Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
showdown with commissioner dwyer
i think that lane county commissioner bill dwyer broke the law today when he threatened to assault me.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Swarthmorons
SWARTHMORE — Swarthmore College students condemned the alleged actions of Swarthmore alumnus George M. Zinkhan III, the University of Georgia marketing professor suspected of shooting and killing his wife and two colleagues at a picnic Saturday. Zinkhan, 57, graduated from Swarthmore College in 1974 with a degree in English literature.
Hmmm. I disagree. The ONLY other "tenured professor at a Research I University who committed murder" also has an undergraduate degree from Swarthmore.
Can you name that felon?
Bob Rescorla and Marty Seligman went to Swarthmore I think.
Marty Seligman tortured dogs to advance his career. Marty Seligman is the little eichmann of the canine world.
A good nickname for Marty Seligman is "not-so-little eichmutt."
The more I think about it, the harder it is for me to imagine Dr. Zinkhan having an undergraduate degree from anywhere BUT Swarthmore! (In contrast, I believe the Ph.D. from Michigan is a fluke.)
Hmmm. I disagree. The ONLY other "tenured professor at a Research I University who committed murder" also has an undergraduate degree from Swarthmore.
Can you name that felon?
Bob Rescorla and Marty Seligman went to Swarthmore I think.
Marty Seligman tortured dogs to advance his career. Marty Seligman is the little eichmann of the canine world.
A good nickname for Marty Seligman is "not-so-little eichmutt."
The more I think about it, the harder it is for me to imagine Dr. Zinkhan having an undergraduate degree from anywhere BUT Swarthmore! (In contrast, I believe the Ph.D. from Michigan is a fluke.)
today's shtick
I interrupted myself TWICE in my 180 seconds at the Lane County Board of Commissioners. The first time, Commissioner Bill Fleenor was chitchatting with Commissioner Bill Dwyer. The second time, Administrator Jeff Spartz is blathering to a blond woman whose name I do not yet know.
jour de mitzvah
Monday, April 27, 2009
sirhan zinkhan
From August, 2001-June, 2003, I doled out pork for profs at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Virginia. Bob O’Connor and I managed the peer-review, evidence-based process that determined how we would allocate the bulk of the ~$5 million a year the United States government spends subsidizing academic research on Decision, Risk and Management Science.
The DRMS program is one of the most interdisciplinary programs in the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate of the National Science Foundation and has been interdisciplinary for ~25 years. Historically, the DRMS program had two co-chairs. One was a psychologist or economist with expertise in Judgment and Decision Making such as my predecessor, Sandy Schneider a student of Lola Lopes or my successor, Jon Leland, an economist who taught at Carnegie Mellon. The other was a member of the risk analysis community and typically was an engineer with expertise in operations research. Bob is a political scientist whose expertise is in “risk communication.”
I consider myself a member of an academic tribe that was created by a collaboration between the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The American father of the field is Ward Edwards, a mathematical psychologist at the University of Michigan who introduced psychologists to The Foundations of Statistics by Leonard Savage. The Israeli fathers are Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman who were intrigued by a mystery (their students were Israeli military pilots who were selected to be highly competent and intelligent but they got seemingly “simple” questions wrong) and came up with a simple, clever and powerful way to “solve” it. Tversky received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1964. He taught at Hebrew University in the late 1960s, as did Kahneman. Paul Slovic and Sarah Lichtenstein also received Ph.D.s from the University of Michigan around that time and founded Decision Research in Eugene. DR is a spinoff of Oregon Research Institute which is a spinoff of the University of Oregon Psychology Department where I taught from 1988-2001.
The “decision psychology/behavioral economics” tribe was officially recognized in October, 2002 when Dr. Kahneman, a professor of psychology at Princeton University was awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
Most members of my tribe teach in business schools instead of psychology departments because the salary and perks are so much greater. Some teach in Management Departments and some teach in Marketing Departments (e.g., UT-Austin Julie Irwin, UPenn Wharton Steve Hoch, Columbia Eric Johnson, UO Marian Friestad and Peter Wright).
The atrocious behavior of Dr. Zinkhan made me wonder whether the decision psychologists who teach in Marketing Departments are different from decision psychologists who teach elsewhere. I can’t imagine a decision psychologist I have ever met doing anything like what Dr. Zinkhan did. No self-respecting Bayesian would assign a probability of zero to a hypothesis like “what are the chances a decision psychologist will emulate George Zinkhan” so I guess I’d have to say p(h is true)<.00001 and the marketing folks are on the left side of the distribution.
The DRMS program is one of the most interdisciplinary programs in the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate of the National Science Foundation and has been interdisciplinary for ~25 years. Historically, the DRMS program had two co-chairs. One was a psychologist or economist with expertise in Judgment and Decision Making such as my predecessor, Sandy Schneider a student of Lola Lopes or my successor, Jon Leland, an economist who taught at Carnegie Mellon. The other was a member of the risk analysis community and typically was an engineer with expertise in operations research. Bob is a political scientist whose expertise is in “risk communication.”
I consider myself a member of an academic tribe that was created by a collaboration between the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The American father of the field is Ward Edwards, a mathematical psychologist at the University of Michigan who introduced psychologists to The Foundations of Statistics by Leonard Savage. The Israeli fathers are Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman who were intrigued by a mystery (their students were Israeli military pilots who were selected to be highly competent and intelligent but they got seemingly “simple” questions wrong) and came up with a simple, clever and powerful way to “solve” it. Tversky received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1964. He taught at Hebrew University in the late 1960s, as did Kahneman. Paul Slovic and Sarah Lichtenstein also received Ph.D.s from the University of Michigan around that time and founded Decision Research in Eugene. DR is a spinoff of Oregon Research Institute which is a spinoff of the University of Oregon Psychology Department where I taught from 1988-2001.
The “decision psychology/behavioral economics” tribe was officially recognized in October, 2002 when Dr. Kahneman, a professor of psychology at Princeton University was awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
Most members of my tribe teach in business schools instead of psychology departments because the salary and perks are so much greater. Some teach in Management Departments and some teach in Marketing Departments (e.g., UT-Austin Julie Irwin, UPenn Wharton Steve Hoch, Columbia Eric Johnson, UO Marian Friestad and Peter Wright).
The atrocious behavior of Dr. Zinkhan made me wonder whether the decision psychologists who teach in Marketing Departments are different from decision psychologists who teach elsewhere. I can’t imagine a decision psychologist I have ever met doing anything like what Dr. Zinkhan did. No self-respecting Bayesian would assign a probability of zero to a hypothesis like “what are the chances a decision psychologist will emulate George Zinkhan” so I guess I’d have to say p(h is true)<.00001 and the marketing folks are on the left side of the distribution.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
thanks for the pr!
I just noticed this pr from associates of the first person to lie to law enforcement about me - Jeffrey Todd Goldstein of Denver, CO.
kurt wuest
Simplify police review process
I’m glad the media and the public waited for the completion of an investigation before judging the Eugene police auditor’s actions. It’s unfortunate that law enforcement officers under investigation typically don’t receive the same courtesy. I suspect that much of the conflict concerning the police auditor is due to an insufficient number of legitimate complaints, too much oversight and too little concern for officer morale.
The Internal Affairs Division investigates allegations of wrongdoing. The process is monitored by the chief of police, the police auditor, a deputy auditor, two administrative aides, the city manager, the Police Commission and the Eugene City Council. To justify her position and generous salary, the auditor has initiated her own complaints. And instead of reviewing the process, she has become actively involved in investigations. It would be like the IRS helping me prepare my taxes and then auditing the results.
The city could save money and avoid conflicts if a single auditor simply would take complaints from the public, allow experienced investigators to do their jobs and then confirm that the process was fair and thorough. In addition, the Police Commission could use some members who are knowledgeable in the field of law enforcement. Are you aware of any other professional group that is judged by a review board in which not a single member has practical experience in that profession?
Kurt Wuest
Eugene
I’m glad the media and the public waited for the completion of an investigation before judging the Eugene police auditor’s actions. It’s unfortunate that law enforcement officers under investigation typically don’t receive the same courtesy. I suspect that much of the conflict concerning the police auditor is due to an insufficient number of legitimate complaints, too much oversight and too little concern for officer morale.
The Internal Affairs Division investigates allegations of wrongdoing. The process is monitored by the chief of police, the police auditor, a deputy auditor, two administrative aides, the city manager, the Police Commission and the Eugene City Council. To justify her position and generous salary, the auditor has initiated her own complaints. And instead of reviewing the process, she has become actively involved in investigations. It would be like the IRS helping me prepare my taxes and then auditing the results.
The city could save money and avoid conflicts if a single auditor simply would take complaints from the public, allow experienced investigators to do their jobs and then confirm that the process was fair and thorough. In addition, the Police Commission could use some members who are knowledgeable in the field of law enforcement. Are you aware of any other professional group that is judged by a review board in which not a single member has practical experience in that profession?
Kurt Wuest
Eugene
where's zinkhan?
Sunday, April 26, 2009, 10 a.m.— This is to update the University community on the status of the search for the alleged perpetrator in Saturday afternoon’s shooting deaths of three individuals at a Grady Avenue location off-campus in Athens. Athens-Clarke County Police and all area law enforcement agencies continue their search for George Martin Zinkhan III, 57 years of age, 6-feet three-inches tall, 240 pounds, blue eyes, white male with a goatee, with light brown hair and some graying. Zinkhan is a professor of marketing at the University of Georgia. He was last seen wearing a polo shirt and blue shorts with a backpack. He is thought to be driving a 2005 reddish Jeep Liberty with Georgia tag AIX 1376. He was last seen near his residence on Chesterfield Road in Bogart. Use extreme caution if contact is made. If you know his location or see him call 911. Please do not call 911 seeking information. Please do not call UGA Police asking questions. Only call to provide information that you may have regarding this matter. Police continue to urge members of the University community to use your best judgment in taking precautions while this suspect remains at large.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
rabid wolverine
ATHENS, Ga. – Three people were killed Saturday at a community theater near the University of Georgia, and authorities were searching for a marketing professor in the shooting deaths.
Before joining the faculty at the University of Georgia, Zinkhan held academic positions at the universities of Houston and Pittsburgh. He has a doctorate from the University of Michigan and graduated from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania in 1974.
Friday, April 24, 2009
erik hasselman
February 19, 2004
It was a close call, but a judge on Wednesday ruled that the driver in a hit-and-run collision with a child on a go-kart last July in Springfield qualifies for probation instead of a mandatory prison term required under a law passed in memory of a Pleasant Hill girl.
Lane County Circuit Judge Eveleen Henry noted that the sentence imposed on the driver, Lee Ann Dodd, 43, of Springfield, has nothing to do with the severe injuries suffered by the boy. That was an accident, Henry said. Instead, the sentence is for failing to stop, render aid and exchange information in an accident involving serious injury, Henry said.
It was a close call, but a judge on Wednesday ruled that the driver in a hit-and-run collision with a child on a go-kart last July in Springfield qualifies for probation instead of a mandatory prison term required under a law passed in memory of a Pleasant Hill girl.
Lane County Circuit Judge Eveleen Henry noted that the sentence imposed on the driver, Lee Ann Dodd, 43, of Springfield, has nothing to do with the severe injuries suffered by the boy. That was an accident, Henry said. Instead, the sentence is for failing to stop, render aid and exchange information in an accident involving serious injury, Henry said.
van ornum sentencing hearing
Ian Van Ornum’s sentencing hearing re: 2008-18082A began at 11:00 in Room 304 of the Lane County Courthouse and lasted about 20 minutes. The main players exhibited the same behaviors exhibited at the trial. Court-appointed defense attorney Laura Fine came across as the most competent and ethical lawyer in the courtroom. And just like at the trial, Deputy LCDA Bob Lane and Lane County Circus Court Judge Jack A. Billings duked it out for dumbest and for sleaziest.
[Note: Ian Van Ornum did not speak and co-defense attorney Brian Michaels was not present and thus Mr. Van Ornum and Mr. Michaels did not have a chance to compete with Mr. Lane and Mr. Billings for most stupid participants at the sentencing hearing the way they did at the trial.]
Judge Billings, who looked like he only had two cans of shlitz in his cheerios this morning instead of his usual three began by saying there were some “housekeeping” matters to attend to. He announced that the Eugene Register Guard had submitted a request to the Lane County Circuit Court for the names of the six jurors in 2008-18082A. He denied the request and ordered that the court seal the records regarding jury selection. Then he explained the reason he decided that the jury’s right to privacy outweighed the public’s right to know the jurors’ names.
First, Judge Billings reminded the audience that during the trial, Tim Lewis had illegally filmed the jurors (ORS 163.700?).
Then, Judge Billings told the audience of a phone call he received 15 minutes before the sentencing hearing. The call was from the husband of a female juror. He had heard that the judge was considering granting the Register Guard’s request and wanted to encourage the judge to deny the request. He said that his wife had been harassed at work – presumably the mere fact that she had taken time off for jury duty was enough to make people know she’d been on the jury and she was getting harassed at work about her guilty vote.
Judge Billings suggested that had it not been for the illegal behavior of Tim Lewis at the trial combined with the illegal behavior of whoever threatened the female juror married to the man who called Judge Billings at 10:45 a.m. today, he would have approved the Register-Guard’s request and weighed the public’s right to know the names of the jurors as greater than the jurors’ right to privacy.
Judge Billings said that he had discovered evidence of the Eugene Police Department trying to tamper with jurors. He said that the “lady friend” of Sergeant Bill Solesbee had spoken with one of the original jurors, prompting Judge Billings to oust the juror. Judge Billings did not explain why he has not initiated an investigation into Sergeant Solesbee for what appears to be illegal attempt to influence a juror.
[to be continued]
Thursday, April 23, 2009
boston strangler
Suffolk County (MA) District Attorney’s Office.
Oh, hi. My name’s Dr. Deborah Frisch. I’m a researcher from Eugene, Oregon. I am calling to see if there is a probable cause statement or any other publicly available document describing the evidence in support of the hypothesis that Mr. Markoff is guilty of murder.
Where are you calling from?
Eugene, Oregon.
Hold on.
[male identifies himself. I fail to write down name.]
Oh, hi…..guilty of murder. [see above.]
Excuse me?
A few months ago in Oregon, someone was charged with murder, and the DA provided a 7 page document listing a great deal of specific evidence in support of the allegation that the person committed murder. Cell phone records, license plate numbers – stuff like that.
In Massachusetts, we are not required to produce any such document. At the indictment, there will be a presentation of some of the evidence.
So there is nothing more available to the public than what I read in the mainstream press?
There was some more information stated in open court at the arraignment.
So I’d have to contact the Boston Municipal Court to see if there is a written transcript of the oral proceedings?
That’s the best I can do right now.
Thank you very much.
Oh, hi. My name’s Dr. Deborah Frisch. I’m a researcher from Eugene, Oregon. I am calling to see if there is a probable cause statement or any other publicly available document describing the evidence in support of the hypothesis that Mr. Markoff is guilty of murder.
Where are you calling from?
Eugene, Oregon.
Hold on.
[male identifies himself. I fail to write down name.]
Oh, hi…..guilty of murder. [see above.]
Excuse me?
A few months ago in Oregon, someone was charged with murder, and the DA provided a 7 page document listing a great deal of specific evidence in support of the allegation that the person committed murder. Cell phone records, license plate numbers – stuff like that.
In Massachusetts, we are not required to produce any such document. At the indictment, there will be a presentation of some of the evidence.
So there is nothing more available to the public than what I read in the mainstream press?
There was some more information stated in open court at the arraignment.
So I’d have to contact the Boston Municipal Court to see if there is a written transcript of the oral proceedings?
That’s the best I can do right now.
Thank you very much.
salivagate
The city on Wednesday released a complaint against [EPD Chief] Kerns and [City Manager] Ruiz’s assessment and decision. The Register-Guard had requested the documents under state public records law. Under the law, the government can typically keep many police personnel documents secret. But the city said Kerns, on learning of the newspaper’s request, asked the city to release the documents. Police department spokeswoman Melinda Kletzok said Kerns wanted the documents public in order to be “as transparent as possible.”
The December personnel hearing at which Kerns denied earlier making the “boots to the butts” comment was to adjudicate an allegation by the city that Eugene police officer Jimmy McBride had used excessive force in a case in which he punched in the face a handcuffed suspect who McBride believed was about to spit on him.
Jack Moran and Christian Wihtol, Eugene Register Guard, April 22, 2009
*ORS 192.501 Public records conditionally exempt from disclosure.* The following public records are exempt from disclosure under ORS 192.410 to 192.505 unless the public interest requires disclosure in the particular instance:
(12) A personnel discipline action, or materials or documents supporting that action;
*ORS 192.502 Other public records exempt from disclosure. *The following public records are exempt from disclosure under ORS 192.410 to 192.505:
(2) Information of a personal nature such as but not limited to that kept in a personal, medical or similar file, if public disclosure would constitute an unreasonable invasion of privacy, unless the public interest by clear and convincing evidence requires disclosure in the particular instance. The party seeking disclosure shall have the burden of showing that public disclosure would not constitute an unreasonable invasion of privacy.
-----
Let me get this straight.
1. EPD Officer Jimmie McBride punched Daniel Gray (who was handcuffed and seated in the back seat of Officer McBride’s patrol car) in the face because Mr. McBride believed he was in imminent danger of having his skin come in contact with Mr. Gray’s saliva. EPD IA investigator Scott McKee alleged that this excessive, unjustified use of physical force provided probable cause that EPD Officer McBride committed assault against Mr. Gray.
2. EPD Officer Jimmie McBride tackled Roy Levi Smith and broke his pelvis in the act of attempting to arrest him without probable cause. EPD IA Investigator McKee alleged that this excessive, unjustified use of physical force provided probable cause that EPD Officer McBride committed assault against Mr. Smith.
