Category Archives: Criminal Law News
The United States Supreme Court Finally Struck Down Oregon’s Law Authorizing Non-Unanimous Jury Verdicts in Criminal Cases
A disgraceful stain on Oregon’s history is finally being addressed. Back in the 1930’s, the KKK exercised power in Oregon politics. As a result of xenophobia, racism, anti-Catholicism and anti-Semitism, Oregon voters adopted a Constitutional amendment authorizing non-unanimous jury verdicts in criminal cases. The proponents of that law were explicit in their desire to… Read More »
State of Oregon vs. Ramiro Quiroz Hernandez
The Oregon Court of Appeals just issued an important victory for the defense in a case handled by our office. A Washington County judge refused to allow cross-examination of the alleged defendant in a sex case, specifically related to the alleged defendant’s motivation for making a false charge against our client. The criminal defense… Read More »
Arrested In Oregon Prostitution Sting?
You may think you can’t win if you’ve been charged with prostitution, especially if you solicited a police officer posing as a prostitute. But before you count it all loss, take a look at some areas your defense team can attack in negotiations or at trial by jury: the validity of the arrest the… Read More »
$40 million Awarded to 5 Young Men Wrongly Convicted
The five men who were convicted of beating and raping the “Central Park Jogger” in the late 1980’s are actually innocent. The five black men were teens when they were accused. Their case triggered a feeding frenzy of publicity, in which the media widely presumed them to be guilty. Unfair police tactics led to… Read More »
Police Commander Destroys His Career Stealing Fuel in Oregon State
An OSP (Oregon State Police) commander, thriving in his career, gave up his badge after pleading guilty in court to first-degree official misconduct. The commander, Jeff R. Lanz, built his career within the OSP based on his integrity in investigating fellow officers, but saw his law enforcement career evaporate as a result of his… Read More »
Innocents on Death Row
According to findings published by the United States, the National Academy of Sciences, 1 in every 25, or 4.1% of death row inmates are innocent. This is incredibly disturbing considering since 1977 only 1.6% of death row inmates have been exonerated and set free. Death row cases receive a great deal of attention and… Read More »
Murder Conviction Overturned
A woman who was convinced to plead guilty to murdering her girlfriend in 2004 may not be the killer and will either be retried or set free. U.S. District Judge Malcolm Marsh reported that new scientific evidence might reveal that Lisa Marie Roberts did not strangle Jerri Lee Williams. In May 2002, The naked… Read More »
Wrongfully Accused Men Freed After 22 Years
Everyone has watched a movie or television show where someone is charged with a crime they did not commit. In most cases, the person wrongly accused gets off the hook and the true bad guy is caught because in television the police always get the right guy. In the real world, the police do… Read More »
License Suspension for Less Than an Ounce?
It is obvious that Marijuana has become a highly controversial topic. In states such as Colorado and Washington, the use of Marijuana has become legal. However, Oregon criminal law does not allow the use and or possession of marijuana except for medical purposes. Oregon law used to punish anyone caught with any amount of… Read More »
