Justices to Hold Court at PCC Cascade

The Oregon Supreme Court is coming to Portland Community College next week.

Sponsored by the college's criminal justice and paralegal programs, the visit will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 9, in Room 104 of the new Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building at the Cascade Campus, 705 N. Killingsworth St. The court will hear three cases.

The hearings are free and open to the public. Those attending must heed customary courtroom decorum, dress and rules.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the state; only the United States Supreme Court can reverse or modify a decision made by the Oregon Supreme Court.

Seven justices are on the state Supreme Court. Unlike the federal Supreme Court justices, who are appointed by the president, Oregon's Supreme Court justices are elected. They then appoint someone among them to be the chief justice for a six-year term.

The justices currently on the Supreme Court are:

• Paul J. DeMuniz, Chief Justice (term expires January 2007);

• Thomas A. Balmer (term expires January 2009);

• Wallace P. Carson Jr. (term expires January 2007);

• Robert D. Durham (term expires January 2007);

• W. Michael Gillette (term expires January 2011);

• Rives Kistler (term expires January 2011); and

• R. William Riggs (term expires January 2011)

Unlike civil or criminal proceedings, there are no witnesses in a Supreme Court hearing. Instead, the attorneys argue their case before the justices, and the justices ask questions of the attorneys; the arguments and questions center on certain points and philosophical differences concerning existing law. The justices then consider the arguments, but a ruling, contained in a written opinion, isn't handed down until several months later.

The cases before the court Tuesday are:

• 9 a.m., Davis v. Board of Parole: The court will tackle the question of, "Does standard review used by the Board of Parole comply with federal due process?"

• 10:30 a.m., Industra/ Matrix Joint Venture v. Pope & Talbot Inc. This case centers on issues regarding arbitration and contract law.

• 1:30 p.m., State v. Issac Jerome Lane: A criminal case involving the charge of escape and the culpable mental state required to prove the crime.

For more information on this event, contact Jim Parks, PCC criminal justice instructor, at 503-978-5236.