3. Lane County District Attorney Doug Harcleroad declined to initiate criminal charges against Mr. McBride for assaulting Mr. Gray and Mr. Smith based on two identical form letters sent to him by Linn County Deputy DA DeAnn Novotny on November 30, 2007.
4. EPD Chief Pete Kerns chose to waive his rights (as per ORS 192.501(12) and ORS 192.502(2)) to privacy regarding the city of Eugene’s investigation of the criminality of his behavior. In the act of revealing information about the investigation by City Manager Ruiz and LCDA Gardner of his own behavior, Chief Kerns revealed information about the investigation of Officer McBride’s behavior, thereby violating ORS 192.501(12) and ORS 192.502(2) and causing harm to Officer McBride.
5. Mr. Smith has filed a civil suit in US District Court against EPD Officer McBride and the City of Eugene. Mr. Gray, Mike Stinnette and the people harassed at Kay’s Jewelers in Springfield by Officer McBride are in a position to file similar civil suits.
6. While EPD Officer McBride will probably be named as a defendant in at least four civil suits in US District Court, he also has grounds to be a plaintiff, since EPD Chief Kerns violated Mr. McBride’s civil rights by releasing information to the Register-Guard about Mr. McBride’s spitting on Mr. Gray.
I know that many of you have day jobs and/or social lives and thus lack the 30 hours a day it takes to keep up with the shenanigans by the as-yet-indicted-felons in the upper echelons of the city of Eugene and Lane County. But I’ve got a feeling things are going to get very interesting very quickly and now would be a good time to pay attention to the McNutts at 777 High Street and their equally felonious brethren at 125 E. 8^th !
The December personnel hearing at which Kerns denied earlier making the “boots to the butts” comment was to adjudicate an allegation by the city that Eugene police officer Jimmy McBride had used excessive force in a case in which he punched in the face a handcuffed suspect who McBride believed was about to spit on him.
Jack Moran and Christian Wihtol, Eugene Register Guard, April 22, 2009
*ORS 192.501 Public records conditionally exempt from disclosure.* The following public records are exempt from disclosure under ORS 192.410 to 192.505 unless the public interest requires disclosure in the particular instance:
(12) A personnel discipline action, or materials or documents supporting that action;
*ORS 192.502 Other public records exempt from disclosure. *The following public records are exempt from disclosure under ORS 192.410 to 192.505:
(2) Information of a personal nature such as but not limited to that kept in a personal, medical or similar file, if public disclosure would constitute an unreasonable invasion of privacy, unless the public interest by clear and convincing evidence requires disclosure in the particular instance. The party seeking disclosure shall have the burden of showing that public disclosure would not constitute an unreasonable invasion of privacy.
-----
Let me get this straight.
1. EPD Officer Jimmie McBride punched Daniel Gray (who was handcuffed and seated in the back seat of Officer McBride’s patrol car) in the face because Mr. McBride believed he was in imminent danger of having his skin come in contact with Mr. Gray’s saliva. EPD IA investigator Scott McKee alleged that this excessive, unjustified use of physical force provided probable cause that EPD Officer McBride committed assault against Mr. Gray.
2. EPD Officer Jimmie McBride tackled Roy Levi Smith and broke his pelvis in the act of attempting to arrest him without probable cause. EPD IA Investigator McKee alleged that this excessive, unjustified use of physical force provided probable cause that EPD Officer McBride committed assault against Mr. Smith.
3. Lane County District Attorney Doug Harcleroad declined to initiate criminal charges against Mr. McBride for assaulting Mr. Gray and Mr. Smith based on two identical form letters sent to him by Linn County Deputy DA DeAnn Novotny on November 30, 2007.
4. EPD Chief Pete Kerns chose to waive his rights (as per ORS 192.501(12) and ORS 192.502(2)) to privacy regarding the city of Eugene’s investigation of the criminality of his behavior. In the act of revealing information about the investigation by City Manager Ruiz and LCDA Gardner of his own behavior, Chief Kerns revealed information about the investigation of Officer McBride’s behavior, thereby violating ORS 192.501(12) and ORS 192.502(2) and causing harm to Officer McBride.
5. Mr. Smith has filed a civil suit in US District Court against EPD Officer McBride and the City of Eugene. Mr. Gray, Mike Stinnette and the people harassed at Kay’s Jewelers in Springfield by Officer McBride are in a position to file similar civil suits.
6. While EPD Officer McBride will probably be named as a defendant in at least four civil suits in US District Court, he also has grounds to be a plaintiff, since EPD Chief Kerns violated Mr. McBride’s civil rights by releasing information to the Register-Guard about Mr. McBride’s spitting on Mr. Gray.
I know that many of you have day jobs and/or social lives and thus lack the 30 hours a day it takes to keep up with the shenanigans by the as-yet-indicted-felons in the upper echelons of the city of Eugene and Lane County. But I’ve got a feeling things are going to get very interesting very quickly and now would be a good time to pay attention to the McNutts at 777 High Street and their equally felonious brethren at 125 E. 8^th !
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
murder in vienna?
VIENNA, VA. – The chief financial officer of Freddie Mac, one of the mortgage giants at the heart of the nation's financial meltdown, was found dead in his basement early Wednesday morning in what police said was an apparent suicide. David Kellermann, 41, apparently hanged himself in his suburban Washington home, said a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation. He asked not to be identified because the investigation was ongoing.
Mr. Kellermann was not under suspicion of any wrongdoing. He was nowhere near being indicted. And yet we are supposed to believe that the man who looks a lot like the recently indicted Illinois governor cracked under the pressure of having to crunch numbers for Freddie Mac?
I don't buy it. I think Mr. Kellermann knew too much. It would be easy for a killer to take the Orange Line to Vienna, off Mr. Kellermann and then take the Orange Line back into war$hington, d.c.
The smart money's on murder here, not suicide.
hasselman nails henderson
A Lane County jury on Wednesday convicted a 38-year-old Eugene man of attempted murder, following a weeklong trial for a shooting last August in the parking lot of a downtown nightclub.
Jaime Darnell Henderson Sr. was also convicted of first-degree assault, being a felon in possession of a firearm and unlawful discharge of a weapon.
Jaime Darnell Henderson Sr. was also convicted of first-degree assault, being a felon in possession of a firearm and unlawful discharge of a weapon.
eugene worst ever?
The prospect of moving the Eugene Police Department into new quarters across the Willamette River on Country Club Road raises the enticing possibility of bringing the city’s long search for a new police headquarters to an end. The owner of an office building on Country Club Road is offering his property to the city for $16 million. A move could occur fairly quickly, and the people of Eugene would be assured of having police services available in the event of a major earthquake. Several important questions will need to be answered. The council should consider, for example, the benefits of having the police headquarters downtown, close to other departments of city government as well as county, state and federal offices.
Eugene Register Guard editorial, April 22, 2009
In the excruciatingly unlikely event there is anyone with a 974** zip code who has not yet noticed how dysfunctional the government of the city of Eugene is, today’s City Council work session in the McNutt Room should solve the problem.
Eugene City Council Chair Alan Zelenka, co-Chair Mike Clark, City Manager Jon Ruiz and Police Chief Pete Kerns have put their heads together to come up with a proposal that might be the worst idea ever considered by the Eugene City Council. How fitting that it will be discussed on 4.22.09. 4+2+2=8 which is the total number of Eugene City Councilors. And 09 is the total number of neurons possessed by the 7 morons and 1 corpse commonly known as the Eugene City Council. Whoa. Is that a trippy coincidence or what?
Now, believe me, I know there is a lot of competition for the Eugene Worst Ever (EWE) award. But when you see what happened when Alan, Mike, Jon and Pete put their heads together, you’re gonna see I’m right. I know I’ve got lots of competition today for discretionary cyber-attention from the Boston ER Strangler so I’ll be brief.
a. Imagine you were 100% sure there will not be an earthquake in Eugene in the next 50 years. Would it be worth spending $16 million to move the EPD to an earthquake-proof building on Country Club Road?
The answer is no. Given:
1. the convenience of EPD being close to the Lane County Circuit Court, where dozens of EPD officers are forced to appear and testify every week
and
2. that the city of Eugene has other uses for $16 million
it would not be cost-effective to spend $16 million for earthquake-proof digs for pigs on country club road if you were 100% sure there would be no earthquake prior to 2059.
b. Imagine you were 100% sure there will be an earthquake in Eugene in the next 50 years. Would it be worth spending $16 million to move the EPD to an earthquake-proof building on Country Club Road?
The answer is NO! The vast majority of Eugene is south of the Willamette River. Country Club Road is north of the Willamette River. A likely consequence of a catastrophic earthquake would be to damage or destroy the four bridges by which one could get from Country Club Road to downtown, the University of Oregon campus and the densely populated south hills. I think that the closest bridges to the Country Club road location (Ferry Street and Washington/Jefferson) are more vulnerable to earthquake-induced catastrophic failure than the I-5 and Beltline bridges.
That is, the proposal will lead to bad outcomes in the event of no earthquake and even worse outcomes in the event of an earthquake.
Imagine you had a choice between two lottery tickets. A coin is tossed.
A: heads you win $200, tails you win $100
B: heads you win $90, tails you win $50
Whether the coin lands on heads or tails, you’re better off with A. Technically, decision scientists say that Option A dominates Option B. Another way to put it is that it is a no-brainer to choose A.
Councilors Clark and Zelenka, Chief Kerns and City Manager Ruiz are recommending that the city of Eugene choose an option that will lead to worse outcomes than the alternative (spend $6 million to upgrade existing City Hall), whether or not there is an earthquake. They are suggesting the city of Eugene choose B over A. I hope someone on the Eugene City Council has the cajones or ova to set them straight.
Eugene Register Guard editorial, April 22, 2009
In the excruciatingly unlikely event there is anyone with a 974** zip code who has not yet noticed how dysfunctional the government of the city of Eugene is, today’s City Council work session in the McNutt Room should solve the problem.
Eugene City Council Chair Alan Zelenka, co-Chair Mike Clark, City Manager Jon Ruiz and Police Chief Pete Kerns have put their heads together to come up with a proposal that might be the worst idea ever considered by the Eugene City Council. How fitting that it will be discussed on 4.22.09. 4+2+2=8 which is the total number of Eugene City Councilors. And 09 is the total number of neurons possessed by the 7 morons and 1 corpse commonly known as the Eugene City Council. Whoa. Is that a trippy coincidence or what?
Now, believe me, I know there is a lot of competition for the Eugene Worst Ever (EWE) award. But when you see what happened when Alan, Mike, Jon and Pete put their heads together, you’re gonna see I’m right. I know I’ve got lots of competition today for discretionary cyber-attention from the Boston ER Strangler so I’ll be brief.
a. Imagine you were 100% sure there will not be an earthquake in Eugene in the next 50 years. Would it be worth spending $16 million to move the EPD to an earthquake-proof building on Country Club Road?
The answer is no. Given:
1. the convenience of EPD being close to the Lane County Circuit Court, where dozens of EPD officers are forced to appear and testify every week
and
2. that the city of Eugene has other uses for $16 million
it would not be cost-effective to spend $16 million for earthquake-proof digs for pigs on country club road if you were 100% sure there would be no earthquake prior to 2059.
b. Imagine you were 100% sure there will be an earthquake in Eugene in the next 50 years. Would it be worth spending $16 million to move the EPD to an earthquake-proof building on Country Club Road?
The answer is NO! The vast majority of Eugene is south of the Willamette River. Country Club Road is north of the Willamette River. A likely consequence of a catastrophic earthquake would be to damage or destroy the four bridges by which one could get from Country Club Road to downtown, the University of Oregon campus and the densely populated south hills. I think that the closest bridges to the Country Club road location (Ferry Street and Washington/Jefferson) are more vulnerable to earthquake-induced catastrophic failure than the I-5 and Beltline bridges.
That is, the proposal will lead to bad outcomes in the event of no earthquake and even worse outcomes in the event of an earthquake.
Imagine you had a choice between two lottery tickets. A coin is tossed.
A: heads you win $200, tails you win $100
B: heads you win $90, tails you win $50
Whether the coin lands on heads or tails, you’re better off with A. Technically, decision scientists say that Option A dominates Option B. Another way to put it is that it is a no-brainer to choose A.
Councilors Clark and Zelenka, Chief Kerns and City Manager Ruiz are recommending that the city of Eugene choose an option that will lead to worse outcomes than the alternative (spend $6 million to upgrade existing City Hall), whether or not there is an earthquake. They are suggesting the city of Eugene choose B over A. I hope someone on the Eugene City Council has the cajones or ova to set them straight.
three not-so-little-pigs
On November 2, 2008 i was attacked by three not-so-little pigs - REDACT, EPD Officer Judson Warden and EPD Sergeant Daniel Long. i actually don't consider Mr. Warden a pig, but two out of three is good enough to justify the joke.
Now Dr. Karen Crocker-Wensel, whom I was forced to pay for a "mental health assessment" in the schizophrenic list of requirements spewed out of the flaccid frontal lobes of Douglas "dopamine" Mitchell (2108-26446) is part of the joke.
I am tired of being harassed by Alex "dumber than a fencepost and faggier than Rick Dancer" Gardner.
I alleged that I was assaulted and had my wallet stolen to EPD Sergeant Long on November 2, 2008 (EPD 88125).
EPD Officer Warden confirmed that my wallet was stolen (EPD 88130).
On November 9, 2008 I emailed LCDA Alex Gardner a picture of the physical injury I sustained in the assault.
That is, there is PHYSICAL verification of both the assault and the theft I alleged in EPD 88125.
I want to come to the LCDA to talk to a detective to see if there is probable cause to charge my assailant with theft and assault.
I do not know why Officer Judson Warden did not say "Do you want to press charges against the person who stole your wallet?" when he handed me my stolen wallet. I would have said YES.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
good riddance
SALEM -- The head of Oregon's three-member parole board, Steven Powers, says he will step down June 30 when his term ends.
Monday, April 20, 2009
rick danther
“It’s not a sexy issue,” said Rick Dancer, who is advocating for the gas tax. “Putting slurry seal on a road is not sexy, but you know what? It’s one of those things you pay for now, or you’re going to pay 10 times as much for it later.”
Even though he lives just outside of Springfield and cannot vote on the tax, Dancer, a former local news anchor turned former secretary of state candidate, is serving as the spokesman for Save Our Streets, a political action committee formed to boost Ballot Measure 20-153.
Even though he lives just outside of Springfield and cannot vote on the tax, Dancer, a former local news anchor turned former secretary of state candidate, is serving as the spokesman for Save Our Streets, a political action committee formed to boost Ballot Measure 20-153.
eugene city council
The Eugene City Council is in the middle of a public hearing marathon – the mold hearing is over as is the police auditor ordinance hearing. I watched it on the city of eugene’s web site that allows you to watch the seven morons and one corpse commonly known as the ECC in “real” time.
For those of you who missed the fascinating comments by three, count ‘em three concerned citizens (Carol Berg-Caldwell, Zach Vishanoff, Majeska Seese-Green), a fascinating soliloquy from Mikey Clark and some quickie blather from Alan Zelenka-Rikhoff in response to an accusation of Ms. Berg-Caldwell, here’s the quickie recap.
The lead-off hitter was Carol Berg-Caldwell. I think she might have a methamphetamine problem because I have a VERY high tolerance for generating and processing very rapid speech with extremely tenuous connections and I have no idea what she was talking about. She was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, Cuban hat and hooker red lipstick. She praised the loathsome morons who co-chaired the farcical Police Auditor Ordinance Review Committee – Tim Laue, a rabid glocksucker and John Ahlen, a raving moron. She alternated between ass-kissing and ass-kicking at a dizzying speed and ended with an accusation regarding the dispute between dumbo police auditor dawn reynolds and worthless deputy police auditor elizabeth southworth.
On-deck was Zach Vishanoff. As usual, he came out swinging. Even though Mr. Vishanoff was a student in my Psychology 201 (Intro psychology) class in 1989, tonight he sounded like a student fresh out of my Psychology 330 (Thinking) class. He noted that the absurd amount of resources devoted to evaluating the 18 pointless revisions suggested by former Eugene City Councilor Bonny Bettman to the toothless ordinance shoved down Eugene residents’ throats by Ms. Bettman and the equally incompetent former Eugene City Councilor John Brown was a symptom that the city of Eugene didn’t really want to address the root causes that gave rise to the Lara/Magana scandal and other media black eyes (Salisbury murder, pesticide fiasco, etc.).
Mr. Vishanoff paraphrased the PrOACT model described in the book “Smart Choices” written by Harvard Business School professors that I assigned in my Psychology 330 Thinking class.
He said the if you really want to solve a problem, first you DEFINE it, then you gather EVIDENCE and then you make a DECISION. This is a simplification of the PrOACT model that recommends defining the Problem, specifying Objectives, generating Alternatives, anticipating Consequences and making Tradeoffs.
Anyone with a half a brain can see that Eugene’s civilian review board does not address the root causes of the Magana, Salisbury and Van Ornum fiascos – substandard training and supervision at EPD, incompetent IA supervision (Lieutenant McDermed, Captain Swenson) and most important, a county district attorney’s office that refuses to indict felonious law enforcement agents.
Finally, we heard from Majeska Seese-Green. It was painful listening to her praise the PAORC process for creating the illusion of public input. It was even more painful beseeching the 7 morons and a corpse to approve the pathetic suggestions from Bonny Bettman because they would add more teeth to the impotent ordinance.
I’m going to have to postpone my recap of the pseudo-erudite comments of mike clark and alan zelenka.
