No. It isn’t a stretch. I’ve had these cases in Oregon. I have represented numerous parents and kids where lack of understanding parenting skills was the only basis for child welfare removing the kids. And rather than provide in home services to ameliorate the deficiencies (which - tell me what parent, low IQ or not,…

This case really irritates me and highlights why I left child welfare law in Oregon. There are Oregon cases that state that if a parent has low IQ, but has support to minimize the deffinciencies in parenting related to low IQ, child welfare cannot remove the kids. My experience, however, is that the agency digs in…

DBT, DBT, DBT. Get into a good, intensive DBT program if you are truly BPD (obviously, get an accurate diagnosis). The DBT program that works the best is very much like an intensive outpatient alcohol or drug treatment program - your going to go multiple times a week, have individual session, have group session, have…

The defense bar in Oregon hates it and routinely, in big felony cases (murder, rape, etc), files motions to preserve the issue for potential review at the SCOTUS. When a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty, the state should have the burden of convincing 12 jurors of guilt. I do not like this verdict…

Oregon (where I practiced) and Louisiana require 10-2 to convict or find not guilty. Not a simple majority. Anything other than that is a mistrial.

Don’t we want people who have taken responsibility, received treatment, and not re-offended to go on an do good with their life? He is a success - the juvenile justice system worked as it should. The reality is, is that if we continuously punish individuals for crimes then they will not succeed and will,…

The Oregonian used inappropriate terms in their reporting. Heimlich was handled as a juvenile. He did not “plead guilty,” rather he made an “admission.” He was not “convicted,” but rather “found within the jurisdiction” of the juvenile court. These terms are important because a juvenile adjudication is a lot…

There is an argument, and I have made it and got a hung jury, that drinking while driving (as long as you didn’t start earlier) is actually not yet dangerous. That’s because it takes about a half-hour for your body to metabolize the alcohol before it starts imparing your ability to drive. So it’s more of an…

I had a colleague defend a guy in a domestic violence case and the DA, in closing, said (regarding the complaining witness), “This isn’t some meth user, but an upstanding mother and we need to show the defendant that he cannot do what he did to people who are valued in the community.” Jury was out 15 minutes and…

This so reminds me of the Jon⭐️h Ryan for Congress ads.

Civil compromises happen all the time. Defendant agrees to compensate victim and victim agrees not to go forward with the criminal case. I don’t necessarily see anything nefarious going on here, but I get the victim’s perspective.

Also note that he was in suits that were a touch too big, again making him look even younger. Trials are theater and any good defense attorney is going to do what is needed to get an advantage and that includes changing a defendants appearance and even working with the defendant on his physical presentation and…

It is ridiculously hard to get a new trial for ineffective assistance of counsel. A lot of deference is given to a trial attorney in planning how to present a defense. The defendant only has a handful of absolute trial decisions - like whether to plea or not, whether to testify or not, whether to appeal, if a jury…

Seriously thought the same thing!

PDX does this - prices have to be the same as those in the city.

There is already a warrant out for arrest for violations of his probation. Apparently the judge allowed him time to turn himself in (extremely rare in Washington County) and he used the extra time out of custody to continue to harass the victim and post online which is a violation of his probation conditions. So…

Have you seen a derm about this? I started getting, what I thought was, cystic acne in my underarms and groin and it turned out to be hidradenitis suppurative. I finally had to have surgery to remove the offending skin after years and years of painful cysts.

I hate this. I’ve actually gone into to speak about legal issues to the young mom’s and dad’s that are part of Century High School’s (the school at issue) teen parent program. These kids have told me that, though they love their child, they wish that they would have had better knowledge about and access to condoms and…

Over margaritas, I was talking to my mom about a boy I was seeing. Told her that he made me feel so sexy and she sits up straight, looks me in the eyes and asks, “Even with your floppy titties?”

They actually started the development company that razed the restaurant and are managing the apartments and businesses - so they cashed in.