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3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2018 Labrador saves man from sex conviction ‘Lucy’ found in Gearhart By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press SALEM — The discov- ery of a black Labrador named “Lucy” in Gearhart led to the unraveling of a criminal case Monday against an Oregon man who had begun serving a 50-year prison sentence. Joshua Horner, a plumber from Redmond, was convicted on April 12, 2017, of sexual abuse of a minor. In the trial, the complainant testified Horner had threatened to shoot her animals if she went to the police about the alleged molestation, and said she saw him shoot her dog and kill it to make his point. Six months after a jury con- victed Horner in a verdict that was not unanimous, he asked the Oregon Innocence Project for help. The group took up his case. When the group raised con- cerns in April about the case with Deschutes County Dis- trict Attorney John Hummel, he agreed to work with them. Horner had insisted he never shot the dog. Finding the dog would show the complainant had lied under oath. But if it was alive, where was it? Jenny Coleman/Oregon Justice Resource Center The black Lab named ‘Lucy’ at McMenamins Gearhart Golf Links in Gearhart. Josh Horner with his wife, Kelli, after a hearing in Bend on Monday. An Oregon Innocence Project volunteer and an offi- cial from Hummel’s office searched for it. The black Lab had reportedly been given away. The investigators were sniffing on the trail, but they had trouble tracking down the purported dog’s owner. “They made a couple trips around Deschutes County; he was not there,” said Steve Wax, legal director of the Ore- gon Innocence Project. “We heard he was in Seattle. Then we learned he had a place on the Oregon Coast.” It was there, in Gearhart, that the pair finally found Lucy truthful when testifying, the district attorney said. “Lucy the dog was not shot. Lucy the dog is alive and well,” Hummel’s office said in a statement. Hummel told the court Monday he’s not certain that Horner did not sexually abuse the complainant, but that he’s now not convinced he did. The Associated Press is not naming her because it typically does not identify alleged victims of sexual abuse. Deschutes County Judge Michael Adler dismissed the case. Horner, in a statement Lisa Christon after her owners agreed to ren- dezvous at a golf course. “She was drinking a bowl of water and sitting in shade underneath a porch. We played with her. Petted her. It was wonderful,” said Lisa Chris- ton, the Oregon Innocence Project volunteer. Lucy was identified by an undisputed chain of custody and her looks. “She’s a very distinc- tive-looking black Lab; not purebred. She’s got this ador- able shaped head and really long ears,” Christon said. That key evidence showed the complainant had not been released by the Oregon Inno- cence Project, thanked the group, his family, friends and Hummel. “Kelli and I are ready to pick up the pieces of our lives,” Horner said, referring to his wife. The couple came out of the courthouse Monday holding hands and smiling. Horner had walked out of a state prison in Pendleton in August after the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed his con- viction and ordered a new trial. The appeals court said the defense had not been allowed to present certain evidence that was unrelated to the dog. Now, Horner no longer faces that second trial. He declined a request for an inter- view, saying he is not ready to speak with the media yet After Lucy was found, the complainant failed to attend a meeting in August to discuss her testimony, Hummel said. Last Wednesday, one of his investigators heard she was at a home near Redmond. When he pulled up to the driveway, she ran away. Horner had been indicted under a previous district attor- ney, but the trial and convic- tion came under Hummel’s watch. Hummel said in an email the issue of the dog being shot was raised for the first time during the trial, so there was no investigation to be done regarding it prior to trial, “and we had no credible reason to question the statement after it was made.” He said exonerations are a reminder that while the U.S. has “the best system of justice in the world it is not perfect. Mistakes will be made and we should be judged by how we respond to them.” Wax, who was Oregon’s former top federal public defender for 31 years before joining the Oregon Innocence Project, said the case is highly unusual. “To be able to establish that a person should not have been convicted, you need some- thing objective,” Wax said. “In most child sex abuse cases, there is no evidence. Finding Lucy alive showed the com- plainant lied under oath in her testimony.” It was the first exoneration for the Oregon Innocence Proj- ect, launched in 2014 to exon- erate the wrongfully convicted and promote legal reforms. Wax praised Hummel for his willingness to re-examine the case. “Nationwide, what Mr. Hummel did was unusual,” Wax said. “It is to be com- mended. It should be the model.” State sued for withholding proposed legislative concepts Documents behind bills are typically released By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau Portland business lawyer Greg Chaimov is suing the state to force the release of proposed legislative concepts that have routinely been released as a public record in years past. Chaimov, who provides pro- posed legislative concepts to his business clients, claimed state officials are improperly deny- ing release of the records based on a new state practice of claim- ing attorney-client privilege. He suggested that the new practice might be politically motivated by the gubernatorial election. Gov. Kate Brown is in a close race with state Rep. Knute Bue- hler, a Bend Republican. The state Department of Administrative Services in May notified agencies that the legisla- tive concept forms — a prelim- inary laundry list of legislation agencies might propose during legislative sessions — would be temporarily exempt from dis- closure until legislative counsel submits bill drafts to Brown’s office for final approval. The