Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (May 19, 2021)
The BulleTin • Wednesday, May 19, 2021 A13 OREGON | U.S. SUPREME COURT DECISION LEGISLATURE Advocates to keep fighting nonunanimous convictions More than 200 found guilty by split juries in Oregon still will seek to have convictions overturned BY ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press SALEM — Advocates for over 200 people found guilty of crimes by Or- egon juries that weren’t unanimous said Monday that they will keep fighting to have the convictions va- cated after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that those people don’t need to be retried. The high court made that decision Monday after barring convictions by nonunanimous juries a year ago. Oregon and Louisiana were the only two states that had allowed such con- victions. Now, juries everywhere must vote unanimously to convict. The high court’s 2020 decision affected defen- dants who were still appealing their convictions but not those who had exhausted their appeals. The Criminal Justice Reform Clinic at Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland has been leading efforts in Oregon on behalf of pris- oners with no appeals left. Its direc- tor, Aliza Kaplan, said the clinic will keep at it despite the new Supreme Court ruling. “So we just keep proceeding as we were, which is through our state court system. Our state courts ... are not bound by any federal test,” Ka- plan said in a telephone interview. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said her office is care- fully reviewing the high court’s Mon- day decision. “My office remains committed to reviewing every case presented to us that involves a request for a new trial ... and will be working expeditiously on a plan for addressing these cases going forward,” Rosenblum said. Kaplan said the nonunanimous jury system was based on Oregon’s racist past and that such convictions disproportionately affected people of color. Of the 226 cases with no appeal remaining that the law clinic knows about, 17% involved Black petition- ers in a state where Black people make up only 2% of the population. In 1934, voters decided to amend the state Constitution to allow split- jury verdicts — a decision fueled by white supremacy and anti-minority sentiment. First-degree murder con- victions still required a unanimous verdict. Digging back into old cases will often be problematic. One of the oldest Oregon cases with a nonunanimous conviction and no appeals remaining is a defen- dant who was tried in 1983, accord- ing to Laney Ellisor, staff attorney with the Criminal Justice Reform Clinic. “All the attorneys on his trial case have passed away,” Ellisor said. The judge and court reporter are both in their 70s and don’t remem- ber it, Ellisor said. All the transcripts have been destroyed. CHARLES GRODIN • 1935-2021 ‘Midnight Run’ star known for offbeat roles Wait.” On Broadway, he starred with Charles Grodin, the droll, offbeat Ellen Burstyn in the long-running actor and writer who scored as a 1970s comedy “Same Time, Next caddish newlywed in “The Year,” and he found many Heartbreak Kid” and later other outlets for his talents. had roles ranging from Rob- With bone-dry understate- ert De Niro’s counterpart in ment, Grodin could steal en- the comic thriller “Midnight tire scenes with just a look. Run” to the bedeviled father His commitment, whether in the “Beethoven” come- acting across De Niro or Miss dies, has died. He was 86. Piggy, was unsurpassed. In Charles Grodin his many late-night appear- Grodin died Tuesday in in 1982. Wilton, Connecticut, from ances, he once brought a bone marrow cancer, his lawyer with him to threaten David Letterman for defamation. son, Nicholas Grodin, said. (The lawyer instead took a shine to Known for his dead-pan style and everyday looks, Grodin also appeared Letterman.) Hosting “Saturday Night Live,” he pretended to not understand in “Dave,” “The Woman in Red,” “Rosemary’s Baby” and “Heaven Can live television, ruining all the sketches. Associated Press Steve Martin, who co-starred with Grodin in 1984’s “The Lonely Guy,” remembered him as “one of the fun- niest people I ever met.” In the 1990s, Grodin made his mark as a liberal commentator on ra- dio and TV. He also wrote plays and television scripts, winning an Emmy for his work on a 1997 Paul Simon special, and wrote several books hu- morously ruminating on his ups and downs in show business. Actors, he wrote, should “think not so much about getting ahead as becoming as good as you can be, so you’re ready when you do get an op- portunity. I did that, so I didn’t suffer from the frustration of all the rejec- tions. They just gave me more time.” AP file A bill that would prohibit coyote-hunting contests in Oregon has failed for the third time. 3rd try to ban coyote hunting contests fails BY MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press An attempt to ban coyote hunting contests in Oregon has failed for the third time after a key legislative com- mittee didn’t take action on the bill. House Bill 2728, which would have prohibited killing of coyotes in com- petitions for cash or prizes, passed the House 32-14 last month but has now died in the Senate Energy and Envi- ronment Committee. The committee did not schedule a work session on HB 2728 by the Fri- day deadline for keeping legislation alive. Proponents of the bill argued that it would stop a cruel and counterpro- ductive practice while still allowing ranchers to protect their livestock. “It is past time we put an end” to this vestige of a bygone era of non- fair chase wildlife management, said Rep. Brad Witt, D-Clatskanie, refer- ring to the “fair chase” ethical stan- dard of hunting without unfair ad- vantages. Such coyote-killing contests are dif- ferent than hunting competitions or fishing derbies in which participants vie to obtain the largest antlers or fish within bag limits, he said before the House floor vote. Killing coyotes on a large scale also doesn’t result in meaningful popula- tion control of the predators because since they typically respond by accel- erating reproduction, Witt said. However, the bill would not have limited hunting coyotes for popula- tion control, he said. “Problem an- imals or not, coyotes may still be hunted or shot year-round, just not for contest money or prizes.” Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane, said he disagrees with the characterization of coyote hunting contests as wasteful slaughter. The pelts are collected and used to raise money for good causes, while the average number of coyotes killed by a competitor is less than one, he said. The contests also bring a surge of tourism to remote parts of Oregon during the wintertime, Owens said. While the science shows that con- tests aren’t a long-term way to reduce coyote populations, the competitions do serve an intermediate purpose due to their timing, he said. “They allow the dispatch of some coyotes around calving grounds and are historically done when the cows begin to calve,” Owens said. SAVINGS EVENT SAVINGSEVENT Mattresses Chofa Just $549 Recliners Sofas Sectionals Bedroom Sets Lift Chairs SALE ENDS MEMORIAL DAY From $699 Dining Sets Accessories Swivel Glider Recliner Just $549 FREE Foundation or FREE Pillows with Purchase FREE DELIVERY & SPECIAL FINANCING AVAILABLE* *Subject to credit approval. See store for details 2071 S. Hwy 97, Redmond 541-548-2066 • www.wilsonsofredmond.net • 63485 N. Hwy 97, Bend 541-330-5084
