Category Archives: Judicial Dept.

Challenges put PCC’s student rules in legal crosshairs

Inspired by a friend’s experience, Eastern Oregon prisoners want court to force college to go through state rules process. In 2014, Portland Community College student Leasa Sherman didn’t like a grade she received in a class and she stumbled on school rules trying to get the grade changed. Sherman felt the college treated her unfairly, […]
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Portland criminal defense attorney suspended for 1.5 years

The Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday ordered Portland criminal defense lawyer Gary B. Bertoni suspended from practicing law for a year and a half, citing “a pattern of disregard for the interests of his clients.” The state’s high court issued its opinion after Bertoni appealed a February 2017 sanction – a one-year license suspension – […]
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Is peeing in public a crime? Not under state law, Oregon Court of Appeals says

The Oregon Court of Appeals on Wednesday threw out the misdemeanor conviction of a man caught peeing next to a building in downtown Portland, saying he was prosecuted under a frequently used state law that shouldn’t apply to public urination. Source: Is peeing in public a crime? Not under state law, Oregon Court of Appeals […]
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Editorial: Police reports are not exempt from disclosure

The Woodburn Independent, a weekly newspaper in a community about the size of Redmond near Salem, scored a victory in the Oregon Court of Appeals Thursday. The paper sought arrest records from city police, and after the request was denied, lost both in the district attorney’s office and Marion County Circuit Court. Wrong, said the appeals court. […]
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Thurston High shooter Kip Kinkel seeks U.S. Supreme Court review of his nearly 112-year sentence

Kipland P. Kinkel, who fatally shot his parents before killing two students and wounding 24 others at Thurston High School 20 years ago, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review his nearly 112-year prison sentence. Kinkel, now 36 and an inmate at the Oregon State Correctional Institution, submitted his own typed petition to the […]
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Law clerks gain experience in Deschutes courtrooms

Law students work on real cases. Like a lot of people, Garrett Kampf was scared the first time he went before a judge. “There’s no amount of studying or sitting in a classroom that can prepare you for that initial appearance,” said Kampf, a University of Oregon law student who worked this summer as a […]
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Suspended Judge Vance Day takes misconduct case to U.S. Supreme Court

Claiming Oregon courts denied him due process and violated his freedom of religion and speech, former Marion County Judge Vance Day is appealing his three-year suspension for misconduct to the U.S. Supreme Court. In an amicus brief filed on his behalf, the Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund argued that the Oregon Supreme Court intentionally “targeted” Day because of […]
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Corporate Close-Up: No Property, No Payroll, No Problem for the Oregon Department of Revenue

The Oregon Supreme Court (“the Supreme Court”) has ruled that out-of-state banks derived income from sources in Oregon despite the absence of property or payroll in the state, and as a result, were subject to Oregon corporate income tax. The Supreme Court also upheld the Oregon Department of Revenue’s assertion of corporate income tax liability […]
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Cromwell takes judge’s seat

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has tapped prosecutor Laura Cromwell to replace Jackson County Circuit Judge Patricia Crain, a drug treatment court pioneer who will retire Aug. 31. Cromwell, a senior deputy district attorney, is the first member of the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office to be assigned specifically to cases involving defendants with mental health […]
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Oregon Supreme Court: Yes, bank that made millions off Oregonians does owe corporate taxes

The Oregon Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that businesses must pay taxes on income they earn in the state, even if they don’t have a physical presence in Oregon. Capital One acknowledged its credit card and consumer loan affiliates, based in Virginia, charged Oregonians nearly $150 million in fees in 2007 and 2008 and sent 24 […]
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