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Earlier this week, a federal judge in Eugene ordered the statewide release of inmates held more than seven days in jail without an attorney, beginning later this month. The order by U.S. District Judge Michael McShane came in response to a statewide constitutional crisis: A lack of public defenders has left more than 100 people sitting in Oregon jails without legal representation, according to a state dashboard.
The announcement sent officials scrambling to figure out who, exactly, would need to be released.
On Wednesday, a Multnomah County court spokeswoman provided WW with a list of 11 people being held in jail without lawyers. All previously had attorneys who subsequently withdrew.
Today, Chief Criminal Judge Cheryl Albrecht confirmed that she believes only two of them would be subject to release.
“However, she is waiting to hear further from Judge McShane, who indicated that he will be releasing a document with further guidance in the next few days,” court spokeswoman Rachel V. McCarthy told WW.
One issue: Half of the people on the 11-name list had lost their attorneys due to communication “breakdowns.” In other words, they had fired their lawyer, which McShane hadn’t intended as a method of getting out of jail.
On Wednesday, Judge McShane’s clerk provided WW with a clue to how he might address that problem.
In the “proposed amended opinion and order,” McShane says the “order does not apply to class members who fire their attorney.” He also emphasized that it “does not apply to crimes of murder and aggravated murder.”
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals must sign off before the amended order goes into effect. The state has already appealed the case, demanding the order be put on hold.
If the higher court declines to intervene, McShane’s order will go into effect Nov. 23.