For those of you who missed the fascinating comments by three, count ‘em three concerned citizens (Carol Berg-Caldwell, Zach Vishanoff, Majeska Seese-Green), a fascinating soliloquy from Mikey Clark and some quickie blather from Alan Zelenka-Rikhoff in response to an accusation of Ms. Berg-Caldwell, here’s the quickie recap.
The lead-off hitter was Carol Berg-Caldwell. I think she might have a methamphetamine problem because I have a VERY high tolerance for generating and processing very rapid speech with extremely tenuous connections and I have no idea what she was talking about. She was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, Cuban hat and hooker red lipstick. She praised the loathsome morons who co-chaired the farcical Police Auditor Ordinance Review Committee – Tim Laue, a rabid glocksucker and John Ahlen, a raving moron. She alternated between ass-kissing and ass-kicking at a dizzying speed and ended with an accusation regarding the dispute between dumbo police auditor dawn reynolds and worthless deputy police auditor elizabeth southworth.
On-deck was Zach Vishanoff. As usual, he came out swinging. Even though Mr. Vishanoff was a student in my Psychology 201 (Intro psychology) class in 1989, tonight he sounded like a student fresh out of my Psychology 330 (Thinking) class. He noted that the absurd amount of resources devoted to evaluating the 18 pointless revisions suggested by former Eugene City Councilor Bonny Bettman to the toothless ordinance shoved down Eugene residents’ throats by Ms. Bettman and the equally incompetent former Eugene City Councilor John Brown was a symptom that the city of Eugene didn’t really want to address the root causes that gave rise to the Lara/Magana scandal and other media black eyes (Salisbury murder, pesticide fiasco, etc.).
Mr. Vishanoff paraphrased the PrOACT model described in the book “Smart Choices” written by Harvard Business School professors that I assigned in my Psychology 330 Thinking class.
He said the if you really want to solve a problem, first you DEFINE it, then you gather EVIDENCE and then you make a DECISION. This is a simplification of the PrOACT model that recommends defining the Problem, specifying Objectives, generating Alternatives, anticipating Consequences and making Tradeoffs.
Anyone with a half a brain can see that Eugene’s civilian review board does not address the root causes of the Magana, Salisbury and Van Ornum fiascos – substandard training and supervision at EPD, incompetent IA supervision (Lieutenant McDermed, Captain Swenson) and most important, a county district attorney’s office that refuses to indict felonious law enforcement agents.
Finally, we heard from Majeska Seese-Green. It was painful listening to her praise the PAORC process for creating the illusion of public input. It was even more painful beseeching the 7 morons and a corpse to approve the pathetic suggestions from Bonny Bettman because they would add more teeth to the impotent ordinance.
I’m going to have to postpone my recap of the pseudo-erudite comments of mike clark and alan zelenka.
bacon bits
ah, the thermometer hits 80 and everyone's mind turns to grilled flesh. Burgers. Yum. Steak. Mmmm. And of course, some chorizo.
i don't like the fact that i fucking love to make pig jokes. but i do.
i once screwed this pig. no, not springfield police chief jerry smith.
no, not former lane county sheriff's office detective kurt wuest.
i screwed a real pig.
come on...that's FUNNY!!!
bucks for pigs!
A Country Club Road office building would be converted to a $16 million home for the Eugene Police Department, under a proposal from City Manager Jon Ruiz that will be presented to the City Council Wednesday.
SPRINGFIELD — A night in the Springfield Municipal Jail could wind up costing criminals more than a stay at some motels.
With the idea of getting convicted criminals to pay taxpayers back for the time they spend in the city’s soon-to-open jail, the City Council will hear public comment and vote on a proposed $60 per night inmate housing fee today.
“I hope the council agrees with this. These people have imposed cost on the citizens of Springfield, and to the best extent we can, we need to recover those costs,” Springfield police Chief Jerry Smith said.
SPRINGFIELD — A night in the Springfield Municipal Jail could wind up costing criminals more than a stay at some motels.
With the idea of getting convicted criminals to pay taxpayers back for the time they spend in the city’s soon-to-open jail, the City Council will hear public comment and vote on a proposed $60 per night inmate housing fee today.
“I hope the council agrees with this. These people have imposed cost on the citizens of Springfield, and to the best extent we can, we need to recover those costs,” Springfield police Chief Jerry Smith said.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
hasselman vs. henderson
I only watched about 20 minutes of Hasselman vs. Henderson (2008-18512) on April 16, 2009. I watched Deputy LCDA Erik Hasselman directly examine Eugene Police Department officer Derek Dewitt, then a cross-examination by Ms. Baker and then a redirect by Mr. Hasselman under the watchful eye of Lane County Circuit Court Judge Gregory Foote and attentive ears of six jurors. The more I think about it, the stranger the trial seems to me.
For one thing, I do not understand why Ms. Baker did not explain to her client that he has about a zero percent chance of being found not guilty. The victim described the defendant as a black male with a braid named Jamie. The victim said Call my brother-in-law Chuck, he knows Jamie and he can help you find him. I was shocked that in a case where the victim told the first responder the name of the person who shot him and where to find him, there would be a trial because it’s a slam-dunk for the state, it seems.
I was very curious what Ms. Baker was going to do in her cross-examination of Officer Dewitt, who seems very young (<30) and has only worked for EPD for 3 years. First, she had a bizarre exchange where she asked him if he interviewed the victim in the ER at Riverbend and he said yes and she said did you follow the ambulance and he said yes and then she pounced “you drove right behind the ambulance all the way to Riverbend?” and he said no, not exactly and she seemed to take some pleasure in this pathetic, pointless quibble. Ouch. Then it got worse.
“I see you’re spending a lot of time looking at your report when you’re asked a question about this case. Isn’t that so, Officer Dewitt.”
”Yes.”
”That’s what you do – you write down reports. Without a report, you would not have a specific recollection of the events that occurred at 1:50 a.m. on August 17, 2008. Is that correct?”
”Yes.”
”Indeed if it were not for the report, you wouldn’t remember anything about August 17, 2008, would you Officer Dewitt?”
”I’d remember responding to a call and finding a man who had been shot.”
“Sure you would. Is it not possible, Officer Dewitt, that Officer Barnes arrived BEFORE you did and not at about the same time as you have alleged?”
”I guess so.”
”And is it not possible, Officer Dewitt, that Officer Barnes was talking to the victim BEFORE you talked to him.”
“It’s possible.”
“You testified earlier that the victim was having trouble breathing. Did that make it difficult to understand him?”
”No, not really.”
”You said, wait, let me check my notes, that’s right, you said he was GASPING for air. Is it possible to talk in complete sentences such as the one I am saying right now if you are GASPING FOR BREATH?”
”He was talking in short sentences.”
”Wasn’t he basically just saying words, Officer Dewitt. Shot. Hurt. Boxers. Plaid.”
”No, he was speaking in regular sentences.”
”You said he was fading in and out of consciousness. His eyes are open. His eyes are closed. Gasping for breath, sometimes answering your questions, sometimes not. Basically just blurting words from time to time. Isn’t that what really happened, Officer Dewitt?”
”No, I asked him questions and most of the time, he responded with a clearly audible, clearly appropriate response, almost always in the form of a sentence.”
“Yeah, right. How did you ask the questions. I noticed your report does not indicate how you asked the questions.”
“Okay.”
”Have you ever been trained in how to ask questions?”
”No.”
”I can tell. Do you think it is acceptable for a report to fail to note the format in which a question was asked?”
”Yes.”
“Let’s talk about the ER. You were standing right there while all the medical personnel were working on him?”
”Yes.”
”Can you describe some of the medical procedures that were performed on him?”
”I’m not a medical doctor so I’m not sure what they were doing plus I was focused on talking to the victim and also trying to stay out of the way of the doctors and nurses.”
”Let me get this straight. You were right there with him in the room but you can’t describe the medical procedures that were done on him.”
”Correct.”
”You were there but you have no idea what happened.”
”I have no idea what medical procedures were done on him.”
”Is the primary purpose of an ER to administer medical procedures?”
”Yes.”
”So if a person is in an ER and has no idea what medical procedures were performed, then basically, the person has no idea what happened in the ER.”
”No.”
“Yes. No. Which one is it, Officer Dewitt? I’m starting to wonder if you were ever in the ER at all.”
For one thing, I do not understand why Ms. Baker did not explain to her client that he has about a zero percent chance of being found not guilty. The victim described the defendant as a black male with a braid named Jamie. The victim said Call my brother-in-law Chuck, he knows Jamie and he can help you find him. I was shocked that in a case where the victim told the first responder the name of the person who shot him and where to find him, there would be a trial because it’s a slam-dunk for the state, it seems.
I was very curious what Ms. Baker was going to do in her cross-examination of Officer Dewitt, who seems very young (<30) and has only worked for EPD for 3 years. First, she had a bizarre exchange where she asked him if he interviewed the victim in the ER at Riverbend and he said yes and she said did you follow the ambulance and he said yes and then she pounced “you drove right behind the ambulance all the way to Riverbend?” and he said no, not exactly and she seemed to take some pleasure in this pathetic, pointless quibble. Ouch. Then it got worse.
“I see you’re spending a lot of time looking at your report when you’re asked a question about this case. Isn’t that so, Officer Dewitt.”
”Yes.”
”That’s what you do – you write down reports. Without a report, you would not have a specific recollection of the events that occurred at 1:50 a.m. on August 17, 2008. Is that correct?”
”Yes.”
”Indeed if it were not for the report, you wouldn’t remember anything about August 17, 2008, would you Officer Dewitt?”
”I’d remember responding to a call and finding a man who had been shot.”
“Sure you would. Is it not possible, Officer Dewitt, that Officer Barnes arrived BEFORE you did and not at about the same time as you have alleged?”
”I guess so.”
”And is it not possible, Officer Dewitt, that Officer Barnes was talking to the victim BEFORE you talked to him.”
“It’s possible.”
“You testified earlier that the victim was having trouble breathing. Did that make it difficult to understand him?”
”No, not really.”
”You said, wait, let me check my notes, that’s right, you said he was GASPING for air. Is it possible to talk in complete sentences such as the one I am saying right now if you are GASPING FOR BREATH?”
”He was talking in short sentences.”
”Wasn’t he basically just saying words, Officer Dewitt. Shot. Hurt. Boxers. Plaid.”
”No, he was speaking in regular sentences.”
”You said he was fading in and out of consciousness. His eyes are open. His eyes are closed. Gasping for breath, sometimes answering your questions, sometimes not. Basically just blurting words from time to time. Isn’t that what really happened, Officer Dewitt?”
”No, I asked him questions and most of the time, he responded with a clearly audible, clearly appropriate response, almost always in the form of a sentence.”
“Yeah, right. How did you ask the questions. I noticed your report does not indicate how you asked the questions.”
“Okay.”
”Have you ever been trained in how to ask questions?”
”No.”
”I can tell. Do you think it is acceptable for a report to fail to note the format in which a question was asked?”
”Yes.”
“Let’s talk about the ER. You were standing right there while all the medical personnel were working on him?”
”Yes.”
”Can you describe some of the medical procedures that were performed on him?”
”I’m not a medical doctor so I’m not sure what they were doing plus I was focused on talking to the victim and also trying to stay out of the way of the doctors and nurses.”
”Let me get this straight. You were right there with him in the room but you can’t describe the medical procedures that were done on him.”
”Correct.”
”You were there but you have no idea what happened.”
”I have no idea what medical procedures were done on him.”
”Is the primary purpose of an ER to administer medical procedures?”
”Yes.”
”So if a person is in an ER and has no idea what medical procedures were performed, then basically, the person has no idea what happened in the ER.”
”No.”
“Yes. No. Which one is it, Officer Dewitt? I’m starting to wonder if you were ever in the ER at all.”
Friday, April 17, 2009
colorado convict
A band teacher from Timberview Middle School in Briargate was arrested Wednesday on allegations that he collected - and may have distributed - pornographic images of prepubescent girls, Colorado Springs police said Thursday.
Jaime Bush Schneider, 42, of Colorado Springs, was booked into the El Paso County jail on suspicion of sexual exploitation of children, a Class 4 felony.
foote, hasselman & dewitt
After spending 5 minutes watching Mr. Van Ornum’s trial yesterday, I realized that it would not be good for my mental health to spend any more time this week in a room with Deputy LCDA Bob Lane, the aptly named LCCC Judge Jack A[ss]. Billings and pesticide activist Amy Pincus Merwin. I wandered around the third floor of the Lane County Courthouse, peering in windows looking for something that would be interesting. I looked in a room and noticed the aptly named Deputy LCDA Erik Hasselman and decided that was the door I’d choose.
When I opened the door, the judge snapped at me.
“Please wait until the witness leaves the stand.”
Hmm. Judge Billings allowed observers to come and go at will. This guy’s a real hard-ass.
When the witness left the stand, I entered the courtroom and saw that the bald blob of flesh wearing a dress and sitting higher than everyone else was none other than Gregory Foote.
Sweet, I thought. Hasselman AND Foote. Does Jesus love me or what?
Given the way that Mr. Hasselman metaphorically licked the tuchus of Presiding Judge Mary Ann Bearden on January 8, 2009 I should not have been surprised at how he treated Judge Foote. But still, it was shocking.
I do not want to go into too much detail about 2008-18512 because I assume the trial is still going on. While the Register Guard, KVAL, KEZI had no problem describing details of the trial in the media prior to the trial’s resolution, I feel kind of squeamish about it. Suffice it to say that the trial involved a non-fatal shooting. On the witness stand was Eugene Police Officer Derek DeWitt. Officer DeWitt was one of the first responders to speak with the victim on August 17, 2008 outside of Peacehealth (13th and Willamette? 13th and Hilyard?).
Officer DeWitt and Officer Barnes arrived at approximately 1:50 a.m. and found the victim covered in blood. The victim told Officer DeWitt some information about the name and appearance of the alleged shooter. The victim also told the medic in the ambulance more information, which the medic communicated to Officer DeWitt. Also, Officer DeWitt went to the ER at Riverbend and interviewed the victim some more.
After asking Officer DeWitt a series of clearly relevant questions about what the victim said about the alleged perpetrator immediately after the incident, Mr. Hasselman pulled out a stack of pictures of the crime scene. He passed the picture out to the jury and then giggled when he realized it had not yet been introduced as evidence. Oops, my bad. No harm, no foul, right?
The defense attorney, Ms. Baker muttered under her breath “I wish you’d shown these to me before.” The defendant did not appear to realize how grossly his civil rights had been violated by Mr. Hasselman who withheld this important material evidence from Ms. Baker until the middle of the trial. I noticed because the same thing happened to me in my trial (2108-26446). I heard a 911 tape where the alleged victim said “Get that bitch” several times and falsely alleged that I had a Taser. The motive for committing the crime of initiating a false report (ORS 162.375) presumably was the same motive she had when she physically assaulted me earlier that evening down town - to cause me physical harm.
For some reason, Ms. Baker allowed Mr. Hasselman to introduce the illegally withheld material evidence as state’s exhibits 13 and 14. Mr. Hasselman walked over to Officer DeWitt and handed him one of the pictures and started asking him questions about it. I was confused, because Officer DeWitt had already testified that the victim identified his shooter by name and several distinctive physical features. I was not sure what more useful information could be obtained from Officer DeWitt by discussing the pictures of the crime scene.
As Hasselman started talking, I became even more confused. He started discussing the articles of clothing and asked officer DeWitt “Was the victim wearing dark or light clothing?” Officer DeWitt, clearly puzzled at the relevance, said “dark. ” Then Hasselman started hassling him. “All of the clothing in the picture appears to be white. Are you sure you saw dark clothing?”
DeWitt was polite but clearly thought Hasselman was a moron, as did I. Then, the relevance became clear.
“Can you tell me what you see in this picture?”
”That’s the victim lying on the gurney.”
”Is the victim wearing any clothes?”
”No.”
”Why not?”
”His clothes were covered in blood. The medics cut off his tee-shirt and pants.”
”Pants or shorts?”
”I’m not sure.”
”What is the victim wearing in the picture?”
”Boxer shorts.”
”Are they boxer shorts with kind of a plaid pattern?”
”Yes.”
Bingo, I thought. Mr. Hasselman is trying to get Judge Foote interested in the case by discussing the victim’s underwear. This reminded me of the impression I had at my bench trial, when LCCC Mitchell deliberated for <1 second before declaring me guilty. He appeared to doze in and out of consciousness during the six hour trial. Afterwards, I realized that since there was no dick involved, Judge Mitchell couldn’t get it up to give a hoot about the details of the case. Similarly, Mr. Hasselman was trying to arouse Judge Foote’s interest in the case by sexually arousing him. What I wrote above is pretty much an accurate description of what transpired. Here’s how I imagine it continuing.
LCDA Erik Hasselman: If a male wearing these boxer shorts was aroused, would it not be possible for an observer to notice?
EPD Officer Derek DeWitt: I guess so.
EH: Have you ever observed an aroused male in boxer shorts?
DD: No.
EH: Are you wearing boxer shorts?
Defense attorney Baker: Objection, your honor. This is completely irrelevant..
Judge Foote: SHUT THE FUCK UP. I mean OVERRULED. Answer the question, please, Officer DeWitt. Please?
DD: No.
EH: You’re not wearing boxers. Interesting. Are you wearing briefs? A thong perhaps? Or maybe you are butt naked under that crisp EPD uniform.
Baker: Objection, your honor, I do not see how the underwear of the witness on April 16, 2009 is at all relevant to the events of August 17, 2008..
