The Justice Integrity Unit (JIU) works to uphold justice by ensuring integrity in cases that the office handled in the past, as well as future cases, by working with community stakeholders and internal committees to reform prosecutorial practices. The JIU’s expansive scope of review and transparent practices are designed to remedy past injustices, recognize the potential for rehabilitation, enhance community confidence in the justice system, and to improve office practices to reduce the likelihood of errors occurring in the future.

The JIU reflects the belief that our role as ministers of justice does not end at the conclusion of a case in the courtroom, but instead recognizes that ensuring justice integrity is an iterative process that must be proactively nurtured and protected. Read our full unit policy.

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Senate Bill 819

Under SB 819, the district attorney and a convicted person may jointly petition the court for reconsideration of a person’s conviction and/or sentence. It allows for dismissal of charges, vacating previous convictions, pleas to alternative offenses, and resentencing.

The law under SB 819 only allows the JIU to consider certain kinds of convictions. The JIU can only consider felony convictions from Multnomah County. The convictions cannot be for aggravated murder.

SB 819 – Types of Claims

There are three types of SB 819 applications – actual innocence claims, excessive sentencing claims, and collateral consequences claims. Each has different requirements.

Actual Innocence Claims

An actual innocence claim is one in which an individual asserts that they are innocent of the crime. The JIU screens and reviews actual innocence applications where:

• The applicant’s conviction(s) come from Multnomah County,
• The applicant’s conviction(s) is/are not expungeable under ORS 137.225,
• The applicant’s conviction(s) was/were sentenced as a felony/felonies,
• The applicant’s conviction was not aggravated murder, and
• The JIU can identify one or more avenues of investigation that have the potential to substantiate the applicant’s claim(s) of innocence.

Excessive Sentencing Claims

An excessive sentencing claim is one that alleges that the sentence of incarceration in the case was excessive and that the individual’s incarceration no longer serves the interests of justice. This type of application should be filled out by applicants who are still incarcerated. The JIU screens and reviews excessive sentencing applications where;

• The applicant’s conviction(s) come from Multnomah County,
• The applicant’s conviction(s) is/are not expungeable under ORS 137.225,
• The applicant’s conviction(s) was/were sentenced as a felony/felonies,
• The applicant’s conviction was not aggravated murder,
• The applicant is currently incarcerated,
• The applicant has served at least 5 years of the term of incarceration on their sentence,
• The conviction was not part of a global plea deal with multiple counties,
• The applicant’s conviction(s) is/are not subject to ORS 137.690 or ORS 137.719,

AND where any of the following statements are true:

• The applicant was sentenced as a juvenile, they have a term of incarceration remaining on their sentence, are approaching age 25, and will be transferred to adult prison; or
• The applicant committed the crime when they were under 18; or
• The applicant is over the age of 60, or has a terminal or debilitating illness (suffering from an incurable condition that is likely to lead to death within two years or suffering from an illness that requires chronic assistance with a necessary daily function, such as eating, breathing, toileting, walking, or bathing), or is currently on hospice care; or
• The applicant’s conviction(s) is/are for non-person crime(s) and the sentence or sentences are longer than 10 years in total; or
• The applicant’s conviction(s) is/are for person crime(s) and the sentence or sentences are longer than 16 years in total.

Collateral Consequences Claims

A collateral consequence claim is one where a person with a conviction is requesting relief in the form of getting their conviction off their record or modifying their conviction in some way. This type of application should only be filled out by applicants who have fully completed their sentence, including all post-prison supervision or probation. An applicant must demonstrate that there is a manifest and particularized hardship associated with their conviction, and that they are substantially rehabilitated and present low risk for future criminality. The JIU screens and reviews collateral consequences applications where:

• The applicant’s conviction(s) come from Multnomah County,
• The applicant’s conviction(s) is/are not expungeable under ORS 137.225,
• The applicant’s conviction(s) was/were sentenced as a felony/felonies,
• The applicant’s conviction was not aggravated murder,
• The applicant’s conviction(s) is/are not registerable sex offenses and did not involve domestic violence, unless the domestic violence conviction(s) was/were committed while the applicant was a juvenile and did not involve an intimate partner,
• The applicant demonstrates substantial rehabilitation and presents as a low risk for further criminality, and
• The applicant demonstrates that their conviction causes manifest and particularized hardship.

