Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 2017)
2A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017 Criminal justice changes a ‘tectonic shift’ for felony cases A switch to preliminary hearings By CONRAD WILSON Oregon Public Broadcasting For as long as almost every- one who works in Multnomah County’s court system can remember, the district attorney has used grand juries in felony cases. But starting this week that will change: District Attorney Rod Underhill will move away from grand juries, instead choosing to hold preliminary hearings. Driving the change is a new law aimed at creating more transparency in Oregon’s criminal justice system. Defense attorneys say the new system will give them a better sense of the state’s case against their clients. The shift is also leading to uncertainty and higher costs for the court system. “We in Multnomah County have three grand juries num- bered one, two and three that hear cases nearly every day and most hours of the day throughout the work week,” Underhill said last month on OPB’s “Think Out Loud.” Here’s how those grand juries work: The grand jurors are selected from a jury pool by a judge to serve for about 30 days. The seven county residents hear facts from wit- nesses and prosecutors on a range of cases, from drug and property crimes, to assaults and murders, Underhill said. Grand jurors don’t hear from the defendant or their lawyer. “They’ll ultimately be asked to vote on whether to move the case forward, move the charges forward or not,” Underhill said, “or make ‘Oregon’s citizens must have confi dence in their criminal justice system — particularly when the state charges someone with a felony.’ District Attorney Rod Underhill adjustments relative to the charging decisions.” But much of that changed Monday with the adoption of preliminary hearings. Lane Borg, executive direc- tor of the Metropolitan Public Defenders, explained prelimi- nary hearings are like a mini- trial before a judge. “It’s a presentation before a judge in which the defen- dant appears, the prosecutor appears,” Borg said. “They present the evidence to the A man, woman and two pets were evacuated from a home on Lewis and Clark Road following a three- alarm fi re early Saturday morning. Fire personnel responded to the home on the 87000 block of the road shortly after 2:15 a.m. When they arrived, fi refi ghters evacu- ated a man from the balcony of the home and a woman who slipped and fell as she ran inside to collect belong- ings. Adding to the chal- lenge was a steep driveway on the property and a lack of a nearby water source, Gear- hart Fire Chief Bill Eddy said. Firefi ghters were fi nally able to contain the fi re after roughly two hours. “It was a very, very tricky one,” Eddy said. No injuries resulted from the fi re. The damage to the structure and other items in the homes is estimated to be between $90,000 and $120,000. Eddy said a wood stove chimney was the likely cause. The Daily Astorian The State Marine Board is mailing approximately 75,000 boat registration renewal notices to boaters whose boat registration expires Dec. 31. Boaters can renew online at boatoregon.com/store and print out a temporary permit. Other options include mailing the WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 50 44 40 ALMANAC Cloudy most of the time with a little rain 54 44 A thick cloud cover with a little rain New First Nov 18 Coos Bay 47/56 Full Nov 26 Dec 3 John Day 33/49 La Grande 32/46 Oct. 27, 2017 STEVENSON, Danielle and Chris, of Chi- nook, Washington, a girl, Elliet Rae Steven- son, born at Providence Seaside Hospital. Older Ontario 24/48 Bend 30/48 Burns 16/42 Klamath Falls 33/49 Source: Jim Todd, OMSI TOMORROW'S TIDES Astoria / Port Docks Time 10:02 a.m. 10:56 p.m. Low 2.6 ft. -0.6 ft. W s c pc c c pc pc c c c Hi 44 48 55 51 50 49 55 49 53 57 Wed. Lo 34 37 50 44 46 38 43 44 48 49 W c r r r r r r r r r City Olympia Pendleton Portland Roseburg Salem Seaside Spokane Springfi eld Vancouver Yakima Hi 45 44 50 51 50 51 35 51 48 41 Today Lo 33 29 39 42 38 42 27 39 39 29 W c pc c c c c pc c c pc Hi 47 46 48 53 51 50 42 52 47 45 Wed. Lo 38 38 42 47 45 45 34 46 44 35 W r c r r r r c r r r TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER NATIONAL CITIES Today Lo 57 40 28 20 27 29 54 13 74 32 25 49 57 47 72 44 65 38 34 40 35 26 51 39 41 REGIONAL CITIES Today Lo 23 30 48 36 43 33 37 40 45 46 W t pc pc sn pc pc pc pc c c pc pc pc c pc r s r c r c pc s r r Hi 64 48 47 55 49 48 68 28 86 49 49 72 75 54 86 56 77 50 46 53 52 53 66 49 52 Wed. Lo 50 36 34 25 31 32 45 18 74 31 29 51 56 42 73 40 58 39 29 37 34 35 57 42 40 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W c pc s s s s pc c pc s s s s c s c pc pc r pc s pc r r pc APPLIANCE AND HOME FURNISHINGS 529 SE MARLIN, WARRENTON 503-861-0929 IN YE TSOP C LA NTY C OU PUBLIC MEETINGS TUESDAY Port of Astoria Commission, 4 p.m., Port offi ces, 10 Pier 1 Suite 209. Seaside Library Board, 4:30 p.m., 1131 Broadway, Seaside. Miles Crossing Sanitary Sewer District Board, 6 p.m., 34583 U.S. Highway 101 Business. Seaside Planning Commis- sion, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. WEDNESDAY Cannon Beach City Council, 9 a.m., executive session, City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Astoria City Council, 9 a.m., work session on city goals, City Hall, 1095 Duane St. Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 5 p.m., work session and meeting, Judge Guy Boyington Building, 857 Commercial St. Warrenton City Commission, Warrenton Business Associa- tion, 5:30 p.m., joint meeting, City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave. Astoria School Board, 6:15 p.m., study session, 7:30 p.m., regular meeting, Capt. Robert Gray School third-fl oor board- room, 785 Alameda Ave. Wickiup Water District Board, 6:30 p.m., 92648 Svensen Mar- ket Road, Svensen. Estimated jackpot: $13,000 Monday’s Megabucks: 7-12-14- 18-26-34 Estimated jackpot: $2 million Estimated jackpot: $100,000 Monday’s Keno: 02-07-09-11- 14-25-36-38-42-44-45-49-50-53- 56-57-65-74-77-79 Monday’s Lotto: 01-03-05-19- 24-33 Estimated jackpot: $2.5 million Monday’s Match 4: 01-04-08-18 WASHINGTON Monday’s Daily Game: 3-0-8 Monday’s Hit 5: 08-10-16-23-34 OBITUARY POLICY PACKAGE DEALS Mattresses, Furniture & More! brother is Emmett Stevenson. Grandparents are Katherine and Ron Isom and Dave and Eija Ste- venson, all of Astoria, and Julio Perez of San Antonio, Texas. Nov. 4, 2017 BOONE, William Walter, 66, of Seaside, died in Seaside. Caldwell’s Funeral & Cremation Arrangement Center of Seaside is in charge of the arrangements. OREGON Monday’s Pick 4: 1 p.m.: 2-2-0-9 4 p.m.: 4-2-7-9 7 p.m.: 1-7-6-6 10 p.m.: 4-8-2-5 Monday’s Lucky Lines: 02-05- 10-14-19-24-28-29 APPLIANCE 3 A 0 RS Oregon State Police on the New Young s Bay Bridge and charged with driving under the infl u- ence of intoxicants, LOTTERIES Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. Over able Service presentations, an honor guard and service songs. There is a free spaghetti dinner after the program. For information, call 503-738-6651 or email sea- sideelks@yahoo.com DEATH Lakeview 26/48 Ashland 39/53 Hi 42 47 55 49 51 49 56 50 54 57 SEASIDE — Seaside Elks Lodge No. 1748, 324 Avenue A, invites all veterans, their families and the community to a Veteran’s Celebration at 6 p.m. Friday. Veterans who wish to may attend in uniform. The program includes speakers, patriotic music, a call to order, a Prisoners of War/ Missing in Action ceremony, Veterans of Oregon Honor- BIRTH Baker 23/44 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017 City Baker City Bend Brookings Eugene Ilwaco Klamath Falls Medford Newberg Newport North Bend The Daily Astorian DUII • At 11:08 p.m. Sunday, Tiffani Dawn Wil- liamson, 43, of Warrenton, was arrested by the Roseburg 42/53 Brookings 47/56 Tonight's Sky: Lyra, the harp, stands high overhead as darkness falls this evening. Hi 78 49 46 33 42 47 80 24 88 48 42 73 75 61 86 62 83 50 47 50 52 46 66 47 50 Prineville 31/50 Lebanon 39/52 Medford 37/55 UNDER THE SKY High 7.9 ft. 9.2 ft. Pendleton 29/46 Salem 38/51 Newport 45/53 and education materials. The Marine Board is funded by motorized boat reg- istrations, motorboat fuel tax and federal funding. Nearly 86 cents of every $1 are used for law enforcement, boat ramps, restrooms, parking, boarding fl oats, facilities engineering, design, boating education and program outreach. ON THE RECORD The Dalles 33/44 Portland 39/48 Eugene 36/51 Sunset tonight ........................... 4:53 p.m. Sunrise Wednesday .................... 7:07 a.m. Moonrise today .......................... 8:23 p.m. Moonset today .......................... 10:54 a.m. City Atlanta Boston Chicago Denver Des Moines Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Honolulu Indianapolis Kansas City Las Vegas Los Angeles Memphis Miami Nashville New Orleans New York Oklahoma City Philadelphia St. Louis Salt Lake City San Francisco Seattle Washington, DC Breezy with periods of rain Tillamook 42/51 SUN AND MOON Time 4:34 a.m. 3:47 p.m. 55 43 Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs. ASTORIA 40/50 Precipitation Monday ............................................ Trace Month to date ................................... 1.42" Normal month to date ....................... 1.87" Year to date .................................... 63.57" Normal year to date ........................ 48.09" Nov 10 SATURDAY REGIONAL WEATHER Astoria through Monday. Temperatures High/low ....................................... 