Foote: OVERRULED. The witness will answer the question.
seeking shyster
After I listened to Defense Attorney Laura Fine’s extraordinary cross-examination of Eugene Police Officer Judson Warden at 10 a.m. on April 15, 2009, I had zero interest in the rest of Ian Van Ornum’s trial in the courtroom managed by Lane County Circuit Court Judge Jack A. Billings. I didn’t care whether Deputy LCDA Bob Lane succeeded in convincing the six jurors that Ian Van Ornum had engaged in the criminal behaviors of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
I went back to the courtroom yesterday anyway, hoping to meet a lawyer interested in representing Mr. Van Ornum in a civil suit filed in United States District Court (former Lane County Circus Court Judge/Chief Judge Ann Aiken) against:
a. EPD Officer Judson Warden for civil-rights-violating behavior caused by violating at least three distinct subsections of EPD’s Taser Policy (309.42(b), 309.42(d), 309.43).
b. former EPD Chief Robert Lehner for providing Taser training that fails to meet DPSST standards (Fine alleged that JW had 1 hour of Taser training and DPSST requires 4).
c. DPSST for having standards that fail to meet Taser’s standards (I think Fine alleged that Taser recommends a full day and DPSST requires 4 hours)
d. former Eugene Police Commission Chair John Brown and other members of the EPC-Taser subcommittee (including but not limited to Lane County Circuit Court Judge Charles Zennache) for creating EPD Policy 309 which contains multiple components that increases the already* unacceptably high risk that a citizen who comes in contact with the EPD will have her or his civil rights violated.[* See pp. 21-23 of Federal Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin’s 3.6.06 Opinion and Order re: 04-cv-01021-TC]
e. EPD Sergeant Bill Solesbee and EPD Officer Hayward whose failure to handcuff Mr. Van Ornum even though they outmanned him by 100% and outweighed him by even more (Solesbee + Hayward weigh 380? Van Ornum weighs 160?) caused Officer Warden to decide to Tase Mr. Van Ornum twice in 17 seconds
etc.
The reason I want to find a lawyer interested in representing Mr. Van Ornum in a civil suit against EPD Officer Warden et al. is that I hypothesize such a lawyer will also be interested in representing me in my civil suit against EPD Officer Warden et al. My et al. list is different from Mr. Van Ornum’s. I’ve got Sergeant Daniel Long instead of Sergeant Bill Solesbee. And I’m not going to name the Eugene Police Commission (I don’t think) but I do plan to name Lane County District Attorney (Harcleroad, Gardner, Miller), Lane County Public Defender (Haz*, Homan, Volmert, Saydack), Lane County Sheriff’s Office (Burger, Slater, Olsen, Martin, Hooley, Fox, Spicer), SPD (Smith, Weaver) and LCCC (Bearden, Kasubhai, Merten, Carp, Vogt, Mitchell). I am not sure if it is legal to list a US District Court Judge as a defendant in a civil suit filed in US District Court but if it is, I will name US District Court Thomas Coffin who has shown deliberate indifference to the constitutional rights of people who encounter EPD (e.g., me) and LCDA (e.g., me) by knowingly condoning and thereby facililtating repeated felonious behavior by the leaders of these organizations. Federal Judge Coffin knows that former LCDA J. Patrick Horton was engaging in multiple felonies including but not limited to* those related 96-cv-0900-HA but chooses not to act on this information. Federal Judge Coffin knows that Mr. Buchanan committed perjury in his depositions re: 04-cv-01021-TC but chooses not to act on this information.
[* I learned on sheriff’s work crew that Mr. Horton liked to have sex with 13-year-old girls in his office. I know, I know, heterosexual pedophiles seem downright wholesome in Lane County but you know folks, it’s time to expect more!]
If anyone knows a lawyer who is willing to spend a few hours and $350 to file a civil suit in US District Court, please let me know.
I went back to the courtroom yesterday anyway, hoping to meet a lawyer interested in representing Mr. Van Ornum in a civil suit filed in United States District Court (former Lane County Circus Court Judge/Chief Judge Ann Aiken) against:
a. EPD Officer Judson Warden for civil-rights-violating behavior caused by violating at least three distinct subsections of EPD’s Taser Policy (309.42(b), 309.42(d), 309.43).
b. former EPD Chief Robert Lehner for providing Taser training that fails to meet DPSST standards (Fine alleged that JW had 1 hour of Taser training and DPSST requires 4).
c. DPSST for having standards that fail to meet Taser’s standards (I think Fine alleged that Taser recommends a full day and DPSST requires 4 hours)
d. former Eugene Police Commission Chair John Brown and other members of the EPC-Taser subcommittee (including but not limited to Lane County Circuit Court Judge Charles Zennache) for creating EPD Policy 309 which contains multiple components that increases the already* unacceptably high risk that a citizen who comes in contact with the EPD will have her or his civil rights violated.[* See pp. 21-23 of Federal Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin’s 3.6.06 Opinion and Order re: 04-cv-01021-TC]
e. EPD Sergeant Bill Solesbee and EPD Officer Hayward whose failure to handcuff Mr. Van Ornum even though they outmanned him by 100% and outweighed him by even more (Solesbee + Hayward weigh 380? Van Ornum weighs 160?) caused Officer Warden to decide to Tase Mr. Van Ornum twice in 17 seconds
etc.
The reason I want to find a lawyer interested in representing Mr. Van Ornum in a civil suit against EPD Officer Warden et al. is that I hypothesize such a lawyer will also be interested in representing me in my civil suit against EPD Officer Warden et al. My et al. list is different from Mr. Van Ornum’s. I’ve got Sergeant Daniel Long instead of Sergeant Bill Solesbee. And I’m not going to name the Eugene Police Commission (I don’t think) but I do plan to name Lane County District Attorney (Harcleroad, Gardner, Miller), Lane County Public Defender (Haz*, Homan, Volmert, Saydack), Lane County Sheriff’s Office (Burger, Slater, Olsen, Martin, Hooley, Fox, Spicer), SPD (Smith, Weaver) and LCCC (Bearden, Kasubhai, Merten, Carp, Vogt, Mitchell). I am not sure if it is legal to list a US District Court Judge as a defendant in a civil suit filed in US District Court but if it is, I will name US District Court Thomas Coffin who has shown deliberate indifference to the constitutional rights of people who encounter EPD (e.g., me) and LCDA (e.g., me) by knowingly condoning and thereby facililtating repeated felonious behavior by the leaders of these organizations. Federal Judge Coffin knows that former LCDA J. Patrick Horton was engaging in multiple felonies including but not limited to* those related 96-cv-0900-HA but chooses not to act on this information. Federal Judge Coffin knows that Mr. Buchanan committed perjury in his depositions re: 04-cv-01021-TC but chooses not to act on this information.
[* I learned on sheriff’s work crew that Mr. Horton liked to have sex with 13-year-old girls in his office. I know, I know, heterosexual pedophiles seem downright wholesome in Lane County but you know folks, it’s time to expect more!]
If anyone knows a lawyer who is willing to spend a few hours and $350 to file a civil suit in US District Court, please let me know.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
porky perv update
According to the search warrant, the Cottage Grove officer who has not yet been indicted by Assistant United States Attorney Sean Hoar, in spite of more than probable cause of violating Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2251, 2252 and 2252A is Scott Graham, 1795 Elsena Drive, Eugene, OR.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
cal young perv
According to KEZI news, the Cottage Grove police officer who resigned after the FBI found hundreds of pornographic images of young boys posted on his Flickr web site lives in the Cal Young neighborhood in Eugene. Is it more important to protect porky perv than it is to protect the boys who live in Cal Young?
Why couldn't porky perv be a normal law enforcement pervert and get a boner by looking at women in cow costumes, like Ninth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice Alex Kozinski?
Why couldn't porky perv be a normal law enforcement pervert and get a boner by looking at women in cow costumes, like Ninth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice Alex Kozinski?
greenhill felon society
To: Cary Lieberman, Executive Director, Greenhill Inhumane Society
Thanks a lot for calling to clarify the information in the R-G article.
Thanks for reminding me that your predecessor (Johnni Prince) engaged in felony animal abuse by murdering the dogs that she and her Teresa Iverson (why does this felon still work for Greenhill???) deemed irredeemable.
I appreciate your being candid with me and admitting that you planned to allow University of Oregon basketball players/alleged-water-fowl-abusers Michael Dunigan, Josh Crittle and Teondre Williams to get their Michael Vicks on with whatever rottweilers, huskies and basenjis you and Ms. Iverson deem unadoptable.
witch hunt
April 11, 2009
MARY McNAMARA
Los Angeles Times
Sean Penn, who lends his name, voice and political aura to "Witch Hunt," dedicates the documentary to the thousands of Americans wrongfully imprisoned today.
It's a well-meaning but rather frustrating dedication. The eight Bakersfield parents featured in “Witch Hunt,” six wrongfully and horrifically convicted in the 1980s of multiple counts of child molestation, suffered specifically for reasons that are not fully explored in the documentary.
That Bakersfield and Kern County have long prided themselves on "cowboy justice" is mentioned, and much is laid at the door of Ed Jagels, who became district attorney on a tough-on-crime campaign. Both of these factors certainly contributed to a high arrest and conviction rate in the area.
But they don't explain the reckless, pornographic and virtually insane nature -- and number -- of charges brought against a group of clean-record, quiet-living people. (Or why no one in the criminal justice system or the media or the general public protested.)
What "Witch Hunt" does, however, is to give these falsely imprisoned parents, many of whom served 10 to 20 years, a chance to tell their stories. Through this, the viewer is able to glimpse the arbitrary nature of the criminal justice system, and witness a group of people who seem to have miraculously and heroically found some sort of peace in the aftermath.
What the film does not explain is the nature of the original complaints, how the district attorney's office and local law enforcement came to target these families or what caused things to reach such a fever pitch. There is neither explanation of why local journalists seemed to accept these extraordinary convictions on face value nor any attempt to put these cases in the context of the general molestation hysteria that gripped the state and the nation at this time.
But more important, there is also no explanation for why many of the people involved in prosecuting these cases are still in public office. That they are is shocking and terrifying. What we are left with is a rather fatalistic "sometimes bad things just happen" message, which cannot have been filmmakers Dana Nachman and Don Hardy's intent.
MARY McNAMARA
Los Angeles Times
Sean Penn, who lends his name, voice and political aura to "Witch Hunt," dedicates the documentary to the thousands of Americans wrongfully imprisoned today.
It's a well-meaning but rather frustrating dedication. The eight Bakersfield parents featured in “Witch Hunt,” six wrongfully and horrifically convicted in the 1980s of multiple counts of child molestation, suffered specifically for reasons that are not fully explored in the documentary.
That Bakersfield and Kern County have long prided themselves on "cowboy justice" is mentioned, and much is laid at the door of Ed Jagels, who became district attorney on a tough-on-crime campaign. Both of these factors certainly contributed to a high arrest and conviction rate in the area.
But they don't explain the reckless, pornographic and virtually insane nature -- and number -- of charges brought against a group of clean-record, quiet-living people. (Or why no one in the criminal justice system or the media or the general public protested.)
What "Witch Hunt" does, however, is to give these falsely imprisoned parents, many of whom served 10 to 20 years, a chance to tell their stories. Through this, the viewer is able to glimpse the arbitrary nature of the criminal justice system, and witness a group of people who seem to have miraculously and heroically found some sort of peace in the aftermath.
What the film does not explain is the nature of the original complaints, how the district attorney's office and local law enforcement came to target these families or what caused things to reach such a fever pitch. There is neither explanation of why local journalists seemed to accept these extraordinary convictions on face value nor any attempt to put these cases in the context of the general molestation hysteria that gripped the state and the nation at this time.
But more important, there is also no explanation for why many of the people involved in prosecuting these cases are still in public office. That they are is shocking and terrifying. What we are left with is a rather fatalistic "sometimes bad things just happen" message, which cannot have been filmmakers Dana Nachman and Don Hardy's intent.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
porky perv
COTTAGE GROVE — A Cottage Grove police officer being investigated for allegedly posting hundreds of pornographic images of young boys on a pair of photo-sharing Web sites has resigned from the police force.
Chief Mike Grover said the officer handed him a resignation letter on Friday.
“He resigned before I could fire his ass,” Grover said Monday.
In March, FBI agents searched the Cottage Grove Police Department and the Cottage Grove patrol officer’s Eugene home for evidence.
The officer, a city employee since 1993, has been on paid administrative leave for the past month.
In his letter, the officer did not mention the federal investigation, Grover said. The officer has not been charged with any crime by either the city or the FBI.
Search warrant applications filed by FBI agent Christopher Luh state that investigators have probable cause to believe that the officer has violated federal child pornography laws.
Chief Mike Grover said the officer handed him a resignation letter on Friday.
“He resigned before I could fire his ass,” Grover said Monday.
In March, FBI agents searched the Cottage Grove Police Department and the Cottage Grove patrol officer’s Eugene home for evidence.
The officer, a city employee since 1993, has been on paid administrative leave for the past month.
In his letter, the officer did not mention the federal investigation, Grover said. The officer has not been charged with any crime by either the city or the FBI.
Search warrant applications filed by FBI agent Christopher Luh state that investigators have probable cause to believe that the officer has violated federal child pornography laws.
risky bidness
It's a curious symptom of the consensus trance zombifying the American public and its auditors in the media that something like a "recovery" is now deemed to be underway. And, as events compel me to repeat in this space, it begs the question: recovery to what? To Wall Street booking stupendous profits by laundering "risk" out of bad loans with new issues of tranche-o-matic securitized paper?
Monday, April 13, 2009
ephu, pirates!
MOMBASA, Kenya – President Barack Obama vowed Monday "to halt the rise of piracy," while shipmates of the rescued American freighter captain called for tough action against Somali bandits who are preying on one of the world's busiest sea routes.
You tell 'em, obongo! What are we waiting for....let's nuke Kenya!
You tell 'em, obongo! What are we waiting for....let's nuke Kenya!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
we is risen
Prior to April 9, 2009, I believed that EPD Chief Kerns wore his EPD uniform even when he was at home on his living room sofa watching ducks and eating cheez doodles (something tells me this guy doesn’t drink much shlitz).
If EPD Chief Kerns can wear chinos to a Eugene Police Commission meeting, I can be nice on this day that means so much to so many.
Man, it sure does rain, here in County Lane
Doesn’t stop until mid July,
But the pouring sheen makes the land so green
That you smile as you curse the sky.
She looked so sweet from her two bare feet
To the sheen of her nut brown hair.
Such a coaxing elf, sure I shook myself
For to see I was really there.
Chorus:
From Florence Bay out to Oakridge way
From Cheshire to Lorane,
No maid I've seen like the brown colleen
That I met in the County Lane.
I know what you’re thinking but remember….it’s the thought that counts!
In the crisp cool air at the Country Fair
One morning last July,
In a patch of shade came a huge parade
How they smiled as they passed me by.
He stood so high almost to the sky
On the stilts ‘neath his two bare feet
Such a naked elf, sure I shook myself
For to see I was really there.
Chorus:
From Spirit Tower (feel the bongo power!)
To the Main Stage we did roam
Out to Shady Grove (how I love to rove!)
‘Til it was time to go home.
If EPD Chief Kerns can wear chinos to a Eugene Police Commission meeting, I can be nice on this day that means so much to so many.
Man, it sure does rain, here in County Lane
Doesn’t stop until mid July,
But the pouring sheen makes the land so green
That you smile as you curse the sky.
She looked so sweet from her two bare feet
To the sheen of her nut brown hair.
Such a coaxing elf, sure I shook myself
For to see I was really there.
Chorus:
From Florence Bay out to Oakridge way
From Cheshire to Lorane,
No maid I've seen like the brown colleen
That I met in the County Lane.
I know what you’re thinking but remember….it’s the thought that counts!
In the crisp cool air at the Country Fair
One morning last July,
In a patch of shade came a huge parade
How they smiled as they passed me by.
He stood so high almost to the sky
On the stilts ‘neath his two bare feet
Such a naked elf, sure I shook myself
For to see I was really there.
Chorus:
From Spirit Tower (feel the bongo power!)
To the Main Stage we did roam
Out to Shady Grove (how I love to rove!)
‘Til it was time to go home.
duck-shooting ducks
4.1.09 Police said three members of the University of Oregon men’s basketball team were detained at gunpoint after shooting BBs at ducks and geese in Alton Baker Park on Monday night.
Like many Eugene residents, I was outraged to learn that three Oregon basketball players (Michael R. Dunigan, Teondre Javon Williams and Cedric Josh Critle) were caught shooting ducks at Alton Baker Park. Sheesh, if you're gonna get your duck on duck violence on, really get it on! Let's see Bev Smith and Lynn Frohnmayer cage fighting! Let's see Mike Belotti and Pat Kilkenny have a blindfolded shootout.
Let's see some REAL duck on duck violence, okay Ernie "I score lots of beaver that's not attached to Mrs." Kent?
star of the county down
In Elmira rain in the County Lane
One morning last July,
In a forest green walked a sweet colleen
And she smiled as she passed me by.
She looked so sweet from her muddy feet
To the sheen of her nut brown hair.
Such a coaxing elf, sure I shook myself
For to see I was really there.
Chorus:
From Florence Bay out to Oakridge Way and
From Creswell to sweet Lorane,
No babe I've seen like the brown colleen
That I met in the County Lane.
As she onward sped, sure I scratched my head,
And I looked with a feelin' rare,
And I says, says I, to a passer-by,
"Who’s the babe with the nut brown hair"?
He smiled at me and he says, says he,
"You mean the gem with the chestnut mane?
She’s a soccer mom on the banks of the Tom,
She's the star of the County Lane".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Tom_River
Chorus:
From Florence Bay out to Oakridge Way and
From Creswell to sweet Lorane,
No babe I've seen like the brown colleen
That I met in the County Lane.
At the Country Fair she'll be surely there
So I'll dress in my tie-dyed clothes,
With my Birkenstocks and my hat cocked
Right for a smile from my chestnut rose.
