Developments in Oregon criminal defense law
Navigating the collateral consequences that limit occupational licensing opportunities is daunting even when applicable laws and regulations attempt to be clear about what types of criminal records may be disqualifying. When license eligibility depends upon whether an applicant possesses “good moral character,” predicting the impact of a particular plea is basically impossible. Read about some… Read More
Prisoners go to great—and often ingenious—lengths to create tattoos. Read more here.
Court affirms first degree sexual abuse conviction. Detective Yerrick, who had, for nearly five years, primarily investigated cases of physical and sexual abuse of children, testified that, in her experience it was younger children (aged 3 or 4) who tended to be more susceptible to “suggestibility” about what happened than older children; that very few… Read More
A defendant recently appealed a judgment of conviction for second-degree sexual abuse, ORS 163.425, asserting that the trial court erred in instructing the jury that it could convict him of that crime if it found that he acted recklessly or negligently with respect to the victim’s lack of consent. State v. Haltom, 298 Or. App.… Read More
In a statement signed by other experts, the authors of a recent op-ed in the New York Times argued that risk assessment tools can actually increase pretrial detention. And they point out that using arrest and conviction histories means that people of color are disproportionately labeled as dangerous. These fundamental, technical problems “cannot be resolved,”… Read More