[DV_listserv] News from OCVLC - 1/30/12

Mon Jan 30 14:26:48 PST 2012

Check out the first news bit from OCVLC-Prosecutors, this could be really helpful to you!

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NEWS FROM OCVLC

This news digest is designed to keep you informed about our work and how it is making a positive difference in the lives of crime victims in Oregon.

OCVLC Defends Multnomah Victim's Right to Refuse Discovery Request

Thanks to the combined efforts of the Oregon Crime Victims Law Center (OCVLC) and the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office, a victim of an assault was able to stop an attempt by her abuser to receive access to all of her medical records for the last five years.

The defendant served two subpoenas on the victim, one requesting that she provide her medical, insurance, and driving records from the last five years to the defendant.The other was a "proposed" subpoena that the defendant was planning to issue to all of the victim's medical providers for the last five years.The defendant made no legal or factual arguments in support of the release of these records.

The OCVLC submitted a Motion to Quash Subpoenas to the court presenting the argument that the victim had a right to refuse a defense discovery request, that the medical records were protected under HIPAA, and that the defendant could not show that there was information in those records that would be material, favorable, and admissible as evidence at trial.

A hearing on this motion was held on Jan. 19 before Judge Jerry Hodson who granted the OCVLC's Motion to Quash after finding that the defendant's basis for requesting the records was "conjecture."

Newly-hired OCVLC Legal Director Rosemary Brewer represented the victim in this case.

Parole Denied for Convicted Killer
Scott Wickee

On Jan. 18, the Oregon Crime Victims Law Center helped to persuade the Oregon State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision (PSRB) that an inmate who bludgeoned and then choked to death a Portland man almost 25 years ago should spend at least another 24 months behind bars.

Although the three-member board previously had found that the inmate, Scott Wickee, aka Wickey, was likely to be rehabilitated within a reasonable period of time and had set a
release date for April 2012, it unanimously concluded, at a Jan. 18 hearing, that it was not required to release him at that time because he has a severe emotional disturbance that would make him a danger to the community if released.

The board set a new release date of April 16, 2014, with another hearing to be held in Fall 2013 to determine whether Wickee's current psychological status and release plan warrant release at that time.

At the hearing, Wickee refused to acknowledge that he and his co-defendant, Kevin Roper, intended both to rob and murder the victim, Eddie Lee "Bobby" Gibbs, when they left Gibbs' Southeast Portland house together in 1987, despite intense and at times disbelieving questioning from board members.

"There were real contradictions," board chairman Aaron Felton told Wickee about his version of the crime, which Wickee has had almost 25 years to consider.

"The story should be clear," Felton said. "It shouldn't be ambiguous." Felton told Wickee that the board also was "deeply concerned" about how he might deal with authority outside prison." You still need to do some work," Felton concluded.

Wickee and Roper both were convicted of Aggravated Murder and sentenced to life in prison with mandatory minimum sentences of 30 years without the possibility of parole. However, in 2010 the Oregon Supreme Court held that, as a result of the board's 2008 findings that Wickee and Roper were likely to be rehabilitated, it was required to set release dates for them, even though they had not yet served their 30-year minimum sentences.

That ruling also affected 28 other inmates, of which Roper was the first to have a hearing scheduled to determine whether his existing release date would be delayed. On Nov. 15, Roper, who had been scheduled for release in March 2012, also was denied release for at least another two years.

Wickee's release also was opposed by Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Charles "Chuck" French and Gibbs' mother and brother.

The Oregon Crime Victims Law Center, which represented Gibbs' sister at Wickee's hearing, also represented her at Roper's hearing.

Rosemary Brewer Hired as New

Legal Director

Rosemary Brewer is the Oregon Crime Victims Law Center's new Legal Director.

A former prosecutor in Georgia and Maryland, Rosemary is an accomplished and compassionate attorney with years of experience working with victims.

During her time in Maryland, she led the Baltimore drug court program. In Georgia, Rosemary worked as a prosecutor in the Appellate Division and Felony Trial Division.

Prior to her legal work, Rosemary was a copy editor/ reporter for the newspapers The Atlanta Journal & Constitution and The Oregonian.

Rosemary succeeds Janine Robben who stepped down as Legal Director on January 1, 2012.