One pipe I'll smoke, one horse I'll yoke
And I’ll think of that July rain
And my muddy feet and the maid so sweet
Who’s the star of the County Lane.
One morning last July,
In a forest green walked a sweet colleen
And she smiled as she passed me by.
She looked so sweet from her muddy feet
To the sheen of her nut brown hair.
Such a coaxing elf, sure I shook myself
For to see I was really there.
Chorus:
From Florence Bay out to Oakridge Way and
From Creswell to sweet Lorane,
No babe I've seen like the brown colleen
That I met in the County Lane.
As she onward sped, sure I scratched my head,
And I looked with a feelin' rare,
And I says, says I, to a passer-by,
"Who’s the babe with the nut brown hair"?
He smiled at me and he says, says he,
"You mean the gem with the chestnut mane?
She’s a soccer mom on the banks of the Tom,
She's the star of the County Lane".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Tom_River
Chorus:
From Florence Bay out to Oakridge Way and
From Creswell to sweet Lorane,
No babe I've seen like the brown colleen
That I met in the County Lane.
At the Country Fair she'll be surely there
So I'll dress in my tie-dyed clothes,
With my Birkenstocks and my hat cocked
Right for a smile from my chestnut rose.
One pipe I'll smoke, one horse I'll yoke
And I’ll think of that July rain
And my muddy feet and the maid so sweet
Who’s the star of the County Lane.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
birkenstock bandit
Gavin McComas owns the very lucrative Sundance Food Store. Last month, he decided to pay for construction work to improve the alley behind Sundance, which is owned by the City of Eugene. This is a VERY public area - City of Eugene Planning Directors Susan Muir and Lisa Gardner surely knew about the code-violating work going on but chose to do nothing.
The question is why the city of Eugene turned a blind eye to the brazenly illegal behavior of Mr. McComas.
Friday, April 10, 2009
epd sergeant mike "ors 163.165" gilbert?
David Owen: Unfortunately (at least for me but I believe also for the Eugene Police Department) a particularly aggressive officer [Sergeant Mike Gilbert] charged at me, grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back, and, in the same motion through me hard to the cement where I hit my head and was apparently unconscious for perhaps 10 to 15 seconds.
picture of Gilbert and Owen here.
On May 30, 2008 there was a confrontation between pesticide activists and officers from the Eugene Police Department and Homeland Security. Three men were arrested.
Ian Van Ornum was charged with resisting arrest (ORS 162.315/Class A Misdemeanor).and disorderly conduct (ORS 166.025/Class B Misdemeanor).
Anthony Farley was charged with assault, interfering with a police officer (ORS 162.247/Class A Misdemeanor), and disorderly conduct (ORS 166.025/Class B Misdemeanor).
David Owen was charged with interfering with a police officer (ORS 162.247/Class A Misdemeanor), disorderly conduct (ORS 166.025/Class B Misdemeanor) and resisting arrest (ORS 162.315/Class A Misdemeanor).
On August 12, 2008 a Lane County Grand Jury re-evaluated the hasty decisions made by the EPD on May 30, 2008. Some decisions were confirmed. Others were not.
The grand jury agreed 100% with EPD that there was probable cause to charge Mr. Van Ornum with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
The grand jury agreed with EPD that there was probable cause to charge Mr. Farley with assault, interfering with a police officer and disorderly conduct. However, Grand Jury Foreman Karen A. Esperanza and her colleagues thought that the EPD had erred when it failed to charge Mr. Farley with riot (ORS 166.015/Class C Felony).
The grand jury disagreed with EPD that there was probable cause to charge Mr. Owen with interfering with a police officer, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest and charged him with nothing.
The grand jury disagreed with EPD that there was no reason to charge David Parzaile with any crimes and charged him with interfering with a police officer (ORS 162.247/Class A Misdemeanor), and disorderly conduct (ORS 166.025/Class B Misdemeanor) and riot (ORS 166.015/Class C Felony).
The fact that there is so much disagreement between the Grand Jury evaluations on August 12, 2008 and the EPD decisions on May 30, 2008 is evidence that the first responders from EPD are not very good in assessing probable cause.
The fact that the grand jury decided that there was not probable cause to charge Mr. Owen with any crimes means that there is more than probable cause to charge Sergeant Gilbert with third degree assault (ORS 163.165/ Class C Felony).
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
ham burger
Lane County Sheriff Russ Burger says the holders of concealed handgun licenses have spoken: Don’t release our information to the media or anybody else in the public.
Burger and other Oregon sheriffs have been sending letters to holders of concealed weapons permits to determine whether they want that information available to the public.
It’s the latest turn in a dispute over whether the public should have the right to know who is licensed to carry a concealed weapon and whether permit holders have a right to privacy based on personal security considerations.
Matt Cooper, Eugene Register Guard, February 24, 2009
Police said a 24-year-old man shot and killed himself early Monday during a movie at a Eugene theater. About 10 people were seated in the Regal Cinema theater at Valley River Center when the man used a handgun to commit suicide midway through a showing of the film “Watchmen,” Eugene police spokeswoman Jenna LaBounty said.
Eugene Register Guard, April 7, 2009
The last time I went to a movie theater was in January, 2007 when I went to the Gateway Mall with the ex-wife of a surgeon at Slocum Orthopedics to see “Children of Men.” Prior to that, the last time I went to a movie theater was when Clinton was in office. Nevertheless, I am horrified and terrified at the suicide at Valley River on April 6, 2009.
While no one else was injured, one can easily imagine a scenario like this where other people are killed. One can easily imagine a scenario like this that occurs in a neighborhood bar and not in a movie theater.
Lane County Sheriff Russ Burger believes that Lane County residents are only entitled to know whether their colleagues and neighbors have concealed weapons permits if the concealed weapons holder approves of this public notice. Sheriff Burger’s position on this issue is horrendously biased in favor of gun owners and against the rest of us.
With pigs like Russ Burger, who needs thugs like James Claire Haynes!
Burger and other Oregon sheriffs have been sending letters to holders of concealed weapons permits to determine whether they want that information available to the public.
It’s the latest turn in a dispute over whether the public should have the right to know who is licensed to carry a concealed weapon and whether permit holders have a right to privacy based on personal security considerations.
Matt Cooper, Eugene Register Guard, February 24, 2009
Police said a 24-year-old man shot and killed himself early Monday during a movie at a Eugene theater. About 10 people were seated in the Regal Cinema theater at Valley River Center when the man used a handgun to commit suicide midway through a showing of the film “Watchmen,” Eugene police spokeswoman Jenna LaBounty said.
Eugene Register Guard, April 7, 2009
The last time I went to a movie theater was in January, 2007 when I went to the Gateway Mall with the ex-wife of a surgeon at Slocum Orthopedics to see “Children of Men.” Prior to that, the last time I went to a movie theater was when Clinton was in office. Nevertheless, I am horrified and terrified at the suicide at Valley River on April 6, 2009.
While no one else was injured, one can easily imagine a scenario like this where other people are killed. One can easily imagine a scenario like this that occurs in a neighborhood bar and not in a movie theater.
Lane County Sheriff Russ Burger believes that Lane County residents are only entitled to know whether their colleagues and neighbors have concealed weapons permits if the concealed weapons holder approves of this public notice. Sheriff Burger’s position on this issue is horrendously biased in favor of gun owners and against the rest of us.
With pigs like Russ Burger, who needs thugs like James Claire Haynes!
confusion re: 4.3.09 hearing
To: Lane County Public Defender David Saydack (UO Law, 2007)
Deputy Lane County District Attorney Joann Miller
Re: 4.3.09 hearing re: Lane County Circuit Court Case 2108-26446
Dear Mr. Saydack and Ms. Miller,
I am still very confused about the hearing in Judge Mitchell’s courtroom on Friday, April 3, 2009 regarding Lane County Circuit Court Case 2108-26446 (Trial date: March 4, 2009; Sentencing date, March 12, 2009). The “notice of motion docket appearance” I received via U.S. Post Office mail had the words “reconsider motion to withdraw” written on the top. That is, the Motion to Withdraw as Counsel submitted by Lane County Public Defender Saydack and rejected by Lane County Circuit Court Judge Mitchell immediately prior to the sentencing hearing on March 12, 2009 was reconsidered on April 3, 2009.
I have a copy of a March 23, 2009 “Motion for release and stay of execution of judgment pending appeal” and “Affidavit of counsel in support of motion for release and stay of execution of judgment” that Mr. Saydack filed with the Lane County Circuit Court. I received it via U.S. Post Office mail.
I do not have a copy of a motion dated after March 12, 2009 submitted by Mr. Saydack to Judge Mitchell that asks for a reconsideration of the March 12, 2009 motion to withdraw as counsel that Saydack submitted and Mitchell rejected.
Question 1: How come the March 23, 2009 Motion for release and stay of execution of judgment did not trigger a notice of motion docket appearance but a request for reconsideration of the March 12, 2009 motion that I have not yet seen (despite requesting it from Mr. Saydack last week) did trigger a notice of motion docket appearance?
Question 2: If Judge Mitchell believes that LCPD Saydack ceased to be my lawyer after the sentencing hearing on March 12, 2009 then how come:
a. Judge Mitchell didn’t write a letter to Mr. Saydack, Ms. Miller and me stating that belief after receiving the motion from Mr. Saydack on March 23, 2009?
b. Judge Mitchell cc’d Mr. Saydack on his March 19, 2009 letter to me?
c. the copy of Judge Mitchell’s Judgment (Bench Probation) re: 2108-26446 that was filed at 12:25 P.M. on March 12, 2009 was mailed to me by Mr. Saydack with a cover letter dated march 18, 2009? Why wasn’t the Judgment sent to me directly by Judge Mitchell on March 12, 2009 instead of being forwarded to Mr. Saydack to forward to me on March 18, 2009 if Judge Mitchell believes that Mr. Saydack ceased to represent me on March 12, 2009?
Question 3: If LCPD Saydack ceased to be relevant after the March 12, 2009 sentencing hearing, then surely Deputy LCDA Miller did as well. Why was she even at the April 3, 2009 hearing? Why did Judge Mitchell ask her if she had any objections, after he rejected the motion to withdraw as counsel and motion for stay of execution of sentence?
Question 4: How come Judge Mitchell considered Mr. Saydack’s March 23, 2009 Motion for stay of execution of sentence after stating that he believed Mr. Saydack’s [DATE CURRENTLY UNKNOWN] motion for reconsideration of the March 12, 2009 motion to withdraw as counsel was a moot point since Mr. Saydack automatically ceased to be my lawyer after the March 12, 2009 sentencing hearing?
Question 5: Shouldn’t Judge Mitchell be housed either in the State Penitentiary or the State Mental Hospital in Salem and not at 125 E. 8th in Eugene?
Deputy Lane County District Attorney Joann Miller
Re: 4.3.09 hearing re: Lane County Circuit Court Case 2108-26446
Dear Mr. Saydack and Ms. Miller,
I am still very confused about the hearing in Judge Mitchell’s courtroom on Friday, April 3, 2009 regarding Lane County Circuit Court Case 2108-26446 (Trial date: March 4, 2009; Sentencing date, March 12, 2009). The “notice of motion docket appearance” I received via U.S. Post Office mail had the words “reconsider motion to withdraw” written on the top. That is, the Motion to Withdraw as Counsel submitted by Lane County Public Defender Saydack and rejected by Lane County Circuit Court Judge Mitchell immediately prior to the sentencing hearing on March 12, 2009 was reconsidered on April 3, 2009.
I have a copy of a March 23, 2009 “Motion for release and stay of execution of judgment pending appeal” and “Affidavit of counsel in support of motion for release and stay of execution of judgment” that Mr. Saydack filed with the Lane County Circuit Court. I received it via U.S. Post Office mail.
I do not have a copy of a motion dated after March 12, 2009 submitted by Mr. Saydack to Judge Mitchell that asks for a reconsideration of the March 12, 2009 motion to withdraw as counsel that Saydack submitted and Mitchell rejected.
Question 1: How come the March 23, 2009 Motion for release and stay of execution of judgment did not trigger a notice of motion docket appearance but a request for reconsideration of the March 12, 2009 motion that I have not yet seen (despite requesting it from Mr. Saydack last week) did trigger a notice of motion docket appearance?
Question 2: If Judge Mitchell believes that LCPD Saydack ceased to be my lawyer after the sentencing hearing on March 12, 2009 then how come:
a. Judge Mitchell didn’t write a letter to Mr. Saydack, Ms. Miller and me stating that belief after receiving the motion from Mr. Saydack on March 23, 2009?
b. Judge Mitchell cc’d Mr. Saydack on his March 19, 2009 letter to me?
c. the copy of Judge Mitchell’s Judgment (Bench Probation) re: 2108-26446 that was filed at 12:25 P.M. on March 12, 2009 was mailed to me by Mr. Saydack with a cover letter dated march 18, 2009? Why wasn’t the Judgment sent to me directly by Judge Mitchell on March 12, 2009 instead of being forwarded to Mr. Saydack to forward to me on March 18, 2009 if Judge Mitchell believes that Mr. Saydack ceased to represent me on March 12, 2009?
Question 3: If LCPD Saydack ceased to be relevant after the March 12, 2009 sentencing hearing, then surely Deputy LCDA Miller did as well. Why was she even at the April 3, 2009 hearing? Why did Judge Mitchell ask her if she had any objections, after he rejected the motion to withdraw as counsel and motion for stay of execution of sentence?
Question 4: How come Judge Mitchell considered Mr. Saydack’s March 23, 2009 Motion for stay of execution of sentence after stating that he believed Mr. Saydack’s [DATE CURRENTLY UNKNOWN] motion for reconsideration of the March 12, 2009 motion to withdraw as counsel was a moot point since Mr. Saydack automatically ceased to be my lawyer after the March 12, 2009 sentencing hearing?
Question 5: Shouldn’t Judge Mitchell be housed either in the State Penitentiary or the State Mental Hospital in Salem and not at 125 E. 8th in Eugene?
ciao to haz*
Last week, I had to drive to the Richard K. Sherman Defendant & Offender Management Center (conveniently located inside the Lane County Jail at 100 W. 5th St. in Eugene) on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, pay $6 to park all day and then go sit locked in a cage for 6.5 hours (8:30-3:00).
[Note: The Richard K. Sherman Defendant & Offender Management Center should not be confused with the F. Thug-ass Harclerodent Offensive Prosecutor Center, which is located on the fourth floor of the Lane County Courthouse at 125 E. 8th Ave. in Eugene or the Stump Stewart Offensive Manager Center which is on the second floor of the LCC.)]
I was originally assigned to 9 days of the sheriff’s work crew when I reported to the Sherman D&O Center on March 12, 2009 after being ordered by Lane County Circus Court Judge Douglas S. Mitchell to go there by the end of the day to make arrangements to serve the 10-day jail or equivalent sentence he imposed on me, pursuant to his conviction of me (ORS 163.212) in a bench trial (2108-26446) on March 4, 2009. But after calling Deputy Slater when I got home on my third day of road crew (March 25, 2009) to complain about being bullied by Vic Alani and a logger from Florence on the bus, I was demoted from road crew to sit-in.
On Friday, I had to drive to the Lane County Courthouse for an 8:30 a.m. hearing with Judge Douglas Mitchell, LCPD David Saydack and Deputy LCDA Joann Miller to reconsider Mr. Saydack’s motion to withdraw as counsel that was submitted on March 8, 2009, four days after the trial began and ended and four days before the sentencing hearing.
Mr. Saydack originally presented his motion to for the Lane County Public Defender’s Office to withdraw as counsel at the March 12, 2009 sentencing hearing. While my motivation for requesting that he withdraw as counsel after conviction and prior to sentencing was to force the LCPD to find a lawyer from the pro bono replacement pool to represent me at sentencing. This would serve two purposes. First, it would force a delay in the sentencing. Second, I would have the chance that Mr. Saydack would be replaced by a lawyer with functional frontal lobes like the one I had prior to the 35-day call back (John Volmert.)
But Mr. Saydack was prepared to force me to be represented on March 12, 2009 by Andrew Ross, a paranoid schizophrenic tweaker that I had previously had legal interaction with at which time he told me he did not handle misdemeanor criminal cases like 2106-16276. Given that Mr. Ross himself had told me he did not feel qualified to represent me for a few thousand dollars in the incident involving Barbara Sloat Stipek , I did not have confidence that he could represent me for free in 2108-26446. The fact that the Lane County Public Defender’s Office was prepared to force me to be represented by someone I had never met, let alone discussed my case with, is evidence that Greg Haz* (his name is as flabby as he is!) should resign as of yesterday.
TO BE CONTINUED
[Note: The Richard K. Sherman Defendant & Offender Management Center should not be confused with the F. Thug-ass Harclerodent Offensive Prosecutor Center, which is located on the fourth floor of the Lane County Courthouse at 125 E. 8th Ave. in Eugene or the Stump Stewart Offensive Manager Center which is on the second floor of the LCC.)]
I was originally assigned to 9 days of the sheriff’s work crew when I reported to the Sherman D&O Center on March 12, 2009 after being ordered by Lane County Circus Court Judge Douglas S. Mitchell to go there by the end of the day to make arrangements to serve the 10-day jail or equivalent sentence he imposed on me, pursuant to his conviction of me (ORS 163.212) in a bench trial (2108-26446) on March 4, 2009. But after calling Deputy Slater when I got home on my third day of road crew (March 25, 2009) to complain about being bullied by Vic Alani and a logger from Florence on the bus, I was demoted from road crew to sit-in.
On Friday, I had to drive to the Lane County Courthouse for an 8:30 a.m. hearing with Judge Douglas Mitchell, LCPD David Saydack and Deputy LCDA Joann Miller to reconsider Mr. Saydack’s motion to withdraw as counsel that was submitted on March 8, 2009, four days after the trial began and ended and four days before the sentencing hearing.
