by Anna P. Sammons

How are the federal government’s new SORNA rules going to affect Oregon residents?

As of this year, federal law will require even more people to register as sex offenders. Moreover, individual states will have to comply with strict new rules regarding state sex offender registration laws or lose federal funding.  See The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”), AKA the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act… Read More

by Anna P. Sammons

Can I get my sentence reduced now that Senate Bill 819 is in effect?

jail

As of January 1, 2022, some people who are currently serving time in Oregon state prisons will be able to formally petition their original DA’s offices for sentence reductions. Every DA’s office will be handling these requests differently, but here in Lane County, they have just issued a POLICY Here is a summary:  WHO SHOULD APPLY: People who have been convicted of drug crimes, especially possession and/or marijuana-related crimes, property offenses, and other non-violent felonies who got unusually long sentences and who have already… Read More

by Anna P. Sammons

#BLM post: The Story of an Eight-Month Struggle to Call Out Institutional Racism in the University of Oregon Student Conduct Processes

Dr. Debra Thompson is an Associate Professor of Political Science at McGill University. A leading scholar of the comparative politics of race, Thompson’s teaching and research interests focus on the relationships among race, the state, and inequality in democratic societies. Dr. Thompson previously taught at the University of Oregon. Here is a letter she recently… Read More