Oregon Lawmakers Reject Bill to Soften Penalties for Misdemeanors, Angering Defense Attorneys

The Oregon House Judiciary Committee decided at the last minute to withdraw House Bill 2469 –  to allow judges to downgrade some misdemeanor offenses to violations – because it needed a majority vote of the committee to succeed.

Its Failure is a Bitter Blow to Defense Attorneys

The bill was a request from the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and its failure is a bitter blow to defense attorneys who spent months negotiating to water down some of the original content of the bill to make it more appealing to prosecutors.

The concessions excluded some misdemeanor crimes such as sexual abuse, assault, and driving under the influence of intoxicants.

Defense Attorneys Believe the Bill Would Alleviate the Demand for Public Defenders

Defense attorneys believe that HB 2469 would alleviate the demand for public defenders if judges were allowed to downgrade certain misdemeanors to violations.

However, the bill was met with strong opposition from prosecutors who felt that the decriminalization of the selected misdemeanors would downgrade the offenses to the level of speeding fines.

Some of the selected crimes included possession of small quantities of drugs, some hate crimes, sex offenders visiting schools when not allowed to do so, sex in public, sexual solicitation, flashing for sexual arousal, trespassing, breaking into cars, and shoplifting involving merchandise under $1,000.

Opponents Uncomfortable that Downgrade Would Cancel Jail Time

Some members of the House Judiciary Committee were uncomfortable with the fact that downgrading certain misdemeanors to violations would cancel jail time, probation, and sentencing conditions like attending anger management classes and mental health counseling.

The bill would have also given judges the leeway to base sentencing on the defendant’s character and past criminal history.

Last year, the legislature restored drug possession to a misdemeanor after widespread concern that its status as a violation accomplished zero to stop the use of drugs in public, a problem prevalent in downtown Portland.

However, the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association believed that the bill would resolve the problem of suspects waiting for months for public defenders to be assigned because of the backlog of cases waiting for a trial date.

The association also believes that if judges were allowed to consider all the circumstances of a case they could make an appropriate ruling.