July 14, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 3A
State OKs audio recording of grand jury hearings
Oregon one of
two states to use
handwritten notes
By Paris Achen
Capital Bureau
SALEM — The state Sen-
ate voted 21-7 Tuesday, July
4, to require audio recordings
of grand jury proceedings.
The bill modernizes the
state’s more than 150-year-old
handwritten record-keeping
process by requiring county
district attorneys to electroni-
cally audio record grand jury
proceedings and maintain and
store copies of the recordings.
“This bill will bring our
justice system into the 21st
century, but it’s about more
than that,” said state Sen.
Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene,
who has spearheaded similar
legislation for several years.
“We’re working on Indepen-
dence Day right now. July
Fourth is a beautiful day,
and it’s about freedom and
CAPITAL BUREAU
The state Senate passed a
bill mandating that grand
jury proceedings be record-
ed. The bill moves to the
House, where it is expected
to pass.
liberty. We have a chance to
ensure liberty, justice for all
and an opportunity to ensure
our criminal justice system
remains above all reproach.”
The bill heads for a vote in
the House later this week.
The requirement will be
gradually phased in for the
state’s 36 counties. The man-
date triggers in March for
Multnomah, Deschutes and
Jackson counties, all of which
have populations of 150,000
or greater. The state’s other 33
Grant given to search for
the wreck of the ‘Beeswax’
counties will have to start the
recordings by July 2019.
The bill provides about
$10 million for the cost of
purchasing electronic record-
ing devices and hiring staff to
manage the recordings in the
three counties. The Legisla-
tive Fiscal Office has noted
that there could be significant
costs to the state in the 2019-
2021 budget as the remaining
33 counties begin the record-
ings.
The prosecutor must pro-
vide a copy or transcript of
the recording to the defense
attorney within 10 days after
a defendant is arraigned on
an indictment. The defense
attorney is prohibited from
sharing the actual copy of the
recording with the defendant
and may not disclose personal
identifying information about
the victim, witnesses or grand
jurors to the defendant. The
recordings are otherwise con-
fidential.
Prosecutors also may re-
quest a protection order from
the court to redact certain in-
members Drew Wendeborn
and Jeff Groth will process
the data after each run.
The boat will operate
out of Garibaldi. The prin-
ciple investigator, Scott
Williams, will analyze the
survey results, and the pro-
cessed data will be uploaded
to the Oregon Archaeologi-
cal Records remote access
system. Remote operating
vehicle and archaeological
diving teams will investi-
gate the magnetic and sonar
targets later this year or next
year.
The Beeswax Wreck
Project survey team will
conduct training in Astoria
in early July and then wait
for a good weather period to
begin the search.
Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer,
who voted against the bill
formation they believe could
put a victim or witness in dan-
ger.
Sen.
Kim
Thatcher,
R-Keizer, said the bill’s main
weakness is it disallows hear-
say testimony by law enforce-
ment officers on behalf of wit-
nesses. The only exceptions
are for people with certain
disabilities and minors.
“I really wish we had kept
in protections for victims so
case officers could testify on
their behalf,” Thatcher said.
She said she voted against
the bill because she felt it was
rushed in the waning days of
session, which must constitu-
tionally end by Monday.
“I am all for recording
grand juries but we need
to proceed more cautiously
when it comes to the victims,”
she said.
Forty-eight states and the
federal court system already
electronically audio record
grand jury testimony.
Oregon and Louisiana
are the only two states in the
nation that still rely on hand-
written juror notes, rather
than audio recordings, as doc-
umentation of testimony in
front of grand juries.
“I have found that no mat-
ter how skilled or how ex-
perienced the note taker is,
there will be things that are
inaccurate or left out inad-
vertently,” said Prozanski,
a municipal prosecutor and
former assistant district attor-
ney. “As a felony prosecutor
in Lane County I wanted my
witnesses in front of the grand
jury because I wanted them
prepared to be able to testify
in public in front of the Cir-
By Capi Lynn
SALEM — Imagine re-
sorts carved into the coastline,
fences blocking access to the
beaches, and “no trespassing”
signs posted on trails to the
ocean.