deadline for submission is Nov. 30, “well after the Novem- ber general election,” accord- ing to the six-page lawsuit filed Wednesday in Marion County Circuit Court. Three officials with the Independent Party of Oregon announced Monday that they are considering joining Chai- mov’s lawsuit. “We are concerned that this dramatic change in pol- icy is primarily a political deci- sion to prevent public disclo- sure of legislative concepts that could be damaging to the gov- ernor’s re-election effort,” said Rob Harris, co-chairman of the Independent Party. “Especially during an election, there is a strong public interest in disclo- sure of the administration’s leg- islative priorities. We believe that good government practice should trump political consider- ations and call on the governor to reverse this decision.” Chris Pair, the governor’s communications director, said that the advisory on release of the forms “was in no way influ- enced by the election.” “The assertion does not pro- hibit state agencies from dis- cussing the legislative ideas they are proposing or releas- ing the public records, such as emails, associated with them,” he said. Asked which public official spurred the change, Liz Craig, a spokeswoman for the Depart- ment of Administrative Ser- vices, responded: “This doesn’t necessar- ily represent a change in prac- tice (We have instructed agen- cies similarly in the past). As with any public records request, we treat them individually and make decisions about potential exemptions on a case-by-case basis. In this case, the decision was made by DAS in coordina- tion with the governor’s office — it is not attributable to any one person.” The form requires agency officials to identify a problem or issue and propose a policy to address or resolve it. The gov- ernor then approves or disap- proves the proposals. The con- cepts that are approved go to the office of legislative counsel for drafting into proposed bills. This year’s form includes a paragraph that states: “Although it is expected that agencies will have discussed legislative con- cept ideas with stakeholders, agencies are directed to treat this document as confidential and privileged and, accordingly, not to share the text of this form outside of state government before legislation is drafted and finalized.” Chaimov was the chief leg- islative counsel for the Legisla- ture from 1998 to 2004. In that capacity, he oversaw the writ- ing of proposed bills into legal language. Since 2010, Chaimov, now an attorney with the firm Davis Wright Tremaine, has routinely received copies of the records. He provides copies of the forms to business clients and other interested parties, according to the lawsuit. Chaimov requested the forms from the governor’s office in July. The office responded by saying it did not have the records. He then sub- mitted a public records request to the Department of Adminis- trative Services, and that agency WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 denied the request, citing a state exemption based on attor- ney-client privilege. He appealed the denial to Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s office, which denied his appeal in August. Craig said the advisory to state agencies to withhold the forms was based on attor- ney-client privilege. “This decision was recently upheld by the attorney general when she denied a petition for dis- closure of these records,” Craig wrote in an email to the EO Media Group/Pamplin Media Group Capital Bureau on Monday. In an opinion provided with the denial, Frederick Boss, dep- uty attorney general, wrote that attorney-client privilege requires three elements: express- ing the intent that the informa- tion remain confidential, the cli- ent is in the process of seeking professional legal advice and the communication is between a client and their lawyer. Chaimov asserted in the law- suit that attorney-client privilege is nonexistent between the leg- islative counsel and the gover- nor’s office and the Department of Administrative Services. He cited an Oregon statute that pro- hibits legislative counsel from representing any state agency other than the legislative branch. The attorney general is the exclusive legal counsel for the executive department of state government, Chaimov said. The Capital Bureau is a col- laboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. 2018-19 | 29TH SEASON COLUMBIAFORUM September 18, 2018 • 6 p.m. The Blob, El Niño and Climate Change: Looking for a Hot Time in the Pacif ic Northwest? Much of the oceanic and atmospheric conditions that have occurred in the Pacific Northwest recently have been quite warm. Speaker Nick Bond’s talk will address those events considered in the long-term context of the past and future climate of the region. Some effects will also be discussed, with examples ranging from the marine ecosystem to human health, including efforts to improve predictions of climate variations and their impacts. Nick Bond University of Washington College of Atmospheric Sciences Nick Bond is a principal research scientist with the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean of the University of Washington and affiliated with NOAA. A Climatologist for Washington since 2010, Nick’s research focuses on the weather and climate of the Pacific Northwest and it’s link between the climate and marine ecosystems of the North Pacific. Classical Series Presents Portland Chamber Orchestra Maestro Yaacov Bergman “The Eight Seasons” Works by Vivaldi & Piazzolla S ATURDAY , S EPTEMBER 22 ND , 2018 R ESERVED S EATING $20/$30/$40 T ICKETS 503-325-5922 X 55 WWW . LIBERTYASTORIA . ORG Columbia Forum Sponsors: • The Daily Astorian • OSU Seafood Laboratory • Cannery Pier Hotel & Spa • Craft 3 • KMUN-FM COLUMBIAFORUM 2018-19 Next: The Blob, El Niño and Climate Change: Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. • RSVP by: Sept. 14 For reservations, to become a member or be added to contact list: Contact Holly Larkins at 503-325-3211x227 or forum@dailyastorian.com Forum to be held at (new location): Chef Chris Holen’s NEKST EVENT 175 14th St., Ste 100, Astoria Foot of 12th St. Use back-in parking