Note: MCDA has currently paused acceptance of SB 819 applications. Check back for updates.

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For victims and survivors:

The JIU is committed to meaningfully involving and informing victims using trauma-informed practices. We believe in:

• Strengthening the victim’s capacity to recover from traumatic events by providing timely and ongoing information, resources, services, support, and relevant contacts, at the victim’s request.
• Acknowledging that earlier notification of changes in case status provides better opportunity for victim choice, preparation, and recovery.
• Empowering the victim by providing choices on whether, how, and when they are kept informed and supported.

Our aim is to involve victims and survivors earlier than statute requires on SB 819 claims. If you are a victim or survivor of an SB 819 related claim that the JIU is going to review, you will be contacted by us in letter form or through a phone call from a victim advocate.

The JIU will support and respect you in whatever decisions you make. We will consider your perspective in deciding whether to file a joint petition for reconsideration. If the JIU decides to file a joint petition, you have the right to participate in the hearing in whatever method you prefer.

For interested community members:

Want to support a person you think is a good fit for relief under SB 819? Send your letter of support to justiceintegrityunit@mcda.us. The JIU will track your support and consider it when reviewing the convicted person’s application.”

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Clemency

The JIU serves as the principal contact with the Governor’s office and assists in expressing the office’s position with respect to clemency.

What is clemency?

Clemency is a power held by the Governor to change a person’s sentence or conviction. The clemency power is detailed in the Oregon Constitution and statutes. Most clemencies occur through clemency petitions, which are official requests from a convicted person to the Governor. The Governor has exclusive power to grant or deny a clemency. Sometimes, the Governor may grant a clemency without a petition.

• One type of clemency is called commutation. A petition for commutation is a request for a change to someone’s sentence, usually in the form of release from prison earlier than their scheduled release date. If the Governor grants a commutation, the person’s conviction(s) still stays on their record, and they almost always get released to post-prison supervision. Most of the time, the amount of the incarceration sentence that was remaining turns into time spent on post-prison supervision. The vast majority of Governors’ commutations are revocable, meaning that if the person, once out of prison, does not follow their post-prison supervision conditions or any other conditions of the commutation, the commutation gets revoked and they serve their remaining prison sentence.
• Another type of clemency is called pardon. A petition for pardon is a request for official forgiveness for the crime, and for the conviction itself to be removed from the individual’s record. If a pardon is granted, the conviction gets removed from the person’s record.

 

What is the Multnomah County District Attorney’s role in clemencies?

The Governor makes the final call on all clemency petitions, but MCDA plays a role in the following ways:

• As of 2019, the DA’s office is required to notify victims of a clemency petition, and to notify victims of their right to submit documents to the Governor’s office.
• DA’s offices are also required to send case documents to the Governor’s office, including police reports.
• MCDA will often write a letter, signed by the District Attorney, expressing the office’s position on the clemency petition. The letter may state that the office is supportive of clemency, or opposes clemency. MCDA also states the position of victims, if they consent to it, in this letter.
• MCDA only supports clemency after careful review of the convicted person’s criminal history, case file, clemency petition, prison records, and consultation with victims.
• When MCDA is informed of a release date for a commutation, MCDA notifies the victim or victim’s family of the release date, unless they tell MCDA they do not want to be notified.

 

For victims and survivors:

• Victims have the right to be notified of a clemency petition and to submit documents, including letters, to the Governor’s office.
• Victims also have rights to be notified of a defendant’s release, which may occur as a result of a granted commutation.
• MCDA believes in supporting victims through this process with whatever decision they make. MCDA does not require a victim or victim’s family to take a position on a clemency, or to submit letters to the Governor if they do not want to. The decision is entirely up to the victim or victim’s family.
• Depending on what the victim or victim’s family wants, MCDA can help them to communicate their wishes by: (1) writing on their behalf in MCDA’s letter to the Governor’s office, (2) sending any letters they draft to the Governor’s office, or (3) respecting a victim’s wish not to participate in the process.
• A victim or victim’s family will be notified if a pardon or commutation gets granted, unless they tell MCDA they do not want to be notified. This notification will provide a release date in cases where the defendant is being released from custody.