V
PORTLAND OBSERMER
Volume XVII, Number 11
January 21, 198/
250
Black Leadership Conference
Accuses Goldschmidt of
Snubbing
by Jerry Garner
The Black Leadership Conference is accusing Governor Neil Goldschm idt
of ignoring them and o f not honoring the promises he made to the organi
zation during the campaign.
During a meeting held last Saturday at Vancouver Avenue Baptist
Church, Ron Herndon, co chair of the Black Leadership Conference, said
the group is disappointed at the lack of respect shown by Governor Gold
schm idt "G oldschm idt made com m itm ents to us in March. He promised
to consult w ith us in rogards to making appointm ents and decisions w hich
w ould a ffect the Black com m unity "
Herndon said the Black Leadership Conference has made several at
tem pts to contact Goldschm idt, but their phone calls and letters to him
have been ignored
G oldschm idt responded to the group •. criticism by denying making any
campaign com m itm ents to them. " I d o n ’t think they have been treated
any differently from anybody else If it isn't good enough, I apologize It's
no attem pt on our part to h id e ."
w ;
P h o to by R ich a rd J B ro w n
R o o se ve lt R o b in s o n — D e p u ty D is tric t A tto rn e y
Roosevelt Robinson —
Multnomah County Deputy
District Attorney
by Jerry Garner
Since 1978, Mr Roosevelt Robinson has been em ployed as a M ultnom ah
County Deputy District A ttorney As a prosecutor, he has handled all types
of criminal cases including homicides, robberies, assaults, and other maior
felonies As a Senior Deputy, he has w orked in the Career Criminal Unit,
prosecuting dangerous repeat felons In 1984 he ran unsuccessfully for
M ultnom ah County Circuit Court Judge
Mr Robinson earned his J D degree from N orthw estern School of Law
Portland. Oregon, 1976, and a B A degree in Sociology, cum laude from
the University of Portland in 1970
A fter passing the bar, Mr Robinson began to practice law in private prac
tice, handling cases in w orker's com pensation, dom estic relations, busi
ness, real estate, personal iniury, civil rights, and criminal defense, in state
and federal courts
He left private practice and |oined the M ultnom ah
County District A tto rn e y' Office in 1978
Mr Robinson said although he en|oyed w orking in private practice as an
attorney, being a prosecutor is more secure "Each profession has its ad
vantages The advantage o f being in private practice is that you fiave a
greater variety of cases that come before you In contrast, being Deputy
District Attorney, you are basically dealing w ith criminal cases all the time
However, when you are in private practice, you must have a certain amount
of capital to run a good law office One must have an office staff to get
all of your typing and research done, buy office supplies, pay your rent and
malpractice insurance Unless you have the money to meet these expen
ses you m ust charge your clients more or you are constantly w orried
m onth to m onth about them The latter makes it d iffic u lt to practice your
craft ”
Robinson said the job of Deputy District A ttorney is very com petitive
"For every one or tw o openings, there may be 30 applicants w ho apply
A fter applying for the |ob, potential employees must go through a rigorous
screening process before they are hired. Each District A tto rn e y's Office
lias its ow n criteria for the type of people they are seeking
Robinson said those w ho are interested in becoming a District A ttorney
should take courses where they can use their minds in order to think about
different situations "T h e y should use more than rote mem ory (remem
benng w hat someone else has w ritten or reciting it to someone), but actual
ly try to determine what the basic reasons or the philosophical reasons Ire
hind a certain concept They should look at those types of courses and not
shy away from them
Furthermore, Robinson said, "th e y must be good readers, because in
law school one must do a lot of reaing of cases, plus they must possess a
reading process to analyze those cases. Classes such as philosophy and
logic are good classes to ta ke ." said Robinson Robinson said one must
also have excellent w riting skills in order to express themselves clearly
He she should pay particular attention to criminal law, constitutional law,
criminal procedures, and trial practices."
Robinson said another way to enhance one's chances o f getting employ
ed as a Deputy District A tto rn e y is by serving as a law clerk "O ne of the
easier ways to become a Deputy District A ttorney is to become a law clerk
for a particular District A tto rn e y's Office while still in law school This will
kind o f give you a foot in the door, and once you pass the bar, the odds
of gaming employm ent w ith that office are greater.”
Robinson said in. order to prosecute cases successfully, the District A tto r
ney's Office must w ork closely w ith the police "T h e relationship is very
im portant because w hen the police arrest an individual or gather evidence
against an individual it must be done properly so the evidence or inform a
non will not !»■ suppressed " He said evidence is suppressed when the
polii e condui t an improper search or fail to read a suspect his her Miranda
warning
"It is i rucial that the police and the District A ttorney Office
w ork closely together especially in the more complex cases such as homi
c id e ," said Robinson
In homicide cases, the District A tto rn e y's O ffice is generally involved
right from the beginning If the hom icide occurs at night, the District A tto r
ney is called at home and has the opportunity to visit the scene o f the tiom i
cide
He or she starts w ith the case from the beginning, and gets the
opportunity to view the autopsy and w atch the medical examiner go
through the process to determine the cause of death If there is any need to
carry out a search warrant, the District A ttorney s Office either carries out
such warrants or the Police Bureau does and the District A ttorney Office
reviews them Homicide cases are the only ones in w hich the District A ttor
ney's Office investigates
Robinson was asked how a prosecutor decides on bringing charges
against an individual He replied, "Basically, the police make the arrest and
forw ard a copy of the arrest report to our office W o then review the re
port If there is enough evidence, we issue an in fo rm a tio n, a nil w ith in 30
days we must take th«» case before a grand |ury. The District A ttorney'
Office has the final say whether a case w ill be issued or n o t."
