Criminal Justice + Policing
The big divide over guns and violence plays out in the Oregon Legislature
Oregon lawmakers heard civil but sometimes emotional testimony on Wednesday about firearms legislation to prevent gun violence and ban untraceable or detectable guns. Dozens testified, including Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt and representatives from the National Rifle Association. Advocates also spoke, with people representing the gun violence prevention group Moms […]
Oregon lawmakers propose measures to stem gun violence, stem ‘ghost guns’
Oregon lawmakers are pursuing a package of firearm bills aimed at preventing gun violence and curbing the proliferation of untraceable guns. They say the proposals are needed to stem gun violence and give law enforcement the necessary tools to address the issue. The Democratic lawmakers have the support of House Speaker Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, who […]
Oregon takes step toward letting people in prison vote
Oregonians in prison for felony convictions would regain the right to vote beginning in 2026 under a proposal that won preliminary approval from a legislative panel Thursday. Senate Bill 579 passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 3-2 vote, with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed. It now heads to the budget-writing Joint […]
Oregon legislation targets organized retail theft that cost businesses millions of dollars a year
Oregon retailers face sophisticated theft rings that steal goods – electronics, jewelry and other merchandise – and sell the items for illicit gains. A crime ring that repeatedly targets the same business can cost it tens of thousands of dollars in losses – or more. Thieves also pose a public safety risk by running through […]
Rape victims seek stronger voice in how Oregon classifies sex offenders
Oregon Republican lawmakers and victims of the notorious “jogger rapist” Richard Gillmore – who admitted to raping nine women and girls in the 1970s and 1980s – want to pass legislation that would give victims a voice when the state classifies sex offenders and determines the risk they pose to communities. In recent months, the […]
Towing companies make Oregon’s top 10 consumer complaint list
For the first time, consumers have put towing companies on the list of their top 10 complaints, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said Tuesday. She said the Oregon Department of Justice received 190 complaints about them in 2022, putting that industry seventh on the list. It provides insights into how Oregon consumers feel they are […]
State proposal would allow convictions to be overturned based on new science
Sometimes the job of legislating involves weighing not just one interest or two but a whole group of them, all competing against each other – even when the core issue seems simple. For example, Senate Bill 554. The background is that technology used in criminal forensics has been changing dramatically (think, for example, of advances […]
Could 2023 be the year Oregon restores voting rights to people with felony convictions?
A coalition of civil rights groups stymied in their attempts over the past two years to expand voting rights to Oregonians serving time for felony convictions believe 2023 could be the year they succeed. Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, has scheduled Senate Bill 579, which would restore voting rights to about 12,000 currently incarcerated people, for […]
Federal-state task force grapples with grid protection
A federal task force wrestled with the costs and benefits of better shielding the nation’s tens of thousands of electric substations from a growing number of attacks, like a neo-Nazi plot the FBI says it foiled earlier this month in Maryland, another that knocked out power to thousands in North Carolina in December and more […]
Oregon Attorney General launches criminal probe into state liquor regulators
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is launching a criminal investigation into state liquor regulators who diverted rare whiskeys for their own use. Rosenblum announced the criminal investigation Friday, two days after Gov. Tina Kotek asked her office for a civil investigation of ethics violations at the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, which holds a monopoly […]
Oregon Supreme Court denies request to enact gun control measure
The Oregon Supreme Court denied a request by Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum to allow Measure 114 to go into effect in a ruling on Thursday. The decision means legal challenges to the gun-control measure will move forward and all parts of the law will remain paused. In a press release Thursday, the state’s high court […]
Oregon lawmakers aim to address domestic terrorism and paramilitary activity
Oregon is a hotspot for domestic terrorism and paramilitary activity. Armed militia groups have taken over public land and terrorists have targeted the electric grid. State lawmakers are responding to such threats with two bills that would address an individual act of domestic terrorism and coordinated paramilitary activity. The proposals follow unrest in Oregon in […]