Mr. Saydack originally presented his motion to for the Lane County Public Defender’s Office to withdraw as counsel at the March 12, 2009 sentencing hearing. While my motivation for requesting that he withdraw as counsel after conviction and prior to sentencing was to force the LCPD to find a lawyer from the pro bono replacement pool to represent me at sentencing. This would serve two purposes. First, it would force a delay in the sentencing. Second, I would have the chance that Mr. Saydack would be replaced by a lawyer with functional frontal lobes like the one I had prior to the 35-day call back (John Volmert.)
But Mr. Saydack was prepared to force me to be represented on March 12, 2009 by Andrew Ross, a paranoid schizophrenic tweaker that I had previously had legal interaction with at which time he told me he did not handle misdemeanor criminal cases like 2106-16276. Given that Mr. Ross himself had told me he did not feel qualified to represent me for a few thousand dollars in the incident involving Barbara Sloat Stipek , I did not have confidence that he could represent me for free in 2108-26446. The fact that the Lane County Public Defender’s Office was prepared to force me to be represented by someone I had never met, let alone discussed my case with, is evidence that Greg Haz* (his name is as flabby as he is!) should resign as of yesterday.
TO BE CONTINUED
sherman d&o center
Last week, I had to drive to the Richard K. Sherman Defendant & Offender Management Center (conveniently located inside the Lane County Jail at 100 W. 5th St. in Eugene) on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, pay $6 to park all day and then go sit locked in a cage for 6.5 hours (8:30-3:00).
[Note: The Richard K. Sherman Defendant & Offender Management Center should not be confused with the F. Thug-ass Harclerodent Offensive Prosecutor Center, which is located on the fourth floor of the Lane County Courthouse at 125 E. 8th Ave. in Eugene or the Stump Stewart Offensive Manager Center which is on the second floor of the LCC.)]
I was originally assigned to 9 days of the sheriff’s work crew when I reported to the Sherman D&O Center on March 12, 2009 after being ordered by Lane County Circus Court Judge Douglas S. Mitchell to go there by the end of the day to make arrangements to serve the 10-day jail or equivalent sentence he imposed on me, pursuant to his conviction of me (ORS 163.212) in a bench trial (2108-26446) on March 4, 2009. But after calling Deputy Slater when I got home on my third day of road crew (March 25, 2009) to complain about being bullied by Vic Alani and a logger from Florence on the bus, I was demoted from road crew to sit-in.
On Friday, I had to drive to the Lane County Courthouse for an 8:30 a.m. hearing with Judge Douglas Mitchell, LCPD David Saydack and Deputy LCDA Joann Miller to reconsider Mr. Saydack’s motion to withdraw as counsel that was submitted on March 8, 2009, four days after the trial began and ended and four days before the sentencing hearing.
Mr. Saydack originally presented his motion to for the Lane County Public Defender’s Office to withdraw as counsel at the March 12, 2009 sentencing hearing. While my motivation for requesting that he withdraw as counsel after conviction and prior to sentencing was to force the LCPD to find a lawyer from the pro bono replacement pool to represent me at sentencing. This would serve two purposes. First, it would force a delay in the sentencing. Second, I would have the chance that Mr. Saydack would be replaced by a lawyer with functional frontal lobes like the one I had prior to the 35-day call back (John Volmert.)
But Mr. Saydack was prepared to force me to be represented on March 12, 2009 by Andrew Ross, a paranoid schizophrenic tweaker that I had previously had legal interaction with at which time he told me he did not handle misdemeanor criminal cases like 2106-16276. Given that Mr. Ross himself had told me he did not feel qualified to represent me for a few thousand dollars in the incident involving Barbara Sloat Stipek , I did not have confidence that he could represent me for free in 2108-26446. The fact that the Lane County Public Defender’s Office was prepared to force me to be represented by someone I had never met, let alone discussed my case with, is evidence that Greg Haz* (his name is as flabby as he is!) should resign as of yesterday.
TO BE CONTINUED
[Note: The Richard K. Sherman Defendant & Offender Management Center should not be confused with the F. Thug-ass Harclerodent Offensive Prosecutor Center, which is located on the fourth floor of the Lane County Courthouse at 125 E. 8th Ave. in Eugene or the Stump Stewart Offensive Manager Center which is on the second floor of the LCC.)]
I was originally assigned to 9 days of the sheriff’s work crew when I reported to the Sherman D&O Center on March 12, 2009 after being ordered by Lane County Circus Court Judge Douglas S. Mitchell to go there by the end of the day to make arrangements to serve the 10-day jail or equivalent sentence he imposed on me, pursuant to his conviction of me (ORS 163.212) in a bench trial (2108-26446) on March 4, 2009. But after calling Deputy Slater when I got home on my third day of road crew (March 25, 2009) to complain about being bullied by Vic Alani and a logger from Florence on the bus, I was demoted from road crew to sit-in.
On Friday, I had to drive to the Lane County Courthouse for an 8:30 a.m. hearing with Judge Douglas Mitchell, LCPD David Saydack and Deputy LCDA Joann Miller to reconsider Mr. Saydack’s motion to withdraw as counsel that was submitted on March 8, 2009, four days after the trial began and ended and four days before the sentencing hearing.
Mr. Saydack originally presented his motion to for the Lane County Public Defender’s Office to withdraw as counsel at the March 12, 2009 sentencing hearing. While my motivation for requesting that he withdraw as counsel after conviction and prior to sentencing was to force the LCPD to find a lawyer from the pro bono replacement pool to represent me at sentencing. This would serve two purposes. First, it would force a delay in the sentencing. Second, I would have the chance that Mr. Saydack would be replaced by a lawyer with functional frontal lobes like the one I had prior to the 35-day call back (John Volmert.)
But Mr. Saydack was prepared to force me to be represented on March 12, 2009 by Andrew Ross, a paranoid schizophrenic tweaker that I had previously had legal interaction with at which time he told me he did not handle misdemeanor criminal cases like 2106-16276. Given that Mr. Ross himself had told me he did not feel qualified to represent me for a few thousand dollars in the incident involving Barbara Sloat Stipek , I did not have confidence that he could represent me for free in 2108-26446. The fact that the Lane County Public Defender’s Office was prepared to force me to be represented by someone I had never met, let alone discussed my case with, is evidence that Greg Haz* (his name is as flabby as he is!) should resign as of yesterday.
TO BE CONTINUED
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
koenig's client
ROSEBURG, Ore. -- The trial for a man accused of killing his mother and trying to kill his father in Sutherlin in 2008 has been delayed until next year.
Gabriel Riley, 29, will not face trial until at least March of next year. Judge Ronald Poole granted the extension for the defense Monday morning.
The trial was set for July 7, but Judge Poole set a new date of March 16, 2010.
Defense attorney Daniel Koenig asked for more time to obtain discovery evidence and prepare for the case in light of the new charges of solicitation to commit aggravated murder and conspiracy to commit aggravated murder.
dear david saydack
David,
You still don't seem to understand that my inability to work with the Lane County Public Defender's office began on January 8, 2009 (35-day callback re: 2108-26446) and not some time after the March 4, 2009 trial as you perjurously alleged to Judge Douglas "dopamine" Mitchell at the March 12, 2009 sentencing hearing. When I watched LCPD John Volmert:
a. put his head in Deputy LCDA David Vill's lap and nuzzle his genitals and
b. laugh like a schoolgirl at Erik Hasselman's pathetic kissing of Judge Bearden's ass, that's when my relationship with LCPD was irrevocably damaged. (If Mrs. Hasselman knew where Erik's tongue was all day, she wouldn't want it on her REDACT at night!)
Make a note of the January 8, 2009 date, please, to avoid perjuring yourself in the future.
Sincerely,
Dr. Frisch
You still don't seem to understand that my inability to work with the Lane County Public Defender's office began on January 8, 2009 (35-day callback re: 2108-26446) and not some time after the March 4, 2009 trial as you perjurously alleged to Judge Douglas "dopamine" Mitchell at the March 12, 2009 sentencing hearing. When I watched LCPD John Volmert:
a. put his head in Deputy LCDA David Vill's lap and nuzzle his genitals and
b. laugh like a schoolgirl at Erik Hasselman's pathetic kissing of Judge Bearden's ass, that's when my relationship with LCPD was irrevocably damaged. (If Mrs. Hasselman knew where Erik's tongue was all day, she wouldn't want it on her REDACT at night!)
Make a note of the January 8, 2009 date, please, to avoid perjuring yourself in the future.
Sincerely,
Dr. Frisch
van moron vs. lois lane
The trial of pesticide protester Ian Van Ornum, set to begin this month, may become one of the most closely watched misdemeanor cases ever prosecuted in Eugene.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin April 14. Officially, the case boils down to two questions: Did the University of Oregon student block traffic and engage in disorderly conduct during an anti-pesticide protest in downtown Eugene last May 30? And did Van Ornum resist arrest when Eugene police Sgt. Bill Solesbee tried to take him into custody?
Unofficially, however, the case is about larger, polarizing issues, such as the police department’s stun-gun policy and officer Jud Warden’s decision to twice use a Taser on Van Ornum during his arrest.
Karen McGowan Eugene Register Guard April 3, 2009
I agree 100% with Ms. McGowan that the trial of Ian Van Ornum may become one of the most closely watched misdemeanor cases ever prosecuted in the Lane County Circus Court. I suspect Mr. van Ornum’s experience of being tried on misdemeanor charges in the Lane County Circus Court will be comparable to my experience on March 4, 2009. Being prosecuted by Deputy LCDA Joann Miller, defended by LCPD David Saydack and judged by LCCC Judge Douglas Mitchell was like turning my fate over to a team from the Special Olympics. It is horrifying, terrifying and infuriating but infinitely better than turning over your fate to a trio of morons when you’ve been accused of felonies.
If Mr. van Ornum really is forced to be prosecuted by Deputy LCDA Lois (a.k.a. “Bob”) Lane, defense attorneys Laura “not so”Fine and Brian Michaels and judged by Jack “I put shlitz in my cheerios” Billing, then there’s really not a lot to say. Once you’re launched into the terror of having your life controlled by r-words, all bets are off.
Mr. van Ornum’s only hope is to convince Deputy LCDA Lane and his superiors (LCDA Alex Gardner and Chief Deputy LCDA Patty Perlow) that it is not in the state of Oregon’s interest to pursue the misdemeanor charges against him. He could try the argument I unsuccessfully used – at the trial, EPD Officer Judson Warden will be forced to give testimony that will expose him to felony charges. Surely it is not in the state’s interest to expose a law enforcement agent to felony charges in the act of prosecuting a civilian for misdeanor charges.
Now I know what you’re thinking – uh, great idea, Deb…we see how well it worked out for you!
But something tells me the second time might be the charm with the “don’t make me press felony charges against Officer Warden, Mr. Gardner!” shtick.
For one thing, there’s the picture of Officer Warden deploying the Taser-brand personal electrocution device while another officer is kneeling next to Mr. van Ornum, who is face down on cement.
Monday, April 6, 2009
you got it!
Jim Kunstler: Americans borrowed too much, and the bankers who made obscene fortunes in fees and bonuses in fraudulent lending managed to leverage this unpayable debt into the greatest collective swindle the world has ever known.
zionofascist ducks
ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz said he is taking steps to remove the Pacifica Forum from the EMU. The group was recently designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, though its members insist it is a "free speech group."
For more zionofascist ducks, see also.
For more zionofascist ducks, see also.
david saydack
my first free shyster from the lane county public defender's office was john "vermin" volmert. he had 30 years of experience. my second free shyster was david saydack, a 2000 graduate of lowell high school and 2007 graduate of the uo law school. as far as i know, mr. saydack is the first "fanconi's scholar" to graduate from the uo law school. fanconi's scholars are people with genetic disorders admitted to a special program at the uo law school, run by caroline forell and nancy shurtz. mr. saydack is allegedly the first person with down syndrome to ever graduate from a law school in the usa.
today i learned of yet another accomplishment of david saydack - hwas an All-Trico league defensive lineman for Lowell High School.
WAY TO GO, DAVID!!
a pair of gems
Champagne and Diamonds
75th Anniversary Celebration
Friday, April 3, 6:00 p.m.
$150
The evening’s celebration, [at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art] hosted by [University of whOregon] President Dave Frohnmayer and Lynn Frohnmayer, will consist of multiple musical performances, elegant 7-course revolving hors d'oeuvres, and libations to lift the spirits. Each guest will have an opportunity to win a 1 carat diamond donated by Skeie’s Jewelers. Valet parking provided. For reservation or additional information, please call (541) 346-3027.
How fitting that David and Lynn Frohnmayer hosted a gala evening involving diamonds. Dave and Lynn are a pair of GEMS (genetically, ethically and mentally substandard.)
Way to go, Schnitzer and Skeie's!
copter fodder
welcome home, copter fodder.
this joke dedicated to springfield oregon police chief jerry "chorizo" smith and john coaty of evergreen, colorado and barbara sloat of oak hill elementary school.
Friends of Alex Gardner
The same hostility to democratic debate illustrated by Alex “I got a perfect 100 on my IQ test” Gardner in his desperate bid to run unopposed for LCDA in the May 20, 2008 primary was exhibited in the one-sided, self-serving propaganda (Yes on 57! No on 61!) from Mr. Gardner and former Lane County Public Safety Coordinating Council (PSCC) laid citizen/Sponsors director of men’s servicing Paul Solomon at the October 3, 2008 Eugene Shitty Club meeting.
[Incestuous note: Paul REDACT Solomon works for Eugene Police Auditor Ordinance Committee (PAORC) laid member Ron “elk poacher” Chase, who is the director of Sponsors Halfway House for Very Naughty Men. Former Eugene City Councilor/former Eugene Police Commission Chair Tim Laue recently retired as the chair of the LaMe County PSCC and is the current chair of the EWEgene PAORC. ]
Lane County voters were presented with thirteen “decisions” (HA!) on the May 20, 2008 primary “nonpartisan” (HAHAHA!!!) ballot. Two of the thirteen choices involved two or more options.
1. Three rabid Republicans ran for the nonpartisan office of sheriff: Russ “I love to rub my glock against Rick Dancer” Burger, Daniel Schmitz and Rick E. Dobsen.
2. Two people ran for the uber-powerful position of Central Lane Justice of the Peace, Wally Hicks and Cynthia Sinclair. (What does this job entail? Providing shotgun weddings to redneck, inbred tweakers in the outback of Noti, Cottage Grove or Drain who can’t get to 125 E. 8th St. in Eugene?)
Eleven shysters ran unopposed.
1. Supreme Court Judge Position 1 (Thomas A. Balmer)
2. Appeals Court Judge Position 1 (David Schuman)
3. Appeals Court Judge Position 2 (Walt Edmonds)
4. Oregon Tax Court Judge (Henry C. Breithaupt)
5. Circuit Court Judge 2nd District Position 2 (Charles D. Carlson)
6. Circuit Court Judge 2nd District Position 4 (Charles M. Zennache)
7. Circuit Court Judge 2nd District Position 5 (Kip Leonard)
8. Circuit Court Judge 2nd District Position 8 (Jack Billings)
9. Circuit Court Judge 2nd District Position 12 (Ted Carp)
10. Circuit Court Judge 2nd District Position 15 (Eveleen Henry)
11. Lane County District Attorney (Alex Gardner)
Alex Gardner is in excellent company in Lane County as a democracy-hating lawyer!
It’s time to play Lane County Shyster jeopardy! Our categories:
1. LaMe County Circus Court Judges
2. LaMe County Ditzy Attorneys
3. LaMe County Pubic (and private) Defenders
With our host, Alex Trabek!
I’ll take LaMe County Circus Court Judges for $100, Alex.
This LaMe County Circus Court Judge is an enthusiastic Friend of Alex Gardner. Only in Eugene can dykes be fags!
Who is newbie LCCC Judge/former LCDA Debra Vogt?
Good guess, but I’m sorry. The correct answer is….
Of course, beaver eater bearden is the exception that proves the rule. Most Friends of Alex Gardner are fags!
I’ll take LaMe County Circus Court Judges for $200, Alex.
This LaMe County Circus Court Judge was the only one to attend the memorial service for Jim "non-partisan educator" Klonoski. I think he was hoping to lure Nick home to his hot tub!
Who is Lyle Velure?
Good guess, but we're talking about current, not former LCCC Judges.
[Incestuous note: Paul REDACT Solomon works for Eugene Police Auditor Ordinance Committee (PAORC) laid member Ron “elk poacher” Chase, who is the director of Sponsors Halfway House for Very Naughty Men. Former Eugene City Councilor/former Eugene Police Commission Chair Tim Laue recently retired as the chair of the LaMe County PSCC and is the current chair of the EWEgene PAORC. ]
Lane County voters were presented with thirteen “decisions” (HA!) on the May 20, 2008 primary “nonpartisan” (HAHAHA!!!) ballot. Two of the thirteen choices involved two or more options.
1. Three rabid Republicans ran for the nonpartisan office of sheriff: Russ “I love to rub my glock against Rick Dancer” Burger, Daniel Schmitz and Rick E. Dobsen.
2. Two people ran for the uber-powerful position of Central Lane Justice of the Peace, Wally Hicks and Cynthia Sinclair. (What does this job entail? Providing shotgun weddings to redneck, inbred tweakers in the outback of Noti, Cottage Grove or Drain who can’t get to 125 E. 8th St. in Eugene?)
Eleven shysters ran unopposed.
