Umatilla County is home to two large state prisons, which hold more than 3,500 inmates between them. The petitions are a last resort for inmates who need things like medical equipment and procedures that have been denied.Read More
Between 2008 and 2018, suicide accounted for 47% of jail deaths with a known cause in Oregon and Washington, according to an investigation by OPB, KUOW and the Northwest News Network. But an analysis shows the region’s prisons aren’t plagued by the same crisis.Read More
The U.S. Supreme Court kicks off its new term Monday with a case that has potentially sweeping implications for Oregon, and could end the state’s non-unanimous jury system.Read More
After hours of testimony, a federal judge in Portland extended a temporary restraining order as he considers whether or not to prevent a controversial Harney County ranching family from grazing their cattle on certain parcels of public land in southeast Oregon.Read More
A federal judge is set to hear arguments Portland this week from mental health advocates who say the state is failing dozens of criminal defendants in need of treatment.Read More
Over the past decade, at least 122 people have died by suicide in county jails across Oregon and Washington. Suicide, specifically hanging, is by far the leading single cause of deaths in the region’s jails. It accounts for nearly half of all cases with a known cause of death.Read More
s one of his last acts in office, ousted Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed off on returning grazing rights to the eastern Oregon ranchers whose prison sentences led to a 2016 standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.Read More
The DoubleTree Portland announced in a series of tweets Friday it plans to hire a third party to investigate a Dec. 22 incident that resulted in an African-American man being kicked out of his hotel room. The hotel employees involved in the incident have been placed on leave, the hotel said.Read More
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has all but abandoned its use of federal prisons to house detainees. Three ICE detainees that remain are inside the federal prison in Sheridan, Oregon.Read More
Oregon’s sanctuary law for immigration is simple on paper. It says no law enforcement agency can use its money, equipment or personnel for the purpose of detecting or apprehending people whose only violation is being in the country unlawfully.Read More
A Cowlitz County Superior Court judge has ordered striking Longview, Washington, teachers and other district staff back to work. The unions haven’t yet decided whether they’ll comply.Read More
Attorneys and lawmakers in Oregon say the state is violating the U.S. Constitution because of laws that require juveniles convicted of murder to be sentenced to what amounts to mandatory life imprisonment.Read More
Over 100 men from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are being held at the federal prison in Sheridan, Oregon, according to an immigration attorney trying to gain access to the facility to provide legal counsel. ICE has contracted space for 130 beds at the federal prison in Sheridan and 209 beds at the SeaTac federal detention center in Washington.Read More
A youth detention case in Oregon could prove significant for immigration policy, possibly giving ICE more power over local jails. Or it could undercut their efforts to arrest people in the country illegally, especially in jurisdictions that are reluctant to cooperate with the agency.Read More
A federal judge in Oregon ruled Friday against several Northwest tribal members in a case over the destruction of a spiritual site near Mount Hood. A road expansion project a decade ago destroyed burial grounds and a stone altar, along with old-growth trees.Read More
Ryan Payne, one of the leaders of the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, was sentenced Monday in Portland to three years and one month in prison and three years probation.Read More
Oregon Health and Science University announced an immediate change to its transplant policy late Tuesday night that allows immigrants in the country illegally to receive life-saving medical care.Read More
Law enforcement from around country convened in downtown Portland last week with one goal in mind: figure out how to regulate marijuana during the Trump administration.Read More
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said they served audit notices Wednesday at nearly 100 7-Eleven convenience stores nationwide, including stores in Oregon, Washington and California.Read More
A federal judge has ordered Malheur occupation leader Ryan Payne back into custody in Oregon. A day earlier, Payne and members of the Bundy family were handed a stunning legal victory in Las Vegas in a separate case. Read More
In early 2018, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee will make a final decision on whether to permit the Vancouver Energy Project -- the largest proposed oil-by-rail terminal in the country.Read More
