Portland Criminal Law Blog

Oregon inmates may face long bouts of solitary confinement. Several state prison inmates with severe mental illness are held in solitary confinement every day. A recent lawsuit naming corrections officers at the Oregon State Penitentiary also claims that solitary confinement is being used as punishment unlawfully.

What are the effects of solitary confinement?

Going through a criminal trial in Oregon has been emotionally and mentally challenging. If an issue arose with the presentation of evidence, you may have felt devastated as you watched your case fall apart. In this case, you may naturally believe that if your trial had been fair, you would have prevailed, and so you prepare to file an appeal with the Oregon Court of Appeals.

While you do have the right to appeal your criminal conviction, the Oregon Rules of Appellate Procedure note that there is no guarantee that the panel of appellate judges will agree that the mistake made resulted in an unfair outcome. In your appellate brief, you must present your argument in clear, concise language, along with the trial records that support your claim. Your brief will be countered by the prosecutor's answering brief, so your argument must be well-prepared. 

If you are worried about how your criminal record will affect your life in Oregon, you may have done some research on expungements in hopes of reducing some of the long-term consequences. At the law firm of David J. Celuch, we understand that although applying for an expungement can be complex, for many people it is a life-changer.

The Oregon State Bar explains that there is generally a waiting period between the time that the arrest, charges or conviction appeared on your record and the time that you can have this mark erased. This ranges from one year to 10 years, except in the case of dismissed charges or an acquittal. In either of these situations, you can have your record expunged immediately, as long as the following is true:

• Law enforcement has not arrested you for an offense other than a traffic violation in the last 10 years
• You have not received a nontraffic conviction in the last 10 years
• No other conviction on your record has been expunged in the last 10 years
• You are not currently under prosecution for an offense

Few (if any) people in Portland go out thinking that they will end up attempting to drive drunk. Yet oftentimes, they may place themselves in situations where they feel as though they have no choice. There may be no malice intended in their actions; rather, they may simply be looking to return home safely. Unfortunately, whatever level of impairment they may be experiencing may not make that possible. The hope, then, is that if they are involved in an accident, no one else suffers due their decisions. 

Sadly, that was the case when a Philomath mother allegedly made that very choice. In the car with her were her eight-year old and five-year old daughters. While investigators have yet to reveal the circumstances of her accident, it is known that she was involved in a horrific crash in which both she and her older daughter were seriously injured. The youngest girl was not so lucky; she was killed in the accident. Authorities are continuing to investigate the accident; they have also arrested the mother and charged her with both manslaughter and driving under the influence.