1. Supreme Court Judge Position 1 (Thomas A. Balmer)
2. Appeals Court Judge Position 1 (David Schuman)
3. Appeals Court Judge Position 2 (Walt Edmonds)
4. Oregon Tax Court Judge (Henry C. Breithaupt)
5. Circuit Court Judge 2nd District Position 2 (Charles D. Carlson)
6. Circuit Court Judge 2nd District Position 4 (Charles M. Zennache)
7. Circuit Court Judge 2nd District Position 5 (Kip Leonard)
8. Circuit Court Judge 2nd District Position 8 (Jack Billings)
9. Circuit Court Judge 2nd District Position 12 (Ted Carp)
10. Circuit Court Judge 2nd District Position 15 (Eveleen Henry)
11. Lane County District Attorney (Alex Gardner)
Alex Gardner is in excellent company in Lane County as a democracy-hating lawyer!
It’s time to play Lane County Shyster jeopardy! Our categories:
1. LaMe County Circus Court Judges
2. LaMe County Ditzy Attorneys
3. LaMe County Pubic (and private) Defenders
With our host, Alex Trabek!
I’ll take LaMe County Circus Court Judges for $100, Alex.
This LaMe County Circus Court Judge is an enthusiastic Friend of Alex Gardner. Only in Eugene can dykes be fags!
Who is newbie LCCC Judge/former LCDA Debra Vogt?
Good guess, but I’m sorry. The correct answer is….
Of course, beaver eater bearden is the exception that proves the rule. Most Friends of Alex Gardner are fags!
I’ll take LaMe County Circus Court Judges for $200, Alex.
This LaMe County Circus Court Judge was the only one to attend the memorial service for Jim "non-partisan educator" Klonoski. I think he was hoping to lure Nick home to his hot tub!
Who is Lyle Velure?
Good guess, but we're talking about current, not former LCCC Judges.
cochon de coquille
Winston Ross, ewegene inbredgister guard, April 6, 2009
Coquille’s crime statistics since Dannels, 45, arrived in rainy Oregon from sunny Arizona last July are higher in that nine-month period than they were the four years combined prior to him showing up.
KCBY-Portland News, March 19, 2009
COOS BAY, Ore. (AP) - Coos Bay police have arrested a Coquille police officer [James Bryant] on charges of attempted contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor and furnishing alcohol to a minor. Bryant is the second Coquille police officer arrested in six months. Randy Ulmer pleaded guilty to stealing money from the evidence locker at Coquille Police Department and is serving a 20-day sentence.
What Winston Ross of the EWEgene inbredgister guard fails to note is that most of these crimes were committed by Coquille police officers (fondly known as "cochons de coquille" by erudite locals) such as James Bryant, Randy Ulmer and Chief Mark Dannels.
Coquille Chief of Cochons Mark Dannels chose to collude with Coos County District Attorney Paul Frasier in sexually harassing Wendy Boutiette with frivolous, fraudulent felony sex charges to punish Ms. Boutiette for some social/professional crime she committed against Paul’s wife Kori Frasier when Ms. Dannels and Ms. Frasier both were track coaches at Coquille High School.
Instead of recusing himself immediately, Mr. Frasier chose to begin his harassment of Ms. Boutiette on Valentine’s Day and recuse himself on February 19, 2009.
I suspect the harassment of Ms. Bolutiette on February 14, 2009 was foreplay for Paul and Kori humping that night. I wonder what the deal was….maybe Kori agreed to wear one of those cow costumes that give Ninth District Court of Appeals Justice Alex “boner4bovine” Kozinski a hard-on?
merci, eweb commissioner brown!
I would like to thank former Eugene Police Commissioner/current EWEB Commissioner John Brown for speaking out about the horrendous incompetence of the management of the Eugene City Club including but not limited to Presidente Carmen Urbina, President-elect/UO “professor” Jerry Diethelm and Eugene Register Guard “columnist” Don Kahle.
And thank you to Eugene Weekly Editor Ted Taylor, author of the “Slants” column for alerting us to the email that Mr. Brown sent to Ms. Urbina complaining about a pattern of “disrespect shown by City Club members toward views that differ from the general populace.” An October, 2008 City Club meeting provides a perfect illustration of Mr. Brown’s point.
In October, 2008 the Eugene City Club presented a forum about state ballot measure decisions that Eugene residents would need to make in the November 4, 2008 general election. One of the speakers was Chief Deputy Lane County District Attorney Alex “yes on 57/no on 61” Gardner.
Early in 2008, LCDA F. Douglass “Thug” Harcleroad announced he would not be running for re-election after 25 years of almost* continuous public service. Chief Deputy LCDA Gardner ran unopposed for Lane County District Attorney in the November, 2008 election because he was supported by 36% of eligible voters when he ran unopposed in the May, 2008 primary.
Mr. Gardner received 36% of the votes in May, 2008 after spending tens (hundreds?) of thousands of dollars campaigning prior to the May, 2008 primary in an attempt to ensure he would run unopposed in the primary and in the general election.
Dozens of prominent city and county employees and organizations agreed with Mr. Gardner that it was in the public interest for Mr. Gardner to run unopposed to replace Mr. Harcleroad in the May, 2008 primary and the November, 2008 general election.
Accompanying Mr. Gardner at the ballot measure forum was Public Safety Coordinating Council “lay” member/Sponsors employee Paul Solomon. Mr. Gardner and Mr. Solomon spoke about the two competing measures by the prison industry. Measure 61 was associated with Kevin Mannix. Measure 57 was presented as “kinder and gentler” Mannix. Both Mr. Gardner and Mr. Solomon advocated No on 61/Yes on 57. **
there were four possible positions one might have on 57 and 61: Yes/Yes; Yes/No; No/Yes; No/No. Given that there were two speakers (Mr. Solomon and Mr. Gardner) you might hope that two of the four positions would be discussed. Unbelievably, both Mr. Solomon and Mr. Gardner argued (weakly and impotently and self-servingly) for Yes on 57/No on 61.
The same hostility to democratic debate illustrated by Mr. Gardner in his desperate bid to run unopposed for DA was exhibited in the one-sided propaganda from Gardner and Solomon.
Thank you to real estate tycoon Brown for bringing this issue up!
*The reason for the almost is that on June 15, 2004, Mr. Harcleroad announced that he would take a six month leave starting June 30, 2004. Coincidentally (or not):
a. June 15 was the day that Tomme Lea Allen testified in Eugene Police Officer Roger Magana’s criminal trial.
Ms. Allen died under mysterious circumstances on September 28, 2004.
b. June 30 is the day EPD officer Magana was convicted by a jury supervised by LCCC Judge Karsten Rasmussen.
**The main differences between Measure 57 and Measure 61:
1) Measure 61 has mandatory prison time for some first time felony offenders, while SB 1087 only does so for repeat offenders
2) SB 1087 significantly increases funding for drug treatment programs, while Measure 61 provides none.
3) Measure 61 will cost $250-$400 million per two year budget cycle, while SB 1087 would only cost $140 million.[4]
If both measures pass, the one with the most votes will go into effect.
And thank you to Eugene Weekly Editor Ted Taylor, author of the “Slants” column for alerting us to the email that Mr. Brown sent to Ms. Urbina complaining about a pattern of “disrespect shown by City Club members toward views that differ from the general populace.” An October, 2008 City Club meeting provides a perfect illustration of Mr. Brown’s point.
In October, 2008 the Eugene City Club presented a forum about state ballot measure decisions that Eugene residents would need to make in the November 4, 2008 general election. One of the speakers was Chief Deputy Lane County District Attorney Alex “yes on 57/no on 61” Gardner.
Early in 2008, LCDA F. Douglass “Thug” Harcleroad announced he would not be running for re-election after 25 years of almost* continuous public service. Chief Deputy LCDA Gardner ran unopposed for Lane County District Attorney in the November, 2008 election because he was supported by 36% of eligible voters when he ran unopposed in the May, 2008 primary.
Mr. Gardner received 36% of the votes in May, 2008 after spending tens (hundreds?) of thousands of dollars campaigning prior to the May, 2008 primary in an attempt to ensure he would run unopposed in the primary and in the general election.
Dozens of prominent city and county employees and organizations agreed with Mr. Gardner that it was in the public interest for Mr. Gardner to run unopposed to replace Mr. Harcleroad in the May, 2008 primary and the November, 2008 general election.
Accompanying Mr. Gardner at the ballot measure forum was Public Safety Coordinating Council “lay” member/Sponsors employee Paul Solomon. Mr. Gardner and Mr. Solomon spoke about the two competing measures by the prison industry. Measure 61 was associated with Kevin Mannix. Measure 57 was presented as “kinder and gentler” Mannix. Both Mr. Gardner and Mr. Solomon advocated No on 61/Yes on 57. **
there were four possible positions one might have on 57 and 61: Yes/Yes; Yes/No; No/Yes; No/No. Given that there were two speakers (Mr. Solomon and Mr. Gardner) you might hope that two of the four positions would be discussed. Unbelievably, both Mr. Solomon and Mr. Gardner argued (weakly and impotently and self-servingly) for Yes on 57/No on 61.
The same hostility to democratic debate illustrated by Mr. Gardner in his desperate bid to run unopposed for DA was exhibited in the one-sided propaganda from Gardner and Solomon.
Thank you to real estate tycoon Brown for bringing this issue up!
*The reason for the almost is that on June 15, 2004, Mr. Harcleroad announced that he would take a six month leave starting June 30, 2004. Coincidentally (or not):
a. June 15 was the day that Tomme Lea Allen testified in Eugene Police Officer Roger Magana’s criminal trial.
Ms. Allen died under mysterious circumstances on September 28, 2004.
b. June 30 is the day EPD officer Magana was convicted by a jury supervised by LCCC Judge Karsten Rasmussen.
**The main differences between Measure 57 and Measure 61:
1) Measure 61 has mandatory prison time for some first time felony offenders, while SB 1087 only does so for repeat offenders
2) SB 1087 significantly increases funding for drug treatment programs, while Measure 61 provides none.
3) Measure 61 will cost $250-$400 million per two year budget cycle, while SB 1087 would only cost $140 million.[4]
If both measures pass, the one with the most votes will go into effect.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
brown to city club: ephu!
Meanwhile, the first public meeting regarding the Seneca plant is Thursday (see Activist Alert), and folks on both sides of the issue are getting riled up. Eugene appraiser and conservative EWEB Commissioner John Brown sent an angry email to City Club President Carmen Urbina after walking out on the City Club March 20 talk by LRAPA’s Hough and Dr. Larry Dunlap (see Slant last week). Brown complained that the presentation “turned out to me to be a one-sided portrayal of a proposed project, the Seneca Biomass Project … In keeping with what you deem as a fair and balanced programs, etc., why did you allow this to occur?”
The Seneca project came up primarily in questions following the formal presentations. Brown was also irked by flyers on tables that pointed out the tons of various pollutants that would be emitted by the project and urged people to call elected officials “and let them know we don’t want this additional brown air and pollution in our community.”
Brown also complained about a pattern of “disrespect” shown by City Club members “toward views that differ from the general populace … The crowd is many times rude and disrespectful to those whom they do not support,” citing the Jim Torrey vs. Vicki Walker City Club debate in 2006.
In a conciliatory email to Brown March 24, City Club Program Committee Chair Mary Leighton invited Brown to join an April 1 committee meeting “to advise [us] on how to do a better job of covering divergent views.”
Brown is overreacting. The City Club program was advertised as being about LRAPA, not Seneca, but Seneca’s proposal is what people wanted to talk about, and it’s directly related to LRAPA’s role in our county. This is what the free exchange of ideas is all about. As for the club’s Program Committee, looks like they are doing a good job lately. No need for apologies or concessions to pressures from either side of the political spectrum.
There was a time when the City Club was seen as an irrelevant mouthpiece for local corporate PR and the Chamber of Commerce. No more.
The Seneca project came up primarily in questions following the formal presentations. Brown was also irked by flyers on tables that pointed out the tons of various pollutants that would be emitted by the project and urged people to call elected officials “and let them know we don’t want this additional brown air and pollution in our community.”
Brown also complained about a pattern of “disrespect” shown by City Club members “toward views that differ from the general populace … The crowd is many times rude and disrespectful to those whom they do not support,” citing the Jim Torrey vs. Vicki Walker City Club debate in 2006.
In a conciliatory email to Brown March 24, City Club Program Committee Chair Mary Leighton invited Brown to join an April 1 committee meeting “to advise [us] on how to do a better job of covering divergent views.”
Brown is overreacting. The City Club program was advertised as being about LRAPA, not Seneca, but Seneca’s proposal is what people wanted to talk about, and it’s directly related to LRAPA’s role in our county. This is what the free exchange of ideas is all about. As for the club’s Program Committee, looks like they are doing a good job lately. No need for apologies or concessions to pressures from either side of the political spectrum.
There was a time when the City Club was seen as an irrelevant mouthpiece for local corporate PR and the Chamber of Commerce. No more.
ian van moron vs. lois lane
Various accounts of what happened May 30 have been shrouded from public scrutiny until resolution of the criminal case against Van Ornum, now 19. All parties in the case — including police and investigators from other agencies — are under court order not to discuss it.
The curtain parted a bit Thursday as Lane County Deputy District Attorney Bob Lane and defense attorneys Laura Fine and Brian Michaels made their last pretrial arguments in the case before Lane County Circuit Judge Jack Billings.
The curtain parted a bit Thursday as Lane County Deputy District Attorney Bob Lane and defense attorneys Laura Fine and Brian Michaels made their last pretrial arguments in the case before Lane County Circuit Judge Jack Billings.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
forrest gumpism
On several occasions in the movie "Forrest Gump", when people ask Gump
"Are you stupid or something?" he always replies "Stupid is as stupid
does." What exactly does his answer mean, or it just means nothing?
Forrest Gump's "Stupid is as stupid does" is a variant of an old
adage, "Handsome is as handsome does." This saying appears in J.R.R.
Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and in Herman Melville's "Billy
Budd," and can be traced as far back as the 14th Century.
"Handsome is as handsome does" basically means that true handsomeness
has to do with a person's behavior, not just a handsome face. The
saying is also phrased in the forms "Pretty is as pretty does" and
"Beauty is as beauty does."
Forrest's version of the saying means that stupidity is not just a
surface thing derived from a person's appearance. Stupidity is a
matter of deeds, not looks. Like the other versions, it comes down to
this: judge people by what they do, not by how they appear.
"Are you stupid or something?" he always replies "Stupid is as stupid
does." What exactly does his answer mean, or it just means nothing?
Forrest Gump's "Stupid is as stupid does" is a variant of an old
adage, "Handsome is as handsome does." This saying appears in J.R.R.
Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and in Herman Melville's "Billy
Budd," and can be traced as far back as the 14th Century.
"Handsome is as handsome does" basically means that true handsomeness
has to do with a person's behavior, not just a handsome face. The
saying is also phrased in the forms "Pretty is as pretty does" and
"Beauty is as beauty does."
Forrest's version of the saying means that stupidity is not just a
surface thing derived from a person's appearance. Stupidity is a
matter of deeds, not looks. Like the other versions, it comes down to
this: judge people by what they do, not by how they appear.
jerry felon smith and co.
On Monday, March 23, 2009 on the Sheriff’s Road Crew supervised by Lane County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Spicer, I met a fellow Lane County Circuit Court sentence named Greg Wiseman. We were on the bioswale bike bath on River Avenue (off of River Road, a block south of Beltline) that forms the northern perimeter of the 100 acre Eugene/Springfield Wastewater Treatment Plant. Greg and I struck up a conversation while moving mulch from flower beds into a refuse pile. (The question of whether it was cost-effective for the taxpayers of Eugene and Springfield to pay the Sheriff’s Work Crew $800/day for 3 days to move a few tons of costly, imported mulch and a few pounds of unwanted weeds from flower beds to waste piles is beyond the scope of this letter.)
I must have said something about Diane Downs which made Mr. Wiseman say something about Chris Boots and Eric Proctor. I’d never heard of them, but a bit of research informed me that Christopher Blaine Boots (86-07965) and Eric Anthony Proctor (86-04013) were falsely convicted in Lane County Circuit Court for the murder of John Oliver in Springfield, OR on June 7, 1983, just like Elizabeth Diane Downs (83-03268) was falsely convicted in LCCC for the murder of Cheryl Downs in Springfield, OR on May 19, 1983.
Mr. Boots was investigated (Springfield Police Sergeant Jerry D. Smith) and prosecuted (Lane County District Attorney Fred Hugi) by the same criminals who falsely arrested and prosecuted Ms. Downs.
Mr. Boots was defended by Steven G. Miller and Mary Ann Bearden who at the time, was in private practice with Dana Weinstein. Mr. Boots was convicted and sentenced by a crony (Lyle Velure) of the criminal who convicted and sentenced Ms. Downs (Gregory Foote). (Mr. Hugi and Mr. Velure are retired. Ms. Bearden is now Presiding Judge of LCCC).
Mr. Proctor was investigated by Springfield Police Sergeant Jerry D. Smith and prosecuted by Deputy LCDA Brian Barnes who at the time, was also a partner in the criminal defense firm of (former LCDA J. Patrick) Horton, Koenig and Barnes. I do not know why defended Mr. Proctor. The judge in Proctor’s false conviction was George J. Woodrich.
The entire file (~1500 pages) of Christopher Blaine Boots’ criminal trial in Lane County Circuit Court (86-07965) was scanned and is viewable in the archives department. Four pages of Eric Anthony Proctor’s criminal trial in LCCC (86-04013) were scanned and is viewable at 125 E. 8th Street. Neither Mary Murphy nor the other high-ranking employee in the archives department had a good explanation for why the Proctor file was not available.
