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T he P o r u a n i ) O bserver • J uly 9, 1997
Extortion trial opens
Woman charged in Cosby paternity case
claims to have passed lie detector test
Lawyers for Autumn Jackson, the
woman charged with trying to extort
millions o f dollars from Bill Cosby
by claiming to be his out-of-w ed­
lock daughter, clashed with pros­
ecutors Monday over a question that
will not go away: Is he her father?
After the first day o f jury selec­
tion, a defense lawyer for Jackson
rose and told Judge Barbara Jones o f
U S. District Court that “as o f this
weekend, Miss Jackson has taken a
lie detector test and passed a lie de­
tector test on the issue o f whether
Bill Cosby is her father.”
The lawyer, Robert Baum, made
his declaration to try to bolster his
defense o f Ms. Jackson, who is on
trial with two other defendants on
charges o f conspiracy and extortion.
Jones has ruled that the issue o f
C osby’s paternity is irrelevant in the
case, but defense lawyers have indi­
cated that they will show that Jack-
son believed she was the actor’s
daughter and that that explains the
activity that the governm ent has la­
beled extortion.
The decision to have Ms. Jack-
son take a polygraph was intended to
counter any attempt by prosecutors
to use as evidence an earlier refusal
by Jackson to submit to a polygraph.
The U.S. attorney’s office has said
that she would not take a polygraph,
even though that was a provision of
a purported deal she was negotiating
with The Globe tabloid newspaper.
She later faxed an unsigned copy o f
the Globe contract to C osby’s law­
yer. Prosecutors contend that she
was not serious in her dealings with
The Globe but used the document as
a “prop” in her extortion o f Cosby.
Polygraph evidence is highly
controversial in courts and generally
not admitted, and the judge took the
matter under consideration.
The heated clash between the
defense lawyers and federal pros­
ecutors brought to an end an other­
wise quiet day o f jury selection.
While the selection process was not
completed, the judge said she was
Unemployment
Payments Increase
The amount paid to Oregonians
filing for state unemployment in­
surance has increased slightly.
According to the Oregon Em­
ploym ent Department, the state
agency that administers the unem ­
ployment program, the maximum
weekly payment rose to $329, while
the minimum amount is now $77.
The change affects new unem ­
ployment insurance claims filed
on or after June 29.
Under Oregon Law, each year
the Employment Department re­
calculates the maximum and mini­
mum amounts paid weekly to those
filing for unemployment benefits.
The amounts are set as percent­
ages o f the average weekly wage
earned by Oregonians. The mini­
hopeful that both sides might present
their opening statements to a jury in
the U.S. Courthouse in M anhattan as
early as Tuesday afternoon.
As jury selection progressed, Ms.
Jackson’s mother, Shawn Thom p­
son, defended her daughter in hall­
way conversations with reporters.
“My daughter was not trying to
extort money from her dad,” Ms.
Thompson said. “This case is ridicu­
lous. She was trying to get what
rightfully was hers.”
Ms. Thompson, who had accom ­
panied her 22-year-old daughter from
California for the trial, was not per­
mitted into the courtroom because
she may be called as a witness. The
prosecution has said that it has tapes
o f Ms. Thom pson trying — after
receiving a phone call from Cosby’s
law yer— to telephone her daughter
and “dissuade her from persisting in
extorting Cosby.”
The question o f the adm issibil­
ity o f those recordings and others at
the trial was also debated Monday.
mum unemployment figure is 15
percent o f average weekly wage,
and the maximum amount is 64
percent.
B o th d o lla r a m o u n ts are
rounded down to the nearest dol­
lar as required by law.
The new payment amounts are
up slightly from those paid over
the past year.
The maximum payment over
the past 12 months had been $314,
with a $73 minimum payment.
Those with existing unem ploy­
ment claims will continue to re­
ceive the same weekly amount.
Move increases Tri-Met security
To enhance Tri-M et security in
Old Town/Chinatown and along the
Portland Transit Mall Portland Po­
lice Bureau’s Tri-M et Transit D ivi­
sion and the Tri-M et Security D e­
partment will relocate headquarters
to Old Town/Chmatown in July.
Tri-M et will lease space from the
City o f Portland at Northwest First &
Davis. The move will place officers
next to the Old Town/Chinatown
MAX Station and near the Portland
Transit Mall. The improved location
will help officers increase patrols
and reduce response time to MAX,
the Mall, the Rose Quarter, the Lloyd
District and the Central Business
District.
The location near the Mall will also
give passengers and the community bet­
ter access to the transit officers and Tri-
Met Security Department. Transit offic­
ers will continue to work closely with
Central Precinct.
Wayne Newton performs to a sotd-out
crowd ¡above) and tribal elder Ed Ben is
dressed in traditional costume (right) as
Chinook Winds m Lincoln City celebrates
their first year anniversary.
(Photos by Yvonne Lerch)
Coastal tribes celebrate
center anniversary
Chinook Winds
carries many
tribal benefits
They have come a long way.
In 1855, a group o f Oregon
tribes and cultures consolidated
on a "coastal reservation” o f 1.1
million acres to become the Con­
federated Tribes o f Siletz.
Many challenges came their
way. They lost recognition by the
government in 1956. But through
perseverance secured the Siletz
Restoration Act in 1977. won the
Reservation Act in 1980 and fi­
nally in 1994, put 11 acres in Lin­
coln City into trust.
And through this perseverance
the Siletz have made great strides
Many programs for tribal mem­
bers have been created, including
efforts in education, child welfare,
housing improvement programs,
social services, an elders Title 6
program, alcohol and drug pro­
grams and natural resources.
The Siletz have created pro­
grams and activities to benefit lo­
cal non-profit and charitable orga­
nization. And perhaps, most im­
portant, the tribes have integrated
mainstream life with their spiritual
and cultural values.
Now marks the one year anni­
versary o f Chinook Winds Siletz
Tribal Gaming and Convention
Center, a I 59.000 square-loot fa­
cility for gaming, conventions,
children's arcade and play area.
gift shop, oceanview restaurant,
buffet dining room and show
room. The center is especially
proud o f its professional and
friendly staff and fantastic chefs.
Chinook Winds has improved
the economic viability o fthe tribe
as well as Lincoln City.
“The strength ofthe Siletz Tribe
lies not only in your vision for the
future, but in the value o f the
past," said Siletz leader Delores
Pigsley, adding "The values o f
your past have given you the in­
ner strength to look with confi­
dence to the future.”
Chinook Winds is bringing the
Siletz Tribe and Lincoln City on
its way to complete political, so­
cial, economic and cultural re­
covery.
The connection is still strong.
The roots o f African Americans in
this country are deep. They have
toiled for hundreds o f years for their
rightful place in American society.
Throughout the times o f struggle, it
was by maintaining family connections
that they persevered.
Their endurance was strengthened
by the determination inherited from
parents, grandparents and great-
grandparents and is a testimony to
their heritage. They understood
injustice and overcame countless
obstacles to build a solid foundation
fo r to d a y 's y o u th .
A link to history is nurtured by a
c o n n e ctio n to fa m ily roots.
At U S W EST”, we recognize the
importance o f learning and sharing the
history o f African Americans. We help
families share their history by providing
the best telecommunications products
and s e rv ic e s a v a ila b le a n y w h e re .
This way, your family connections are
always maintained - across the miles,
over the years - throughout history.
lirm / e s t ®