Comments on Oregon Criminal Law Dispute Resolution

Decided by the Supreme Court on December 31, 2009. In something of a companion case to Heckathorne, the Court held that a shopowner did not have a privacy interest in illegally-recorded survelliance tapes because the tapes were turned over to the police by the defendant’s employees after the employees watched the tapes. The Court cited federal cases from as far back as 1921 and held that the employees’ viewing of the tapes and description to the police of what was on the tapes removed the need for a warrant to be issued. DeMuniz and two other justices dissented, stating that prior jurisprudence in this area would dictate that the evidence should have been suppressed.

[This is one of many case summaries I hope to write about relevant criminal cases decided by the Oregon Court of Appeals and Oregon Supreme Court.]

In State v. Heckathorne, decided by the Supreme Court on December 31, 2009, the Court reversed the Court of Appeals and upheld the search of an opaque container that was giving off odors consistent with anhydrous ammonia. The Court relied on Owens and Herbert in deciding that the contents of a container may be revealed by the container’s “feel or smell”, and that training and expertise may turn it into PC for a search.

Well all that waiting was worth it. I found out on September 25 that I passed the bar exam, and I began my new job as a lawyer with the Umpqua Valley Public Defender the following Monday.

The job is really interesting. I already have two dozen clients, and am told that I’ll receive 20 to 30 additional cases per month once I’m up to speed. While the vast majority of clients end up taking some sort of plea bargain offered by the District Attorney, everyone we represent has the right to a jury trial if they chose that option, which means that I potentially could have two dozen or more trials in a month (though in practice, it will probably end up being more like six to 12 trials in a year.) My predecessor had zero trials in her 14-month tenure here, so whatever happens I’m likely to take more cases to trial in the next year than she did.

I work for a non-profit that contracts a specific number of criminal cases with the state of Oregon every two years. There’s a few other organizations, mostly private firms, that handle the extra workload, as our office is occasionally conflicted out of a particular case (for instance, if two people are accused of robbing a bank and a third is accused of being the getaway driver, our office could probably only represent one of those defendants.)

Today is the start of week 3 at the job. I’ve put my files in order and scheduled appointments with most of my clients. It’s difficult to prioritize my time so that I’m not frantic the day before a trial … it seems like the work is either super busy or nothing for a day or two, so I’ll need to learn how to balance the feast-or-famine time crunch. Oh, and on Thursday I was officially sworn in as a lawyer. I should be getting my bar number in the mail this week, which I will then put on all my legal documents and fellow lawyers will examine my number, note the ‘09 at the beginning and conclude I’m a newbie. Which I am, but I plan to learn fast.

It’s 8 a.m., and the sunlight is filtering through the east window by the kitchen, pink and orange and still rather sleepy. In a few minutes I’ll be waking up Charlie and taking him over to his grandparents for the day.

54 hours until I receive my bar results.

There’s something uncivilized about taking a 2 day, $1,000 test that determines your ability to practice law, then have to wait 8 weeks to be told whether you’ve passed or not, as you put your entire life on hold and wait.

I begin a job as a public defender in Roseburg on September 28, assuming that I pass the bar on Friday. Valerie and Charlie and I will begin a new chapter in our lives, as we look at buying our first house and finally put grad school completely behind us and start acting like normal people. It’s really exciting. But for the next 54 hours, it’s still a little worrying.