Criminal Justice

Lawmakers in the state of Washington are going into special session hoping to avert a crisis over the decriminalization of drugs.

An incident in which a Portland police officer used deadly force is under investigation after the officer struck a man in the head with a shotgun while responding to a report of a stolen car. Police said the man, identified as 32-year-old Brian Bruman, was reaching under a car seat when the officer struck him. Police said they later found a replica gun in the car. Officers had already removed a knife from the vehicle prior to the use of force.

Oregon lawmakers convene the 2023 legislative session in January, and leaders from both major parties say that improving the criminal justice system – specifically the severe shortage of public defenders – is among their top priorities. And there's precious little daylight between prosecutors and defense attorneys on the issue either.

Oregon is once again being sued over the state’s troubled public defense system that’s left hundreds of people facing criminal charges without the court-appointed attorneys that they’re entitled to under the U.S. Constitution.

Three years after being charged for their role in a Portland brawl, the trial for three far-right demonstrators with histories of violence on the city’s streets began on Monday.

The largest public defense firm in Washington County announced it would halt taking most new clients starting next week, citing high case loads as well as an attorney shortage. At the same time, a judge in Multnomah County dismissed three felonies, including a domestic violence charge, because the state could not provide a public defender to take the case.

Just days into Oregon’s 35-day legislative session, emotions surrounding Senate Bill 1511 have run high, with prosecutors and crime victims largely testifying against the legislation. The bill could vacate convictions for several hundred people found guilty by nonunanimous juries, which the U.S. Supreme Court has found unconstitutional in criminal cases.

According to the Office of Public Defense Services, more than 45 people who qualify for a public defender don’t have one. As of Friday, 19 were in custody on pre-trial offenses. While the pandemic is partly to blame, public defenders argue the system has long been under-staffed, overworked and inefficient.

The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has been convicted of helping lure teenage girls to be sexually abused by the late Jeffrey Epstein.

Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges Friday morning in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The teen was on trial after he shot three people, killing two, during a protest in August 2020. Thousands of miles away, Portlanders reflect on what this says about the criminal justice system.