Oregon’s bail requirements violate the constitutional right to bail
Historically, bail referred to a deposit of money or property with the court to ensure attendance at a future court date. That’s it. It included a promise to appear in court, but no other promises, and did not permit seizure of bail other than for failure to appear, so bail could not be applied to fines, costs, violation of a release agreement or unrelated judgments. Modern bail includes...
Read MoreWould you rather trust Edward Snowden or the NSA?
As you know, unless you’re living under a rock, Edward Snowden is a former National Security Agency contractor who released records relating to the NSA’s PRISM project. Although PRISM’s scope remains obscure, it appears that the NSA has been mining all sorts of data from big tech and communications companies. That data surely includes so-called ‘metadata,’ which is information about...
Read MoreYou can’t go home again - release conditions and no-contact orders
The criminal-justice system is scrupulously protective of some rights, such as the right to counsel or the right to a jury trial. The trial process is as long and involved as it is because of the importance of protecting those rights, especially the ones in the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments (including counsel, jury, and confrontation) and Article, Sections 11 and 12 of the Oregon...
Read MoreYou should not plead guilty just because you’re guilty.
I can’t count how many times I’ve had a client tell me that “I just want to go in and plead guilty, because I really did do it.” You should resist this temptation, at least until you speak to a criminal defense attorney. I understand why a criminal defendant might feel guilt or remorse and want to just admit everything to the judge. It’s a very bad idea. Most criminal cases are...
Read MoreHow to get bail in an Oregon criminal case
New clients often start out by asking me how they can get out of jail and get back to their families and their jobs. Deciding whether to go to trial and how to prepare a defense may be more important, but it is less immediate, so everyone wants to start by working on bail. It’s easy to get a hearing in front of a judge on bail, but it is harder to persuade a judge to set a bail amount that...
Read MoreDon’t be too zealous in Marion County
Criminal defense attorneys Andy Simrin and W. Keith Goody have been accused of contempt in Marion County for over-zealous advocacy of a death row inmate. Marion County Circuit Court Judge Jamese Rhodes entered an order removing Mr. Simrin and Mr. Goody as counsel for convicted murderer Gary Haugen, and, when Mr. Simrin and Mr. Goody filed a petition in the Oregon Supreme Court arguing that the...
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