Sex offenses are particularly severe, but are often characterized by weak prosecution cases. When I think my client is factually innocent, the state’s case is weak or the choice to prosecute looks vindictive or unjust, the charges are most often for ugly sex crimes.
Proof problems that would lead the DA to dismiss a robbery charge, or offer a good plea bargain, don’t prevent sex charges from going to trial. Further, a lot of people would agree to plead guilty to DUII even if they think they are innocent, but few people are willing to plead guilty to a sex crime that they didn’t do, especially when the evidence is he-said/she-said with no physical corroboration. The result is that there are a lot trials in sex-crime prosecutions. With Measure 11, convictions for sex offenses can carry life sentences, and the long sentences mean it’s more likely to be worthwhile to appeal or seek collateral review.
If you or a family member are facing such charges, or have already been convicted, give me a call. You need a lawyer who will listen to your side of the story, look for the weaknesses and inconsistencies in the state’s case, and fight hard to get you the best outcome possible. I’m glad to answer your questions and help you understand the system and the risks you face, and help you decide what to do.
Should rapists have parental rights?
I just saw this article from the Courthouse News Service about the ugly fallout of the rape, and resulting pregnancy, of a 14-year-old girl. The 20-year-old rapist has been convicted and placed on probation for 16 years. He has also been ordered to admit paternity and to initiate proceedings in family court, apparently to set child support and maybe even visitation. The victim brought suit, asking the Massachusetts courts not to force her to participate in legal proceedings involving her rapist. It is deeply troubling to order a 14-year-old...
read moreOregon’s age of consent needs to be changed.
Oregon’s sex-crime laws, which appear with other “person” crimes in Chapter 163 of the Oregon Revised Statutes are a bewildering mess. In addition to rape and sodomy (sex without consent) there is sexual abuse (sexual touching without consent) unlawful sexual penetration (just what it sounds like) child-pornography offenses, and contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor. Some of those offenses make sense as they are. Rape and sodomy are of varying degrees of seriousness depending on the victim’s age and whether there was force,...
read moreGrey rape, and when no means no.
This issue seems to cycle in and out of the public consciousness, maybe in response to a stupid comment by a politician (remember Todd Akin?), or a heated debate between blogs as summarized in this Slate XX blog entry. Those debates, which I can remember having in a course on the philosophy of sex and love in college, only permit black-and-white answers like “no means no” when they aren’t about real situations with the blurry and contradictory facts that come out of real rape cases. Saying that ‘no’ means ‘no’ isn’t much help...
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 listing of the major Oregon victim’s-rights laws at http://law.lclark.edu/live/files/4971-oregon. The push for victim’s rights law came from the...
read moreIn Post-Conviction Relief appeal, Oregon Court of Appeals will consider actual-innocence claim
I represent in a post-conviction relief appeal a fellow who was convicted of sex offenses ten years ago. The victim of the offenses has since come forward to deny that my client committed the offenses; rather, she was persuaded to accuse my client by a relative who disliked my client. In the post-conviction trial court, the state moved to dismiss, arguing that post-conviction relief is not available for a claim of actual innocence. The trial court agreed and dismissed, and I appealed. In front of the Oregon Court of Appeals, the state sought...
read moreNo ‘victim’ in rape trials?
A Georgia state legislator, Rep. Bobby Franklin, has introduced state legislation providing that the term ‘victim’ should not be used in rape prosecutions until after a conviction. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/georgia-republicans-bill-would-reclassify-rape-victims-as-accusers/. This is hardly a new fight. Criminal defense attorneys routinely argue that the term ‘victim’ is conclusory; there is no victim unless there has been a crime, and the point of a criminal trial is to decide whether there was a crime. To say that there is a...
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