criminal case of the police officer who killed Michael Brown. But his critics had doubts. They said the white St. Louis County, Mo., prosecutor’s family was, after all, full of police
Last year, Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill assured Portlanders his office did not communicate with federal immigration agents. “The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office does not notify or alert immigration officials or agencies regarding witnesses, victims or defendants with whom we come into contact,” he said in a statement in January 2017. Underhill made
A seemingly innocuous case against a Portland police sergeant may set a new precedent for how far the county’s top lawyer will go to protect cops—and how little the citizen-led police oversight board can do about it. When a Portlander brings a potentially criminal complaint against an officer, it’s Portland Police Bureau (PPB) procedure to
Fewer than half of all Oregonians have faith in the American justice system, according to a new survey conducted by DHM Research. The poll found that only 49 percent of state residents believe the system is working to determine guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal cases. Forty-one percent say it is not working and
DALLAS — If you can’t win big, go small. That’s the strategy gaining momentum among criminal justice reformers in the age of Trump, as the federal government hardens its approach to law enforcement. Instead of pouring money and energy into squeezing change out of Washington, national civil rights organizations are teaming with local groups to
Oregon’s longstanding policy of treating juvenile offenders accused of serious crimes as adults is “harsh and costly” and fails to account for adolescents’ capacity for change, the Oregon Council on Civil Rights says in a new report issued Tuesday. The seven-member council reviewed Measure 11’s impact on young offenders. The law spells out mandatory minimum