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?
Morrow County Courthouse. HEPPNER, Oregon – The Oregon Legislature failed last session in its attempt to require audio recordings of all grand jury proceedings. The Oregon District Attorneys Association rallied against the measure. Now Morrow County District Attorney Justin Nelson said that he finds himself fighting the same measure, now called Senate Bill 496. “It’s
A Portland activist is facing a felony robbery charge for briefly snatching the glasses worn by a man who instigated a scuffle during a protest outside of the Portland Building last week. The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) arrested Philip “Standard” Schaefer, 45, on Sunday morning, four days after the protest regarding the Portland police killing
Even When Juries Can’t Agree, Convictions Are Still Possible In Oregon by Conrad Wilson | Dec. 12, 2016 7:30 p.m. | Updated: Dec. 13, 2016 9:31 a.m. On July 5, in a Multnomah County courtroom, prosecutors told 12 jurors that Olan Williams was guilty of two counts of first-degree sodomy. After a few days of testimony
Woman jailed as trial witness says she is being ‘punished’ HILLSBORO — Brandy Lee Buckmaster is among 56 women filling two stories of cells in the female general population unit at the Washington County Jail in Hillsboro. From her second-floor window, she can see the corrections deputies come and go. She’s been there for 38
A Former Portland Police Officer Who Fatally Shot Keaton Otis Is Now a Prosecutor The Multnomah County District Attorney stands by the hiring of Cody Berne, which has outraged protesters of police violence. Willamette Week By Johanna Bernhard | Published September 13, 2016 Updated October 3, 2016 Last month, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office
The prosecutor: the most powerful person in the room As Multnomah County grapples with widespread inequities in its criminal justice system, heads turn toward the D.A. by Emily Green | 21 Apr 2016 Prosecutors wield a tremendous amount of power in the courtroom, and in an effort to keep it that way, they systematically block
Broken windows prosecuting Why is Multnomah County still spending millions to churn non-violent behavioral offenses through the criminal justice system? by Emily Green | 15 Apr 2016 More than a thousand quality-of-life crimes are prosecuted in Multnomah County each year. These crimes are typically non-violent, low-level offenses believed to lower the quality of life for
The horrifying but legal way an Oregon sexual assault victim wound up in jail In Oregon, a sexual assault victim is sitting in prison, waiting to testify in the trial of a man she accused of habitually coercing her into sex. If that sounds in all ways counter-intuitive, that’s because it is — in what world