Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Americans have a broad right to arm themselves in public, striking down a New York law that placed strict limits on carrying guns outside the home and setting off a scramble in other states that have similar restrictions. An official with the gun industry’s top trade group stated, “The court has made clear that the Second Amendment right to bear arms is not limited to the home.” He continued, “That the burden is on the government to justify restrictions, not on the individual to justify to the government a need to exercise their rights.” The decisio ..read more

Oregon is a vast State with great natural beauty. And although our law firm is physically situated in Portland, we have had enormous success defending clients facing high-stakes prosecution for sexual assault, financial crimes, domestic violence, and many other categories, throughout the region, including those in Multnomah County, Washington County, and Clackamas County. However, we do more than focus on producing results for clients in our most populous counties. We are everywhere our Oregon clients need us, no matter how far their residences are from our Portland office, or their crimi ..read more

More than 15 months have passed since George Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020. Mr Floyd was ruthlessly murdered by former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, who has since been convicted of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Mr Floyd’s death has not only shaken the United States, but the whole world, as Mr Floyd’s murder was videotaped and circulated across the internet. Portland citizens quickly took to participating in anti-racism and anti-police brutality protests that lasted over 100 nights. Oregon has shown massive actions of change through such protests, and law enfo ..read more

The U.S. government recruited Proud Boys leader and organizer, 37 year-old Joseph Biggs, in an effort to gather key information regarding antifa protestors and networks. This was carried out just months before Biggs was charged with invading the U.S. Capitol alongside many other far-right extremist activists. Biggs allegedly agreed to supply prime information to FBI agents about extremist groups. Through frequent phone calls and meetings, data included the whereabouts, intent, and actions of the extremist activists. In return, Bigg’s requested Oregon federal law enforcement for advice on futur ..read more

Grant Williams, a man who spent 23 long years in prison as an innocent man, was finally released a couple weeks ago. Due to credible witness testimonies and new evidence, Mr Williams’ innocence was proven through statements that exposed multiple flaws in how law enforcement handled his case. In April of 1996, Shdell Williams’ had been fatally shot and killed outside his home in Staten Island by an individual with a Wu-Tang Clan hat. Mr Williams, then 25 years old, happened to be at the Wu-Tang Clan recording studio that same day, and was identified as the killer within just a few hours  M ..read more

Portland Police Officers Are Pulling Over Disproportionate Numbers of Black and Latino Drivers In an effort to track racial profiling among Portland police officers, the Portland Police Bureau has been tracking numbers of motorists pulled over based on race and ethnicity. The data reflects disproportionate numbers of Black and Latino drivers being subjected to unwanted attention by law enforcement During 2020, a much higher percentage of Black and Latino Oregonians were pulled over by traffic officers more than white drivers on city streets. Due to the pandemic, a stark decline of drivers mean ..read more

An ancient adage in the law proclaims “Justice Delayed is Justice Denied.” It took way too long, but the former West Linn police officers who took part in racist actions against Michael Fesser have finally received some measure of justice. Due to the wrongful and racially charged arrest of Mr Fesser in 2017, former West Linn Police Sgt. Tony Reeves and West Linn Police Chief Terry Timeus have officially had their police certifications permanently revoked. A unanimous vote just this Thursday amongst the Oregon State Board on Public Safety Standards & Training finally deemed these ex-police ..read more

After spending decades behind bars, two Black brothers were finally released from prison and were awarded $75 million after being wrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl, Sabrina Buie, when they were just teenagers. Leon Brown and Henry McCollum were arrested in 1983, remaining behind prison walls for nearly 31 years in prison, with one even receiving a death sentence, before their acquittal in 2014. An eight-person jury recently awarded Brown and McCollum $31 million each in compensatory damages, along with an additional $13 million in punitive damages. DNA evidence ..read more

Due to the unjust arrest of Michael Fesser, a Black Portland resident who had been wrongfully targeted by West Linn police in 2017, former police chief Terry Timeus and fired Sgt. Tony Reeves risk losing their official police certifications for life. West Linn police failed to properly investigate Fesser’s case, consisting of law enforcement’s inaccuracies to speak to critical witnesses and review all accessible evidence that could have quickly proven Fesser’s innocence. Fesser had been arrested on theft charges at an A&B Towing in an investigation led by Terry Timeus. Timeus carried out t ..read more

Oregon’s Expungement Law (ORS 137.225) provides a vehicle for people to erase convictions for certain felonies and misdemeanors, as well as arrests in cases that do not result in convictions. Our law firm frequently assists clients in seeking expungement. The expungement law has been amended many times over the last several decades. At times, the law has been broadened to make it more accessible. We are glad to see that Oregon Legislators are now taking steps to broaden the expungement law, shorten some of the waiting periods, and eliminate some of the obstacles that have made it difficult for ..read more