Janine Robben  Steps Down as Legal Director

As of January 1, 2012, Janine Robben ended her service as the Oregon Crime Victims Law Center's Legal Director, to spend more time with family and take-on more leisurely endeavors.

Janine leaves this "position having created a remarkable body of pioneering legal work for Oregon crime victims and a strong foundation for the Oregon Crime Victims Law Center's work ahead," said Former Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers, who serves as president of the Board of Directors of the Oregon Crime Victims Law Center.

The Board of Directors and staff wish Janine a splendid retirement and thank her for all that she has done for crime victims.

Court Ruling Entitles State of Oregon to $55-Million to Benefit Crime Victims

The Oregon Crime Victims Law Center was honored to have submitted a "friend of the court" brief in an appeal of a private lawsuit in which the Oregon Supreme Court  ruled, on Dec. 2, that the State of Oregon is entitled to millions of dollars in punitive damages.

The ruling in Williams v. Philip Morris hopefully will be the final legal step in a 12-year-long effort to get the tobacco company to pay the state's share of the $79.5 million in punitive damages that a Multnomah County jury awarded in 1999. With interest, the damages currently are estimated at $100 million, of which the state will get approximately $55 million.

The jury based the punitive damages award on Philip Morris' "extraordinarily reprehensible" conduct in concealing the health risks of smoking. The plaintiff, Mayola Williams, was the widow and personal representative of Portland resident Jesse Williams, who died of lung cancer in 1997 after decades of smoking.

Philip Morris subsequently argued that the state had released its claim to its share of these damages by entering into a multi-state settlement with tobacco companies that included Philip Morris. (Under Oregon law, the state is entitled to 60 percent of punitive damages awards; however, as a result of an agreement between the state and Williams, the state agreed to accept less than 60 percent. In exchange, Williams' attorneys argued - with the state - that Philip Morris was not entitled to keep 60 percent of the jury's punitive damages award. Williams was represented by Portland attorney James S. Coon and the state by Stephanie Striffler, a senior assistant attorney general with the Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ).

The Portland-based  National Crime Victim Law Institute also filed an amicus curiae "friend of the court" brief in support of Williams.

Under Oregon law, the state's $55-million share must be used to benefit crime victims.

DONOR RECOGNITION

The Board of Directors and staff want to give special thanks to  Vangelisti Kocher LLC for their generous donation of $25,000 to the Oregon Crime Victims Law Center.

Richard Vangelisti and Scott Kocher have been strong legal advocates for crime victims in civil cases for many years, and their generous contribution demonstrates a remarkable commitment to making a positive difference in the lives of Oregon crime victims in criminal cases as well. It's this kind of the support from donors that make it possible for us to continue offering our services at no cost to crime victims in Oregon.

Although the Oregon Crime Victims Law Center's core work has been funded by government grants, recent federal funding cuts have made support from private donors increasingly vital to helping us continue our important mission.

~If you also want to become an OCVLC Benefactor, please contact our office to discuss your desires and to help you and/or your advisors make the gifting process go smoothly.~

OCVLC is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that provides no-cost direct legal representation and advocacy services to crime victims in Oregon.

For more information about OCVLC, visit www.ocvlc.org <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=walcqvhab&et=1109153590342&s=17&e=001m3oir7dbkhz8JG5Przmm_RXqjL-uF0ypfqWirnuub0gcCLSG1n2DDZin5xmgF_AvIVInHn1pBP4M8eqNY-mCx9f3Li51RPaIaWRI20A-5I8=>

BOARD OF
DIRECTORS

Hardy Myers,

President and Founder

Steve Doell,

Vice President and Founder

Erin K. Olson,

Secretary, Treasurer

and Founder

John Stein,

Member and Founder

Peter Glazer,

Member

Alan C. Bonebrake,
Member

Maria Chavez-

Haroldson,

Member

Peter L. Deuel,

Member

Christine Hermann,

Member

Ronita Sutton,

Member

Elisabeth Zeller,

Member

STAFF

Rosemary Brewer,

Legal Director

Cristina Damiani,

Admin. Director /
Victim Advocate

PRO BONO
ATTORNEYS

Olufunmike "Fumi"Owoso
Lillian Salminen

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Oregon Crime Victims
Law Center

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Suite 535
Portland, OR 97204

(503) 208-8160
F (866) 838-4142
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