City Commissioners Randy Leonard, Nick Fish and Amanda Fritz called this afternoon for the publication of the city’s controversial “secret list,” going against the advice they have been given so far by the city attorney’s office to keep it secret. City council passed an “emergency ordinance” this afternoon to pay Multnomah County almost $1million of […]
Courts
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BREAKING: Judge Annihilates Sit/Lie Law
Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Stephen Bushong unexpectedly annihilated the city’s sit/lie law at a special session this afternoon, after the city asked him to “clarify” his late June ruling that the law is unconstitutional. City Commissioner Nick Fish was there to watch the verdict, along with representatives from the Portland Business Alliance—which has pushed […]
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Perlman Arrested for Defacing Recall Petition
Lee Perlman, the man accused of defacing a Recall Sam Adams petition, was arrested today on a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief in the third degree. Volunteers Gaye Harris and Joe Favata were getting signatures in the parking lot of the Albina Community Bank in northeast Portland on August 6 when Perlman approached them and […]
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New Documentary On City’s Secret List
Tiffany Kimmel and Taimi Arvidson at the University of Oregon have produced a first class exploration of the city’s secret list program. We first started examining possible constitutional issues in the Mercury last year. Here’s the documentary: There’s also a feature article on the program at the university’s website. I prefer the video, personally: It’s […]
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“GLAD U R OK N HE ISN’T.” County Settles Stake In Chasse Case But Troubling New Details Emerge
“There is a lot of positive energy that has developed out of this tragedy,” said Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler this morning, discussing the county’s unanimous vote to settle the County’s role in the death of James Chasse, jr for a record $925,000. Meanwhile, the Chasse family’s attorneys filed documents yesterday in their ongoing case […]
Posted inPolitics
John Kroger On Sam Adams At City Club
Attorney General John Kroger spoke at length at city club today. I’d encourage you to listen to his entire speech at 7pm on OPB, because Kroger devoted the majority of his time to advocating for better drug treatment in the state. Kroger plans to convene a task force to create a 10-year-plan to improve the […]
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County Settles Stake In Chasse Lawsuit for $925,000
Multnomah County will vote next week on whether to settle its portion of the James Chasse lawsuit for $925,000. As far as the Mercury can tell, that’s a record high settlement in Portland for an excessive force/death in custody suit: The city paid $600,000 to the family of Damon Lowery in 2005 (he died in […]
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Kroger: Not Enough Evidence To Prosecute…
Conflicting statements made by Beau Breedlove about his conduct with Sam Adams, and Breedlove’s acceptance of money to appear in Unzipped magazine would have most likely compromised any criminal prosecution of Adams, said Attorney General John Kroger at today’s noon press conference. KROGER: TOOK QUESTIONS FROM A PACKED PRESS GALLERY IN SALEM… The specific “conflicting […]
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Council Has More Secret List Chat
Evidently content to ignore sound legal strategy by discussing its secret list program publicly, city council went ahead and discussed more details at last week’s council session. There’s still the threat of a class action lawsuit hanging over the head of the program, and the more council goes on record about it, the better for […]
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Deputy DA Arraigned On DUI Charge
Deputy District Attorney Lucy Heil was arraigned and pled not guilty this morning on DUI and reckless driving charges. Heil was arrested on April 29, en route from a party attended by fellow attorneys and court staff to raise cash for the courthouse’s childcare program. Her measured blood alcohol level on arrest was confirmed at […]
Posted inCourts
Ruling Opens Door For Secret List Lawsuit
The City of Portland’s controversial secret list program may or may not be constitutional. That’s the upshot of a ruling in Multnomah County Circuit Court this morning that could leave the door open for a class action civil rights lawsuit by more than 400 people who have been affected by the list since 2003. JUDGE […]
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Portland’s Other Gay Witch Hunt
I met this morning with two victims of what seems to have been a very real gay witch hunt that took place on Portland State University campus late last year. WITCH HUNTED: Taylor Vineyard (left) and his husband, Andy Klaus… Vineyard was “arrested” and handcuffed by PSU campus security last October after a witness, Andrew […]