By david rogers 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 ballot measure to revise
The revelation that Oregon’s district attorneys are proposing an end to non-unanimous jury convictions may have obscured the full scope of prosecutors’ intentions on changing the state constitution. The Oregon District Attorneys Association is considering a ballot initiative that would also strip defendants of the right to waive a jury trial and ask for a
Clackamas County District Attorney John Foote is suing the state in the hopes of stopping a new law that will cut and modify sentences for eligible property thieves. The law is part of a wider effort to reduce prison population. The law would shorted sentences for some identity theft and first degree theft, especially women
District attorneys are the most powerful elected players in the criminal justice system, yet most people don’t know who they are or what they do. Karen James interviews David Rogers, Executive Director, ACLU of Oregon and Daniel Lewkow, manager of THEY REPORT TO YOU, ACLU’s new campaign to educate the public about DAs, who they
The Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office is starting a program Friday that puts those arrested for small amounts of illegal drugs in treatment rather than behind bars, but seeks maximum prison time for drug dealers. District Attorney John Hummel said the Goldilocks program will find the right intervention for each drug suspect’s crime, hence the
In the Multnomah County criminal justice system, people have posed tough questions for two separate groups: the sheriff’s office that investigates crime, and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their answers. Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese and District Attorney Rod Underhill are both elected officials. And in a left-leaning city like Portland,
District attorneys have collectively been the largest roadblock to modernizing and reforming our justice system. This is one of the reasons the ACLU of Oregon just launched a major, multi-year campaign for district attorney reform, called They Report to You. Specifically, we’re educating the public about who district attorneys are, why they matter, and how
Johnson has maintained his innocence for twenty years. Now, his counsel, Steven Wax of the Oregon Innocence Project, is asking for DNA testing of 38 samples from the crime scene. Many of them were never tested; others were tested using an older DNA test that has fallen out of use because it is not as
I was angry to hear that the most powerful person in our county’s criminal justice system thinks that racial disparities aren’t a problem. When the ACLU of Oregon launched the “They Report to You” campaign to educate voters about district attorneys, Clackamas County DA John Foote could have embraced the new initiative. After all, a
A recently launched American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon campaign about the role of district attorneys has stoked debate. “They Report to You” points out that many district attorney races go uncontested, which the ACLU of Oregon argues is stunting criminal justice reform. Clackamas County District Attorney John Foote responded by accusing the ACLU of