We’ve never had to in Ore-
gon because we have free unre-
stricted public access to all the
state’s beaches.
Landmark
legislation
passed in 1967, known as
the Beach Bill, guarantees us
access that only Hawaii can
match.
Our 362-mile coastline is a
recreational playground, with
hiking, camping, fishing and
biking, surfing and beach-
combing opportunities galore.
It is one big viewing platform,
with enchanting beaches, se-
ductive headlands and glori-
ous vistas at every single turn.
Tom McCall, the 30th gov-
ernor of Oregon, signed the
Beach Bill into law on July 6,
1967. He described it as “one
of the most far-reaching mea-
sures of its kind enacted by any
legislative body in the nation.”
McCall was one of our most
influential governors, serving
two terms from 1967 to 1975.
He was known for his courage
and conviction that led to pro-
gressive legislation like this
bill, the Bottle Bill, and the SB
100 land-use law.
Oswald West set the stage
when he became governor in
1913. He declared Oregon’s
beaches to be a state highway,
the legislature backed him up,
and the first major protection
of public access was on the
books. When McCall signed
Alaina Giguiere
Marty Giguiere
Owner/Principal Broker
c: 503.440.3202
f: 877.812.1126
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Coastal Advantage
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the Beach Bill, he quoted West
for protecting our beaches: “No
local selfish interest should be
permitted, through politics or
otherwise, to destroy or even
impair this great birthright of
our people.” A state park south
of Cannon Beach is named af-
Egrane Brown
Susan Tone
Broker
c: 503.440.1648
e: egranebrown@gmail.com
Broker
c: 503.354.4072
e: suanetone@nehalemtel.net
Maryann Sinkler
Andrea Mace
Geri Lane
Broker
c. 503.440.9280
e: maryanns@remax.net
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c. 503-440-4024
e: Andrea.k.mace@remax.net
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Hilary Herman
Shelley Parker
Broker
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219 N. Hemlock in Downtown Cannon Beach 503.436.1777
430 Laneda in Downtown Manzanita 503.368.1777
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780 OAK ST
167 AMBER
ter Oswald West.
Alfred “Ted” Goodwin,
Oregon Supreme Court judge,
wrote the 1969 decision up-
holding the constitutionality of
the Beach Bill and declaring
that Oregon’s beaches should
remain public property.
239 N. Hemlock • Cannon Beach • 503.436.0208
NOW WITH 2 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU!
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cuit Court. This process opens
the grand jury process so that
we have a clear and accurate
record of what witnesses say
during the process, without
interpretation. It’s fair to pros-
ecutors and the defense.”
Clatsop County District
Attorney Josh Marquis, in a
guest column in The Orego-
nian in June, wrote that he
and other prosecutors would
likely reserve grand juries for
unusual cases if they must
be recorded. Prosecutors, he
said, would instead conduct
preliminary hearings, which
he said take more time and
could be costly for the state.
“Recording grand juries
will have a chilling effect
on justice,” Marquis wrote.
“What domestic violence vic-
tim will be willing to share
her story when she knows that
a recording of her statement
could be handed over to the
man who beat her or her chil-
dren just days earlier? Even
the most optimistic among
us know how tragically that
could end.”
Oregon’s landmark Beach Bill signed 50 years ago
Statesman Journal
The Preserving Ore-
gon Grant Program has
approved the Maritime
Archaeological Society’s
grant application to search
for the Beeswax Wreck off
the Oregon Coast. The soci-
ety will be awarded $6,600
to conduct remote sensor
surveys.
The society will search
the coastal waters between
Cape Falcon and Manzanita.
Astoria-based charter cap-
tain Bob Magie will pilot his
boat Sovereign during the
search. The team will tow a
magnetometer and employ
the boat’s structure-scan so-
nar. Eugene-based surveyor
Dave Wellman will provide
the magnetometer charter
service. Portland Society
‘I really wish
we had kept in
protections for
victims so case
officers could
testify on their
behalf.’
All brokers listed are licensed in the State of Oregon
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