Category Public Safety
Seeking to protect farmland, conservation groups go to court to block airport runway extension
A jet arrives at the Aurora State Airport. (Jaime Valdez/Pamplin Media Group). A proposed expansion of the Aurora State Airport violates the state’s land-use law, imperils prime farmland and wasn’t properly approved, two conservation groups argue in a lawsuit. 1,000 Friends of Oregon and Friends…
Clergy reported her husband’s confession of sex abuse. Now she’s suing the church
Marion County Courthouse (File/Salem Reporter) A local woman has sued the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for nearly $10 million after a church counselor reported her husband’s confession of sexually abusing a minor. According to the lawsuit, in 2016 Kristine Johnson learned that…
Finding that ‘words have consequences,’ judge throws out Sen. Brian Boquist’s lawsuit
Sen. Brian Boquist reflects on his political and military careers at his Dallas farm. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) A federal judge compared state Sen. Brian Boquist to the actor Clint Eastwood and a playground bully Tuesday in dismissing the Dallas Republican’s claims that Senate President Peter…
Oregon’s top judge asked about immigration arrests in courthouses. Here’s what she found
Marion County Courthouse (File/Salem Reporter) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents made arrests in or near 10 of Oregon’s 27 state circuit courts, according to state records obtained by Salem Reporter. The records, released under a public records request, shed light on the scope of…
Salem man arrested for manslaughter, DUI, accused of killing a pedestrian
A 23-year-old Salem man is charged with manslaughter and driving under the influence in connection with the death of a pedestrian in northeast Salem Saturday. Javier Luevano-Plascencia told police he was trying to pass a car on Northeast Hawthorne Avenue, a two-lane road separated by…
Judge drops charges against man arrested last year for alleged attack in Minto-Brown Island Park
David Belluno (Booking photo). A man accused of attempting to kidnap and rape a woman at knifepoint in Salem’s Minto-Brown Island Park has had all charges dropped by a Marion County Circuit Court judge who found he wasn’t fit for trial. On Dec. 18, Judge…
A small nonprofit is trying to help lawyers become more scientifically literate — and keep innocent people out of prison.
The work that occurs in crime labs can determine if someone goes to prison or walks free. (Courtesy/ Oregon State Police) When Janis Puracal began reviewing evidence used to convict Nicholas McGuffin of killing his girlfriend, she recalled how it didn’t add up. In 2011,…
Court finds that police coerced murder confession
Public safety – standing graphic UPDATE: This story has been updated with comment from the public defender involved in the case. SALEM – A Woodburn man’s murder conviction has been overturned after the Oregon Court of Appeals determined that police coerced his confession, telling him…
New courthouse rule aims to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests
Marion County Courthouse (File/Salem Reporter) Citing a need to protect the integrity of the judicial system, Oregon’s top judge adopted a rule Thursday intended to restrict the ability of federal immigration agents from making arrests in the state’s courthouses. But Immigration and Customs Enforcement has…