OrCon Law

Oregon Court of Appeals Confirms its own Existence

In this interesting opinion issued this morning by the Court of Appeals (Brewer, J.), the court concluded that it legally exists.  In Carey v. Lincoln Loan Co., the defendant challenged the Court of Appeals' jurisdiction by contending that the legislature lacked the authority to create the Court of Appeals and, thus, the Court of Appeals was legally non-existent.  The predicate of the defendant's argument was that amended Article VII of the Oregon Constitution had not been validly enacted for three reasons: (1) there was never a legal proclamation of the passage of amended Article VII; (2) amended Article VII violated the full text provision of Article IV of the Constitution; and (3) amended Article VII violated the separate vote requirement of Article XVII of the Constitution.  The Court of Appeals rejected each argument and ultimately ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on their claim that provisions of the land sale contract between them and defendant were unconscionable.

The Teaching of "Intelligent Design" violates the Establishment Clause

according to the ruling of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School Dist.  You can view the court's opinion here:  Download kitzmiller_342.pdf

Oregon Highway Tax Option Does Not Violate Dormant Commerce Clause

Reversing the decision of the Court of Appeals, in American Trucking Association, Inc. v. State of Oregon,  the Supreme Court (De Muniz, J.) held that Oregon's flat fee highway tax alternative to the weight-mile tax does not violate the dormant commerce clause.