OrCon Law

Lewis & Clark Law Review to Publish "Federalism after Raich."

The upcoming issue of the Lewis & Clark Law Review is a paper symposium entitled Federalism after Gonzales v. Raich.  The articles, which include pieces by professors Ann Althouse and Thomas Merrill, among others, can be viewed on the Law Review's web page, which is accessible through the above links.  Thanks to Amanda Austin, the Law Review's editor-in-chief, for letting me know about this very interesting issue.

Justice De Muniz Elected Chief Justice

According to this press release from the Oregon Supreme Court, Justice De Muniz has been elected to succeed Chief Justice Carson as Chief Justice of the Court.

Statute authorizing the annexing of "island" territory does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment

In Kane v. City of Beaverton, (Edmonds, J.),  the lone opinion issued by the Court of Appeals today, the court held that ORS 222.750, which authorizes a city to annex property contained compeletly within the city's corporate boundaries (i.e. an "island" of unincorporated property) without the consent of the owners/residents of that property, does not violate the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Constitutional Venue Ruling

In State v. Werdell, an interesting decision issued by the Court of Appeals last week, the Court (Kantor, J., pro tempore) held that Article I, section 11 does not prohibit the legislature from making the commission of the underlying offense an element of the crime of hindering prosecution for the purposes of establishing venue.