50°/37° Normal high/low ........................... 56°/42° Record high ............................ 70° in 1923 Record low ............................. 30° in 1957 Last 54 43 Cloudy and breezy with a little rain Mostly cloudy FRIDAY payment coupon to the Marine Board or visiting a local reg- istration agent, who can also issue a temporary permit. The cost to register a boat is $4.50 per foot and a $5 aquatic invasive species fee. The Aquatic Invasive Species Pre- vention fund pays for inspec- tion stations, decontamination equipment, inspectors, signage Seaside Elks offer free dinner to honor veterans FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA TONIGHT he would move toward prelim- inary hearings. “I believe that Oregon’s cit- izens must have confi dence in their criminal justice sys- tem — particularly when the state charges someone with a felony,” Underhill wrote. “I also believe in responsible transparency.” Here’s how Waller inter- preted the letter: “(Underhill) felt that really if it’s about transparency, pre- liminary hearings where a defendant is at the hearing, represented by counsel with the opportunity to cross exam- ine any witnesses called to establish probable cause was the most transparent,” Waller said. Underhill will start with drug cases. By early next year, he estimates 85 percent of all felony cases will shift to preliminary hearings. That translates into roughly 3,000 cases. State reminds boaters to renew their registrations Two people evacuated from burning home By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian judge and the judge makes a determination about whether there’s suffi cient evidence to justify binding the person over to trial.” A new law the Legisla- ture passed this year requires grand juries be recorded. The law calls for Deschutes, Jack- son and Multnomah counties to start by March . The rest of the state’s counties must be in compliance by July 2019. State House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson, a Democrat for Portland, has sponsored the bill every year since she was elected in 2012. At a hearing at the state Capitol in March before the Senate Judiciary Commit- tee, Williamson explained that recording grand juries is about making certain prosecu- tors play fair. Most of the time grand juries indict a defendant. Williamson testifi ed that Oregon is one of very few states that rely on handwritten notes from grand jurors as the offi cial record. “For Oregon, the process to ensure equity and equality in the law and to uphold the most basic tenants of the crim- inal justice system, we must start with transparency,” she testifi ed. In June, before the law passed, Underhill wrote a let- ter to Multnomah County Presiding Judge Nan Waller. Underhill said that if transpar- ency was the goal of the bill, HOURS OPEN: MON-FRI 8-6 * SATURDAY * SUNDAY 10-4 We Service What We Sell The Daily Astorian publishes paid obituaries. The obituary can include a small photo and, for veterans, a fl ag symbol at no charge. The deadline for all obituaries is 9 a.m. the business day prior. Obituaries may be edited for spelling, proper punctuation and style. Death notices and upcoming services will be published at no charge. Notices must be submitted by 9 a.m. the day of publication. Obituaries and notices may be submitted online at www.dailyastorian.com/forms/obits, by email at ewilson@dailyastorian.com, placed via the funeral home or in person at The Daily Astorian offi ce, 949 Exchange St. in Astoria. For more information, call 503-325-3211, ext. 257. The Daily Astorian Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published daily, except Saturday and Sunday, by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503- 325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Daily Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 www.dailyastorian.com MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republication of all the local news printed in this newspaper. SUBSCRIBER TO THE NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. SUBSCRIPTION RATES Effective July 1, 2015 HOME DELIVERY MAIL EZpay (per month) ................$11.25 EZpay (per month) ............... $16.60 13 weeks in advance ........... $36.79 13 weeks in advance ........... $51.98 26 weeks in advance ........... $70.82 26 weeks in advance ......... $102.63 52 weeks in advance ......... $135.05 52 weeks in advance ......... $199.90 Circulation phone number: 503-325-3211 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by The Daily Astorian become the property of The Daily Astorian and may not be reproduced for any use without explicit prior approval. COPYRIGHT © Entire contents © Copyright, 2017 by The Daily Astorian. Printed on recycled paper
