by Mark Wilson
An Oregon federal court held that a sentence that prohibits a juvenile offender’s possible release until he is 88 years old violates the Eighth Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause because it denies a “meaningful opportunity” for release.
The Eighth Amendment requires a state to ...
by David Wilson
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a 14-year-old Tennessee detainee’s solitary confinement, mental health care and sexual abuse claims.
J.H. suffers from Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS). This disease manifests in psychiatric symptoms, including abrupt ...
by Mark Wilson
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a Pennsylvania man’s federal false liens convictions. The court concluded that 18 USC § 1521 is not unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, and the evidence was sufficient to convict him.
Clarence Hoffert is serving a 15- to ...
by Mark Wilson
This isn’t just an issue of economics,” said Oregon Senator Sara Gelser, the chief sponsor of a bill prohibiting jail and prison telephone contract kickbacks that passed nearly unanimously. “This is really about the humanity of the people that are in our prisons and the ability of ...
by Mark Wilson
An Oregon prison guard’s 37-year career came to an inglorious end when he was caught stealing $10,881 from the Department of Corrections by falsifying his time cards. After a failed attempt to dismiss the prosecution as being racially motivated, the guard pleaded guilty and paid back his ...
by Mark Wilson
On September 25, 2019, a federal jury in Oregon ordered Multnomah County jail officials to pay $125,000 to a deaf man for refusing to accommodate his disability while he was in custody.
David Updike, 52, was born deaf and communicates through American Sign Language (ASL). He never ...
by Mark Wilson
The Oregon Court of Appeals held on July 31, 2019 that first-class mail is insufficient to allow a mailing date to serve as the filing date for a notice of appeal.
The timely filing of a notice of appeal is a jurisdictional prerequisite for an appeal under ...
by Mark Wilson
Michael Barton was sentenced to a six-year prison term by the Jackson County Circuit Court in April 2017, for second-degree robbery of a bank. Surveillance video immediately called his mental state into question when it showed Barton waiting politely while bank employees not only collected the ...
by Mark Wilson
On July 22, 2019, Oregon joined 22 other states and the District of Columbia in eliminating life without parole sentences for prisoners who committed their offenses as juveniles. The state enacted quite possibly the most progressive and broad juvenile justice reforms in the nation, ending the state’s ...
by Mark Wilson
In a case of first impression, the Oregon Court of Appeals held that entering a passcode into a smartphone is testimonial in nature and subject to the self-incrimination protections of Article I, § 12 of the Oregon Constitution and the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. ...
