Oregon’s restitution laws need reform
Over the last ten years or so, the legislature has changed the statutes relating to restitution. Restitution refers to a criminal defendant’s obligation to pay the victim for the economic harm caused by the crime. Restitution was once intended to be primarily a part of the punishment, and the judge had the discretion to impose reduced restitution, or no restitution. Now, restitution is intended...
Read More‘Victim’s rights’ should include the right to lenience.
Over the last twenty years, the ‘victim’s rights’ movement has fueled major changes in criminal law. Oregon victim’s-rights law permits a victim to attend judicial proceedings and to obtain information about the process. Further, as a practical matter, the prosecutor will typically consult with the victim about plea-bargaining, at least if the victim wants to be consulted. There’s a...
Read MoreOregon Court of Appeals permits prisoner to sue over illegal prison term, rejects discretionary-immunity claim
In Westfall v. Oregon, ___Or App___, ___P3d___ (slip opinion dated 12/29/2011), the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s ruling dismissing a prisoner’s lawsuit about the incorrect calculation of his prison term. As a result, the prisoner will be allowed to proceed with his lawsuit against the prison for unlawfully extending his sentence. The opinion is interesting for two reasons....
Read MoreEducation or prison? Measure 11 skews our spending priorities.
I routinely try to convince a judge to be lenient; it’s part of my job. I’m opposed to Measure 11 because it’s vindictive and not tailored to individual defendants. But I’m also opposed to it because it’s expensive and not cost-effective. Mandatory minimum sentences, and extremely long sentences, and the outrageously-expensive process for imposing the death penalty, are lousy...
Read MoreOnly a crazy person would plead insanity
The insanity defense has a reputation as a loophole that lets serious criminals wriggle out of the criminal justice system into a relaxing stay in a cushy hospital. That image is a little tarnished; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest isn’t quite a documentary, but it definitely has some realistic elements. In Oregon, an insanity disposition is worse for most people than an ordinary conviction. A...
Read MoreWhy Can Misdemeanor Sentences be Worse than Felony Sentences?
Why doesn’t a one-year sentence for a misdemeanor violate Oregon’s proportionality clause, Or Const, Art I, sec 16? The general rule is that a sentence for a lesser crime is disproportionate if longer than the worst possible sentence for some greater crime. See e.g., Cannon v. Gladden, 203 Or 629, 281 P2d 233 (1955). Felonies of crime-seriousness (“CS”) 1 and no departure factors cannot...
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