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.
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Pendleton
Portland
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Seaside
Spokane
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Yakima
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TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER
NATIONAL CITIES
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REGIONAL CITIES
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Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
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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
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33
42
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24
88
48
42
73
75
61
86
62
83
50
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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.
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