Law

A federal lawsuit accusing the City of Portland, Emanuel Legacy Hospital and Prosper Portland of conspiring to destroy a previously thriving Black neighborhood can move forward. A U.S. District Court judge recently denied a motion to dismiss the case.

A trial gets underway Tuesday in Yamhill County Circuit Court that could result in current and former Newberg School District board members paying out financially for what parents allege were violations of Oregon’s public meeting laws that cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in severance pay and legal fees.

The decision was handed down by Circuit Court Judge Robert S. Raschio, the presiding judge in Harney County in rural southeast Oregon.

Clark County recently authorized the creation of a new public defenders office to handle felony criminal cases instead of contracting out public defense for indigent clients.

The $88 million lawmakers set aside this spring is on pace to run out by next summer, advocates said.

A ruling by a federal judge targets those in custody without attorneys, leaving thousands of Oregonians charged with crimes to navigate legal hearings and the court system on their own.

Police and sheriff's departments around Oregon ay they want authority to arrest people who use and possess drugs as a way to steer them to treatment.

Attorneys with the Oregon Department of Justice say a case that cuts at the heart of the state’s overwhelmed public defense system – and that’s currently before the Oregon Supreme Court – could be moot because the attorney at the center of the debate has left his job. But they’ve stopped short of asking the justices to toss out the case.

Mustafa Kasubhai has served as a federal magistrate in Eugene since 2018 and is seeking a lifetime appointment as a U.S. District Court judge. Throughout the hearing, Republican Senators focused less on his judicial record and philosophy and more on comments he’s made outside of the courtroom about race, diversity and gender.

Washington County Chief Deputy District Attorney Bracken McKey was on “administrative leave” effective Monday, according to the county.