by Mark Wilson
The Oregon Court of Appeals held that a warrant to search a criminal defendant’s phone violated the Oregon Constitution because it was insufficiently particular, and therefore invalid.
During a traffic stop, police arrested Sengdavanh Savath for Oregon drug and driving offenses. While searching his vehicle, officers discovered ...
by Mark Wilson
The Oregon Supreme Court held that the Legislature intended that if the state aggregates multiple identity thefts to serve as the basis for an aggravated identity theft, the identity thefts are lesser-included offenses of the aggravated identity theft and must merge for purposes of sentencing.
A person ...
by Mark Wilson
The Oregon Supreme Court vacated a man’s convictions on multiple crimes that were based almost entirely on the testimony of his accomplices, who had entered into cooperation agreements with the State. The Court affirmed the longstanding rule that accomplice testimony must be corroborated by “other evidence” and ...
by Mark Wilson
Departing from 50 years of precedent, the Supreme Court of Oregon held that Oregonians retain a constitutionally protected privacy interest in garbage that they leave at the curb for pickup under the state’s constitution. The Court also held that police improperly invade that privacy interest when they ...
by Mark Wilson
The Supreme Court of Vermont held that the state’s implied consent statute does not bar a voluntariness challenge to a breath test.
Every person who operates a motor vehicle on a Vermont highway is deemed to have given consent to an evidentiary breath test to determine blood ...
by Mark Wilson
The Supreme Court of Oregon held that an untimely post-conviction relief (“PCR”) action based on a new U.S. Supreme Court ruling is authorized under an “escape clause” to the statute of limitations. However, the Court then rejected the petitioner’s argument that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision applies ...
by Mark Wilson
The Oregon Court of Appeals held that a lower court improperly failed to suppress blood alcohol content ("BAC") evidence taken in violation of a defendant's constitutional right to remain silent.
Oregon police received information about someone driving erratically and the wrong way, nearly causing a head-on collision. ...
by Mark Wilson
The Oregon Supreme Court held that a lower court misapplied the prejudice prong of the ineffective assistance of counsel standard when it found petitioner’s claim “purely speculative” in the absence of “affidavits of Supreme Court justices regarding whether the court might have allowed review.”
In 2001, Melton ...
by Mark Wilson
“Officer Samson Ajir violated police directives, and common sense, by engaging in a dangerous foot chase upon entry upon a scene where Mr. Johnson was in a mental health crisis. Officer Ajir needlessly shot Mr. Johnson three times,” according to a federal wrongful death suit Johnson’s mother ...
by Mark Wilson
The Oregon Supreme Court held that a legislative reduction of voter-approved mandatory sentences for repeat property offenders that was passed by a mere simple majority was not invalid.
Since 1902, the Oregon Constitution has recognized a dual system of legislation and “two law-making bodies, the legislative assembly ...
