Crime Victim Representation

Oregon Supreme Court Hits Court of Appeals Softball out of the Park

Today the Oregon Supreme Court issued its opinion In the Matter of C.P.,[1]  a juvenile delinquency case involving a 15-year-old “youth”[2] who snuck into my client’s bedroom in the early hours of the morning, climbed on top of her while she slept and smashed her in the face with a mallet. In representing the victim…

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OR Supreme Court decision on Abuse of a Vulnerable Person

Ever since the passage of the Abuse of Vulnerable Persons Act (ORS 124.100-124.140), lawyers who represent vulnerable people injured by state actors have argued that the law applies to the state. The State of Oregon, through its Department of Justice, has argued that it does not apply because, among other (silly) reasons, the Oregon Tort…

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Drunk Driver Kills Road Worker

On Tuesday July 10, 2012 at 7:48 pm, 47-year-old highway worker Gregory A. Priest of Salem was struck and killed by a drunk driver. Priest was on foot, placing construction warning signs on South New Era Road near South Haines Road, north of Canby when he was run down by 40-year-old Bruce Dancer, of Aurora….

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DHS Sued for $1 million after Portland Foster Father Molested Girl

An attorney has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Human Services on behalf of an 8-year-old girl who was molested by her North Portland foster dad. The suit, filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Monday, faults DHS for failing to adequately respond to reports that something was wrong in the…

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DOJ Lawyers Taken to Task for Unprofessional Conduct

While I do not make it a practice to sue the police, officers do make mistakes and sometimes abuse the law. When they do, they should be held accountable. Similarly, when lawyers make mistakes or abuse the law, they should be held accountable as well. Just like bad police officers, it only takes one to…

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Files Further Expose Boy Scouts’ Cover-Up of Sex Abuse

Last month confidential files were turned over for a lawsuit in Minnesota to bring attention to the problem of sexual abuse in the Boy Scouts of America. These files, otherwise known as the “perversion files” or “ineligible volunteer,” span 1999 to 2008, which are more current than similar files presented in an Oregon case last…

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Oregon Mom Goes After Convicted Molester Who Refused to Pay Restitution From PERS Account

When the girl was just 8 years old, the man had earned her mother’s trust enough to be left alone with her. Over the next three years, he crept into her bed. He cornered her on her family’s couch. He waited for her to step out of the shower. By the time the girl was…

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The Law Office of Josh Lamborn, P.C. is Proud to Sponsor the 2017 Crime Victim Law Conference

Registration is now open for the 16th Annual Crime Victim Law Conference. Join us May 11-12, 2017, at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon. Keynote speakers the first day include Bob Marriott and Rus Rilee, presenting on the New Hampshire rape shield case that is on appeal, and Leslye Orloff speaking about immigrant crime…

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Oregon Court Rejects Common Sense in Favor of Criminals

Yesterday, in State v. Jimenez, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that police officers in the State of Oregon cannot ask people they lawfully detain if they have any weapons on them without some independent reason for doing so. The Court specifically rejected the fact the State Legislature implicitly recognized in both ORS 131.615 and ORS 810.410…

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Victim Rights Attorney Recognized by Super Lawyers

The Law Office of Josh Lamborn, P.C. is proud to announce that Josh Lamborn was selected for inclusion in the 2015 Oregon Super LawyersMagazine. Josh opened his firm in 2009 and built a reputation as a zealous, effective advocate for sexual assault victims, crime victims and personal injury clients. Super Lawyers is a research-driven, peer-influenced rating service…

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DHS Fails Children

By Erin Olson and Josh Lamborn Last week, a courageous and angry Multnomah County jury awarded two little girls a substantial amount of money for enduring nearly two years of physical, sexual and emotional abuse in a state-certified foster home. The jurors’ verdict – for every penny they could legally award – was clearly intended…

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Universities’ Lack of Policies, Resources and Staff Training Lead to Unjust Treatment of Student Rape Victims

Stories of female college students who were raped and then relied on their schools to adjudicate their claims have permeated the media during the past few months. And each woman’s story carries the same general theme: She was denied justice and left feeling like her school betrayed her. In these cases, the system failed because…

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Sexual Assault Response: Progress Toward a Victim-Centered Approach

City Auditor Lavonne Griffin-Valade released her report yesterday detailing the results of her recent audit of the City of Portland’s progress in improving its response to sexual assault cases. The report was an update of her 2007 report which was highly critical of the City and in particular, the Portland Police Bureau, in their handling of…

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Oregon City Adds Memorial for Homicide Victims

A new memorial for Oregon and Washington murder victims has been donated to Oregon City’s Mountain View Cemetery. The Greater Portland Area Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children donated the memorial, which features the names of 390 murder victims carved into the granite walls. “It will be a beautiful place for anyone who has lost…

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The Chronicle Online

A plea agreement offered by the Columbia County District Attorney’s office to a Vernonia man charged with 28 counts of sexual crimes involving children isn’t sitting well with at least one of his victims. “The offer was extended – over the objections of my client and the objections of the other victims – for five…

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Steve Duin: When will the tide turn at Oregon’s Department of Human Services?

In her successful campaign for attorney general, Ellen Rosenblum promised, “I will stand up for children.” If that’s true, or possible, perhaps Rosenblum can put the fear of God and retribution into Oregon’s Department of Human Services, a mission seemingly beneath the notice of the last two Democratic governors, John Kitzhaber and Ted Kulongoski. In recent days, two…

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California Judge Releases Crime Victim from Custody

A Sacramento, California Superior Court Judge reversed himself earlier today in releasing a 17-year-old rape victim he earlier ordered held on a material witness warrant to compel her testimony at her rapist’s trial.  In bowing to growing pressure from victim rights advocates and the public, Judge Lawrence Brown released the girl with a GPS ankle…

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