Category Archives: Judicial Dept.

Panel OKs additional circuit court judge for Deschutes County

Deschutes County would get an additional circuit court judge under a bill approved Tuesday by the House Committee on Judiciary. House Bill 2239 would add circuit court judges throughout the state. Source: Panel OKs additional circuit court judge for Deschutes County;

Deschutes judge accused of ethics violation from 2014 lawsuit

A Deschutes County Circuit Court judge is facing ethics complaints alleging she was a friend of someone involved with a lawsuit heard in her courtroom in 2014. Beth Bagley is accused of failing to disclose a personal relationship and recuse herself in two separate filings last month — one a lawsuit in U.S. District Court […]
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Supreme Court next? Oregon ‘climate kids’ suit rejected

Oregon Appeals Court knocks public trust doctrine; Multnomah County seeks to file amicus curiae. The kids pushing state leaders to take action on climate change will address their pleas to the Oregon Supreme Court — after the students found the door locked at the Oregon Court of Appeals. Source: Pamplin Media Group – Supreme Court […]
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Group faces legal battle, files Supreme Court review to preserve natural resources in Oregon

Kelsey Juliana was born in Eugene. Her middle name, Cascadia, honors her Pacific Northwest roots. But, Juliana said, home is not what it once was. “We are seeing the effects of climate change first-hand as young people, growing up in the state of Oregon,” Juliana told FOX 12 at a press conference Friday. The environmental […]
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‘Sanctuary’ cities are getting their grants despite threats

About 18 months after the Trump administration threatened to withhold law enforcement grants from nearly 30 places around the country it felt weren’t doing enough to work with federal immigration agents, all but one have received or been cleared to get the money, the Justice Department said. Source: ‘Sanctuary’ cities are getting their grants despite […]
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Need court records? Redmond library to be first noncourthouse with free access

Library card will be all you need to view Oregon court system records. The Redmond branch of the Deschutes Public Library system will soon be the first place outside of a courthouse building where Oregonians may access state court records for free. Starting March 1, the Redmond Public Library, 827 SW Deschutes Ave. across from […]
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Talent developer still can’t build by railroad tracks

The Oregon Court of Appeals has rejected an attempt by a developer to bypass much of the usual state land-use process with an “expedited land division” request that sought to develop 26 acres on a hillside in the southern part of Talent. Developer Tony Nieto wanted to put 49 residences on a site west of […]
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Judge rules NORCOR can’t notify ICE of inmate releases but can house ICE detainees

A Wasco County judge ruled Friday that two immigration enforcement practices at the Northern Oregon Regional Corrections Center violate the state’s sanctuary law but upheld the jail’s contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The jail in The Dalles houses inmates for Wasco, Hood River, Sherman and Gilliam counties. But under an interagency agreement reached […]
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The Oregon Supreme Court Upholds the Legislature’s Reduction of Minimum Sentences Established By Ballot Measure

Prosecutors argued that lawmakers could only make such changes with a two-thirds vote. The court found a simple majority was sufficient. The Oregon Supreme Court on Jan. 31 upheld the legality of House Bill 3078, a bill lawmakers passed in 2017, and which in part reduced criminal sentences for property crimes specified in 2008’s Ballot […]
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Oregon Supreme Court Takes Step Toward Reforming State Sentencing Laws

The Oregon Supreme Court handed criminal justice reform advocates a victory Thursday—and potentially saved the state from having to build a new prison. In 2017, the Oregon State Legislature passed a law that eased sentencing rules around property theft. By shortening the length of sentences for those convicted of theft, the bill aimed to help […]
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