One practice of the District A tto rn e y's O ffice w hich has draw n criticism
over the years is plea bargaining Plea bargaining is when an accused per
son pleads guilty Io the lesser charges W hen a defendant agrees to plea
bargaining, he or she bargains away their right to a trial in return for their
guilty ple.i and a more lenient punishm ent, if they were then found guilty of
the original charge Critics of the practice of plea bargaining say it subverts
the basic foundations of the system of criminal tustice and operates on an
im plicit assumption of guilt
Robinson said plea bargaining is a necessary part of the criminal |ustice
system " If we d id n 't get a lot of pleas, the criminal justice system w ould
grind to a halt Probably 85 90 percent of our cases end up in pleas We
only take about 10 15 percent o, our cases to trial It is impossible to try
all the cases that com e before us "
However, Robinson said that the District A tto rn e y' Office uses strict
guidelines in determ ining w hether to plea bargain a case. 'W e have guide
lines and policy mandates that each attorney in the office uses That policy
manual indicates cases that can and cannot be plea bargained
For in
stance, residential burglary, armed robbery, robbery com m itted in the se
cond degree w ith a simulated weapon, cannot be plea bargained."
In spite of his busy schedule as Deputy District A ttorney, Mr Robinson
still finds time to participate in com m unity and governm ental activities
He is a member o f the Boy Scouts of America D istrict Committee, member
of the Oregon State Bar, M ultnom ah C ounty Bar Association, Oregon Dist
net A ttorneys Association, A lum nus o f the National College of District
Attorneys, Board Mem ber o f the Equal Justice C om m ittee of the Metro
politan Human Relations Commission, founding member and vice presi
dent of the Association of Oregon Black Lawyers, and co founder and past
president of the M inority Law Students Association of Northwestern
School of Law
Mr Robinson was asked if he plans to run for judge again in the future
He relied, " I do plan to run again at a future tim e; at the appropriate time
for the right p o s itio n ."
R on H e rn d o n " L e t so m e ra cia l p ro b le m s b re a k o u t; th e y w o n 't
ha ve a n y tro u b le c o n ta c tin g fo lk s in th e B la c k c o m m u n ity ."
P h o to by R ich a rd J B ro w n
He said he found out only Monday that the group was trying to contact
him .
Herndon responded to Governor G oldschm idt'-, explanation by saying
that he was playing games "T o assume, pretend, all of a sudden that we
are suffering from amnesia, wo d id n 't hoar hirn say what he said to us when
ho spoke to us for tw o and a half hours last March, defies im a g in a tio n ."
The Black Leadership Conference's dissatisfaction of Goldschmidt has
been brow ing for some tim e The political organization sent a letter back
in October inform ing him of their disappointm ent at his office for "th e lack
o f respect and coordination during the campaign
Herndon also charged Governor Goldschmidt of excluding critical issues
facing the Black com m unity in part of his "Oregon Comeback P lan".
The Black Leadership Conference endorsed Goldschmidt during the p ri
mary and general election.
The Leadership Conference said they will focus on the fo llo w in g issues
during the 1987 Legislature health care, econom ic developm ent, educa
tion, and corrections.
Martin Luther King III Speaks At
Fundraiser Dinner for King Scholarship
The M artin Luther King, Jr Scholarship Fund of Oregon announces a
scholarship fundraiser featuring special guest speaker,
M a rtin L u th e r K in g III
w ith special appearance by Beverly W illiams, form er scholarship recipient
and currently w orking as a news anchorperson for CNN Cable News
netw ork
W e invite you to this banquet fundraiser on Friday, January 23, 1987,
at the W estin Benson Hotel, S W Oak St and Broadway. Portland, OR
Everyone is invited to no host cocktails in the Crystal Room at 6 30 p m.
at w hich pledge cards w ill lx» available Dinner w ill begin at 7:30 p.m in the
M ayfair Room
M artin Luther King III w ill speak fo llo w in g dinner.
M artin Luther King III will also appear on January 23 at Portland State
University, 12 2 p.m , and w ill conduct a free public lecture at Lewis and
Clark College beginning at 3:00 p m.
To order banquet tickets and obtain more inform ation, please call Mil
dred Jones. Executive Director, at M artin Luther King, Jr. S cholarship
Fund o f Oregon, 229 4475