In a May 19, 1986 indictment (86-04013) signed by Deputy LCDA Brian Barnes and Grand Jury Foreman Sarah J. Gumerlock, Eric Anthony Proctor is charged with aggravated murder (ORS 163.095). On the list of witnesses are [Springfield Police Department Sergeant] Jerry D. Smith and [Oregon State Police Detective?] Colleen M. Aas.
In a January 23, 1995 letter from OSP Lieutenant Aas to Springfield Police Chief DeForrest, Captain Jerry Smith and Detective D. Myers, there is a list of names whose fingerprints were at the crime scene where John Oliver died. The five names are:
Alfred Warren Wiseman
Donald Gregory Wiseman
John Renard Wiseman, Jr.
Richard Andrew Kuppens
James Andrew Cuellar
Only one of the five men (Richard Andrew Kuppens) was charged with the crime and he died (allegedly from suicide) the day before he was going to be arrested.
I don’t think the fingerprint technology changed very much between May 19, 1986 and January 23, 1995. Therefore, Jerry D. Smith and Colleen M. Aas were aware that the fingerprint evidence pointed to five men, none of whom were Proctor or Boots on May 19, 1986 when they perjured themselves for testifying against Proctor and Boots.
I suppose the statute of limitations has expired for prosecuting Ms. Aas or Springfield Police Chief Smith for the perjury they committed on May 1986. However, it is long past time for the felonious Mr. Smith who contributed to the false convictions of Boots, Proctor and Downs and has committed countless other crimes against humanity to be relieved of his duties protecting the good citizens of Springfield, Oregon.
Friday, April 3, 2009
laura fine
The trial of pesticide protester Ian Van Ornum, set to begin this month, may become one of the most closely watched misdemeanor cases ever prosecuted in Eugene.
The curtain parted a bit Thursday as Lane County Deputy District Attorney Bob Lane and defense attorneys Laura Fine and Brian Michaels made their last pretrial arguments in the case before Lane County Circuit Judge Jack Billings.
Hello, this is Laura.
Hi Ms. Fine. My name is Dr. Frisch. I’m a researcher in Eugene. I’m calling because I read in the paper that you are defending Ian Van Ornum who was the victim of felony assault by EPD Sergeant Solesbee and Officer Warden.
Yeah. You know, I’m in the middle of deposing a witness. Why are you calling?
Well, I was also the victim of inappropriate use of force by Officer Warden. I’m filing a $1 million civil suit in Federal court, you know, with Chief Judge Ann Aiken…
You know, I wish you the best of luck but I really have to be….
I’m thinking there could be a class action civil suit against the city of Eugene and Lane County District Attorney’s office, kind of like the way Burrows, Veralrud and Rosenthal divvied up the victims of Lara and Magana. Between Warden, Solesbee and McBride, I really think…
I gotta go. Best of luck.
The curtain parted a bit Thursday as Lane County Deputy District Attorney Bob Lane and defense attorneys Laura Fine and Brian Michaels made their last pretrial arguments in the case before Lane County Circuit Judge Jack Billings.
Hello, this is Laura.
Hi Ms. Fine. My name is Dr. Frisch. I’m a researcher in Eugene. I’m calling because I read in the paper that you are defending Ian Van Ornum who was the victim of felony assault by EPD Sergeant Solesbee and Officer Warden.
Yeah. You know, I’m in the middle of deposing a witness. Why are you calling?
Well, I was also the victim of inappropriate use of force by Officer Warden. I’m filing a $1 million civil suit in Federal court, you know, with Chief Judge Ann Aiken…
You know, I wish you the best of luck but I really have to be….
I’m thinking there could be a class action civil suit against the city of Eugene and Lane County District Attorney’s office, kind of like the way Burrows, Veralrud and Rosenthal divvied up the victims of Lara and Magana. Between Warden, Solesbee and McBride, I really think…
I gotta go. Best of luck.
taser man
The trial of pesticide protester Ian Van Ornum, set to begin this month, may become one of the most closely watched misdemeanor cases ever prosecuted in Eugene.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin April 14. Officially, the case boils down to two questions: Did the University of Oregon student block traffic and engage in disorderly conduct during an anti-pesticide protest in downtown Eugene last May 30? And did Van Ornum resist arrest when Eugene police Sgt. Bill Solesbee tried to take him into custody?
Unofficially, however, the case is about larger, polarizing issues, such as the police department’s stun-gun policy and officer Jud Warden’s decision to twice use a Taser on Van Ornum during his arrest.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
sady, wax & deffebach
As the attorneys for Richard Lee, we at the federal public defenders office were disappointed and incredulous that your story regarding Lee's exoneration focused on the worry his freedom would cause officials, not the nightmare of his wrongful incarceration ("Ex-prisoner's possible freedom worries officials," March 28).
Lee has emphatically denied his guilt for more than 14 years. Judge Owen Panner's 49-page opinion found sufficient evidence of actual innocence to reach the constitutional flaws that led to his wrongful convictions.
STEPHEN SADY
STEVEN WAX
LYNN DEFFEBACH
Lee has emphatically denied his guilt for more than 14 years. Judge Owen Panner's 49-page opinion found sufficient evidence of actual innocence to reach the constitutional flaws that led to his wrongful convictions.
STEPHEN SADY
STEVEN WAX
LYNN DEFFEBACH
ephu, cu!
Ward Churchill won his case against the University of Colorado today as a Denver jury unanimously decided he was fired in retaliation for his controversial essay about the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
lane county liability assessment
Thanks to former LCDA Doug Harcleroad, LCDA Alex Gardner, Deputy LCDA Joann Miller, LCPD Executive Director Greg Hazarabedian, LCPD John Volmert, LCPD David Saydack and the allegedly honorable Lane County Circus Court Judge Douglas S. Mitchell, I have had the privilege of experiencing the Lane County Sheriff’s Office “work crew” program (3/23, 3/24, 3/25) and its “sit-in” program (3/30, 3/31, 4/1).
I have already discussed the class action civil suit waiting to happen by people sentenced by LCCC judges to “jail or equivalent” who “choose” to work for the LCSO “work crew” and are assigned to work at the Short Mountain Landfill, managed by Lane County Waste Management Manager Patti Hansen.
I hope I did not mistakenly convey the impression that the LCCC sentencees exposed to feces and rabid skunks as a result of the collaboration of LCCC Presiding Judge Mary Ann Bearden, LCDA Alex Gardner, LCSO Russ Burger, LCPD Executive Director Greg Hazarabedian and LCPW Director Marsha Miller are the only Lane County sentencees who have reason to file a civil suit with Oregon District Court Chief Judge Ann Aiken against the organizations represented by Bearden, Gardner, Burger & their cronies.
The fact is that ANYONE who has been on the LCSO work crew has reason to file a civil suit with Chief Judge Aiken. Here’s why.
People who are in the sit-in and education programs must put all of their belongings in a locker. The only thing you can have on your person when you go through the metal detector and into your cell or classroom in the Richard K. Sherman Defendant & Offender Management Center (great name, BTW!) is a tiny locker key.
Unbelievably, people assigned to work crew do not go through a metal detector. I was alone on a bus with eleven people, most of whom were male, convicted felons and on post-prison supervision who had keys, pens and even pocket knives that could have been used as weapons.
The lax attitude toward weapons combined with the comparably lax attitude toward prisoner supervision displayed by Deputy Slater on 3/23, 3/24 and 3/25 exposes any one on work crew to a civil-rights-violating increase of risk of assault from an unsupervised felon with a weapon.
Then there’s the bizarre practice of forcing the work crew team to stand by the railroad tracks from 7:45-8:45 while the deputies eat donuts inside. Many of the people go off into the woods or waiting vehicles to do illegal drugs.
I believe that the lax attitude toward weapons and supervision exhibited by the deputies supervised by Sheriff Burger and Captain Hooley, combined with the LCSO’s active encouragement of illegal drug use by the work crew exposes all LCCC sentencees to conditions that are unacceptably dangerous, not just the sentencees forced to work for Ms. Hansen.
I would strongly encourage the supervisory staff of the LCSO work crew to require everyone, not just sit-ins to use the lockers and go through a metal detector.
I have already discussed the class action civil suit waiting to happen by people sentenced by LCCC judges to “jail or equivalent” who “choose” to work for the LCSO “work crew” and are assigned to work at the Short Mountain Landfill, managed by Lane County Waste Management Manager Patti Hansen.
I hope I did not mistakenly convey the impression that the LCCC sentencees exposed to feces and rabid skunks as a result of the collaboration of LCCC Presiding Judge Mary Ann Bearden, LCDA Alex Gardner, LCSO Russ Burger, LCPD Executive Director Greg Hazarabedian and LCPW Director Marsha Miller are the only Lane County sentencees who have reason to file a civil suit with Oregon District Court Chief Judge Ann Aiken against the organizations represented by Bearden, Gardner, Burger & their cronies.
The fact is that ANYONE who has been on the LCSO work crew has reason to file a civil suit with Chief Judge Aiken. Here’s why.
People who are in the sit-in and education programs must put all of their belongings in a locker. The only thing you can have on your person when you go through the metal detector and into your cell or classroom in the Richard K. Sherman Defendant & Offender Management Center (great name, BTW!) is a tiny locker key.
Unbelievably, people assigned to work crew do not go through a metal detector. I was alone on a bus with eleven people, most of whom were male, convicted felons and on post-prison supervision who had keys, pens and even pocket knives that could have been used as weapons.
The lax attitude toward weapons combined with the comparably lax attitude toward prisoner supervision displayed by Deputy Slater on 3/23, 3/24 and 3/25 exposes any one on work crew to a civil-rights-violating increase of risk of assault from an unsupervised felon with a weapon.
Then there’s the bizarre practice of forcing the work crew team to stand by the railroad tracks from 7:45-8:45 while the deputies eat donuts inside. Many of the people go off into the woods or waiting vehicles to do illegal drugs.
I believe that the lax attitude toward weapons and supervision exhibited by the deputies supervised by Sheriff Burger and Captain Hooley, combined with the LCSO’s active encouragement of illegal drug use by the work crew exposes all LCCC sentencees to conditions that are unacceptably dangerous, not just the sentencees forced to work for Ms. Hansen.
I would strongly encourage the supervisory staff of the LCSO work crew to require everyone, not just sit-ins to use the lockers and go through a metal detector.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
harrang, harass, hassle & hoodwink
The Eugene city manager has announced that he will create an in-house law department on July 1, 2009.
As The Register-Guard’s March 27 editorial correctly notes, it is the city manager’s prerogative to decide how to structure the city organization. None of us is a part of the city organization. We are in no position to second guess the manager’s decision. We do not write to criticize but rather to explain why in our combined 24 years as Eugene city manager we made a different choice.
Each of us has experience managing a government organization with an in-house attorney and using outside legal counsel exclusively. Collectively, we have worked in local governments for more than 100 years. Like every Eugene city manager since 1971, we chose to contract with the law firm of Harrang Long Gary Rudnick P.C. to perform substantially all of the city’s legal work. Here’s why:
Quality: Harrang Long has assembled and maintained one of the finest collections of government law experts in the country. Virtually every public body in Oregon, including the state, has engaged the firm to handle some of the most complex problems they have faced. From reform of the Public Employees Retirement System to tax limitations to land use regulation, Harrang Long is a leader in solving the tough issues. Eugene has benefitted immensely from its 37-year relationship with the firm. We are glad to see that, while establishing an in-house legal department, the city manager also has secured an extension of the city’s contract with the firm. No in-house operation could replicate the firm’s experience and expertise. The city needs to maintain ready access to the firm’s resources.
Cost: The city manager hopes to save $200,000 in the next fiscal year by creating a legal department. That is a tall order. In tough economic times, the demand for legal services increases. More lawsuits are filed; more problems call for legal solutions. In 1998, an outside expert hired by City Manager Vicki Elmer prepared a detailed report concerning the city’s legal services. That report concluded that “establishing an in-house city attorney’s office is not necessarily cheaper than contracting out for legal services.” The report suggested that the city could reduce legal costs without establishing a legal department.
The city’s experience with prosecution services should be a cautionary tale. Until 2003, Harrang Long acted as the city prosecutor. In that year, the city established an in-house prosecutor’s office based upon an internal study that projected substantial savings by doing so. In the last year that Harrang Long provided the service, the city paid approximately $500,000. The city’s proposed prosecution budget for the next fiscal year is approximately $700,000 — a 40 percent increase in just eight years. Government department budgets have a natural tendency to grow over time. Hiring an in-house attorney is not the pathway to controlling costs.
Although the cost of legal services is important, cost cannot be measured without considering the result achieved. The superb legal advice we received before a decision was made resulted in fewer lawsuits being filed against the city. And the city won lawsuits that it might have lost without the excellent representation that it always received.
Conflicts of interest: Concerns that Harrang Long has numerous conflicts of interest are unfounded. The city manager has said that he has not encountered problems with conflicts during his tenure and that was our experience as well. Occasional conflicts are inevitable, even for an in-house attorney. (What happens, for example, when the city assesses for improvements to the street on which the city attorney lives?) The question is not whether conflicts occur, but whether they are handled appropriately when they do. The firm has always been fastidious in avoiding and dealing with conflicts, as the rules of the legal profession require. In 1999, two outside experts with impeccable credentials reviewed the firm’s practices concerning conflicts and concluded that the firm had relatively few conflicts and that they were always handled properly.
A different sort of conflict can arise with an in-house attorney if he or she becomes involved in making policy rather than simply giving legal advice. Harrang Long has always taken great care to avoid taking positions on matters of policy. That is how it survived as city attorney for 37 years despite Eugene’s frequently shifting political winds. An in-house attorney will have a natural tendency to mirror the policy views of the city manager who hired him or her and who decides on raises and working conditions. If the attorney’s advice is shaded by political considerations, the attorney’s — and ultimately the city’s — credibility will be seriously impaired.
Mike Gleason was city manager from 1981 to 1996, Jim Johnson from 1998 to 2002 and Dennis Taylor from 2002 to 2007.
As The Register-Guard’s March 27 editorial correctly notes, it is the city manager’s prerogative to decide how to structure the city organization. None of us is a part of the city organization. We are in no position to second guess the manager’s decision. We do not write to criticize but rather to explain why in our combined 24 years as Eugene city manager we made a different choice.
Each of us has experience managing a government organization with an in-house attorney and using outside legal counsel exclusively. Collectively, we have worked in local governments for more than 100 years. Like every Eugene city manager since 1971, we chose to contract with the law firm of Harrang Long Gary Rudnick P.C. to perform substantially all of the city’s legal work. Here’s why:
Quality: Harrang Long has assembled and maintained one of the finest collections of government law experts in the country. Virtually every public body in Oregon, including the state, has engaged the firm to handle some of the most complex problems they have faced. From reform of the Public Employees Retirement System to tax limitations to land use regulation, Harrang Long is a leader in solving the tough issues. Eugene has benefitted immensely from its 37-year relationship with the firm. We are glad to see that, while establishing an in-house legal department, the city manager also has secured an extension of the city’s contract with the firm. No in-house operation could replicate the firm’s experience and expertise. The city needs to maintain ready access to the firm’s resources.
Cost: The city manager hopes to save $200,000 in the next fiscal year by creating a legal department. That is a tall order. In tough economic times, the demand for legal services increases. More lawsuits are filed; more problems call for legal solutions. In 1998, an outside expert hired by City Manager Vicki Elmer prepared a detailed report concerning the city’s legal services. That report concluded that “establishing an in-house city attorney’s office is not necessarily cheaper than contracting out for legal services.” The report suggested that the city could reduce legal costs without establishing a legal department.
The city’s experience with prosecution services should be a cautionary tale. Until 2003, Harrang Long acted as the city prosecutor. In that year, the city established an in-house prosecutor’s office based upon an internal study that projected substantial savings by doing so. In the last year that Harrang Long provided the service, the city paid approximately $500,000. The city’s proposed prosecution budget for the next fiscal year is approximately $700,000 — a 40 percent increase in just eight years. Government department budgets have a natural tendency to grow over time. Hiring an in-house attorney is not the pathway to controlling costs.
Although the cost of legal services is important, cost cannot be measured without considering the result achieved. The superb legal advice we received before a decision was made resulted in fewer lawsuits being filed against the city. And the city won lawsuits that it might have lost without the excellent representation that it always received.
Conflicts of interest: Concerns that Harrang Long has numerous conflicts of interest are unfounded. The city manager has said that he has not encountered problems with conflicts during his tenure and that was our experience as well. Occasional conflicts are inevitable, even for an in-house attorney. (What happens, for example, when the city assesses for improvements to the street on which the city attorney lives?) The question is not whether conflicts occur, but whether they are handled appropriately when they do. The firm has always been fastidious in avoiding and dealing with conflicts, as the rules of the legal profession require. In 1999, two outside experts with impeccable credentials reviewed the firm’s practices concerning conflicts and concluded that the firm had relatively few conflicts and that they were always handled properly.
A different sort of conflict can arise with an in-house attorney if he or she becomes involved in making policy rather than simply giving legal advice. Harrang Long has always taken great care to avoid taking positions on matters of policy. That is how it survived as city attorney for 37 years despite Eugene’s frequently shifting political winds. An in-house attorney will have a natural tendency to mirror the policy views of the city manager who hired him or her and who decides on raises and working conditions. If the attorney’s advice is shaded by political considerations, the attorney’s — and ultimately the city’s — credibility will be seriously impaired.
Mike Gleason was city manager from 1981 to 1996, Jim Johnson from 1998 to 2002 and Dennis Taylor from 2002 to 2007.
cascadia patriots
Every farewell for the 97 Oregon National Guardsmen heading to Iraq has a story.
Thank you hombres for defending my First Amendment right to offer my condolences to you and your families for your horrendously cost-ineffective deployment.
Thank you hombres for defending my First Amendment right to offer my condolences to you and your families for your horrendously cost-ineffective deployment.
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