Oregon Court of Appeals Chief Judge David Brewer announced significant cuts to the court this morning, in a letter to colleagues: Dear Colleagues, The Oregon Judicial Department has suffered significant budget reductions for the remaining few months of the 2007-09 fiscal biennium. Although not as severe as initially feared, the reductions will nonetheless impair the […]
Courts
Posted inPolitics
Sizemore Banned From Running Charities
Circuit Court Judge Janice Wilson has this afternoon issued an injunction against Bill Sizemore forbidding him from ever again managing or profiting from any charitable organization. “This is an enormous win for justice today,” said Attorney General John Kroger, commenting on the ruling on the courthouse steps. “Nothing is more important than fair elections where […]
Posted inNews
Courthouse To Close On Fridays
The Multnomah County Courthouse on SW 4th will be closed Fridays from March 13th until further notice, due to budget cuts. Presiding Judge Jean Maurer emailed courthouse staff this morning. Judges will still show up on Fridays “to do the work of the court,” Maurer wrote, albeit without staff present. Judge Maurer is yet to […]
Posted inPortland
ACLU Compares Secret List Cops To Nazis
UPDATE, 6:34pm:From Mr.Rosenthal: Matt — I am very disappointed in the headline and first sentence of your blog, and request that you issue an apology to me and Officer Myers. I did not compare Officer Myers to the Gestapo. You accurately quoted me in your blog, I related in court that I told the Oregonian […]
Posted inNews
DA’s Office Can’t Trust Judge
It seems District Attorney Mike Schrunk’s office cannot trust a Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge to deliver a fair and impartial trial. A deputy from Schrunk’s office filed an affidavit of prejudice against Judge Marilyn Litzenberger, dated yesterday, alleging that “the state cannot receive a fair and impartial hearing” before the judge. AFFIDAVITING: SCHRUNK (left) […]
Posted inNews
Saltzman Still Likes Sit/Lie Law
Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman has responded to news last week of a judge finding the controversial sidewalk obstruction law unconstitutional. “I think we’re still reviewing that decision and it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the specific case,” Saltzman says. “But in the larger sense, I did support the sidewalk obstruction ordinance, I […]
Posted inPortland
Odd City Law Of The Month
Never mind the Sit/Lie ordinance. Don’t interfere with anyone’s privacy: A. It is unlawful for any person to look through a window, transom, or door into the dwelling of another with the intent to interfere with the privacy of an occupant. B. As used in this Section, “dwelling” includes a building or part of a […]
Posted inMedia
Bicyclists Hope “News Cycle” Buries Stop Sign Controversy
“We were hoping to do some advance media on this in December,” says Karl Rohde, public affairs director for the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, “but we kept getting buried in the news cycle, whether it was by snow storms, scandals, or budget cuts. Nobody in the media cares about us right now.” Or perhaps that’s what […]
Posted inPortland
Judge Rules Sit/Lie Law Unconstitutional
A downtown judge has ruled the city’s controversial sidewalk obstruction ordinance unconstitutional. Judge Michael McShane made the ruling yesterday about the part of the ordinance that requires people to keep their personal belongings within two feet. “I found that an ordinary person would not understand from the statute that mundane and everyday behavior would be […]
Posted inBikes
Jury’s Out on Rev. Phil Taser Case
Originally posted 12:10PM, moved up to now with the verdict! One night last June, Portland bike activist Phil Sano was stopped by police for not having a bike light and wound up on the ground, tasered five times and cited for resisting arrest. Today, the jury heard the closing statements in the case against him. […]
Posted inNews
Rev. Phil Sano’s Taser Trial in Court
Back at the beginning of the summer, well-known Portland bike activist and general roustabout Reverend Phil Sano was stopped by cops for not having a bike light and wound up getting Tasered. A guy waiting for a bus talked to the Merc about what happened: “It sounded like he was being tortured,” recalls John Henry […]
Posted inMedia
Kroger Pressed On Public Records Law
The Mercury has been through some fun times, trying to get hold of public records under state public records law, since I joined the paper in 2006. If your definition of “fun” means “never getting what you ask for, and/or being constantly delayed and legally outspent/maneuvered, especially by the city attorney’s office which is notorious […]