Conrad Wilson

A ruling by a federal judge targets those in custody without attorneys, leaving thousands of Oregonians charged with crimes to navigate legal hearings and the court system on their own.

“The problem is institutional, and it is statewide,” U.S. District Court Judge Michael McShane wrote.

The League of Oregon Cities has joined with police and prosecutors in calling on state lawmakers to re-criminalize drug possession when they convene in Salem starting in February.

Oregon Gov. Tina Koteck named Mike Reese, a longtime leader in Portland-area law enforcement, to serve as the next director of the Oregon Department of Corrections.

Tony Klein was convicted of sexually abusing numerous women while he was a nurse at Oregon's only prison for women.

Attorneys with the Oregon Department of Justice say a case that cuts at the heart of the state’s overwhelmed public defense system – and that’s currently before the Oregon Supreme Court – could be moot because the attorney at the center of the debate has left his job. But they’ve stopped short of asking the justices to toss out the case.

Mustafa Kasubhai has served as a federal magistrate in Eugene since 2018 and is seeking a lifetime appointment as a U.S. District Court judge. Throughout the hearing, Republican Senators focused less on his judicial record and philosophy and more on comments he’s made outside of the courtroom about race, diversity and gender.

Oregon State Hospital staff left a patient unattended in a van with keys in the ignition on Aug. 30, which allowed the patient charged with attempted murder to drive off and lead police on a chase along Interstate 5, according to a report from federal regulators.

Public defenders say they're being assigned too many cases to do their jobs effectively. The question of whether judges can force them to take on more cases is before the state's Supreme Court.

A group of public defenders from Marion County asked the Oregon Supreme Court whether trial court judges can force an attorney to take an indigent defendant’s case. The justices will have to balance the legal protections for a person charged with a crime against the ethical obligations of a public defender.