Salem-News.com Legal articles Page 56

Repulsive Brutality by Oklahoma Cops Captured on YouTube

The cop turned on another emergency professional tasked with saving lives, who wears a uniform and a badge- without a hint of professional respect or professional conduct. Welcome to Oklahoma.

(OKLAHOMA CITY) - Viral YouTube video of police brutality is in the news again. This time the place is Oklahoma City and the victim is a black ambulance driver with a patient who was enroute to the hospital when he was pulled over for not yielding to a cop.

There is an unwritten rule in the law enforcement/fire/ambulance world that allows drivers to go fast, really fast, if they are indeed code-3 and deem it necessary. But how is one emergency driver to know when they are expected to pull over for another? The driver apparently believed the cop was escorting the ambulance.

Oregon Roadblocks to Growing Industrial Hemp Removed in Bipartisan Senate Vote

Senate Bill 676 clears the way for crop to be grown and sold in Oregon.

(SALEM, Ore.) - In a bipartisan vote, the Oregon Senate voted to join 15 other states today by passing legislation that outlines state practices for the growth and sale of industrial hemp. SB 676 authorizes the production, possession and commerce in industrial hemp commodities and products.

Oregon Republicans Fight Hard to Bring Guns to University Campuses

34 pro-gun legislators send letter to Oregon University System.

(SALEM, Ore.) - A group of Oregon legislators led by two outspoken Republicans, want to see students carry guns on public university campuses.

They have dispatched to Chancellor of the Oregon University System, George Pernsteiner what State Representative Kim Thatcher (R-Keizer, St. Paul, Newberg) calls a "sternly worded bi-partisan letter" signed by 34 legislators asking for the state’s public universities to review and revise their gun policies.

Oregon’s Merkley Strengthens Tobacco Control Bill (AUDIO)

One of the Senate additions to the bill is an amendment by Senator Jeff Merkley to include FDA oversight of the newest, dissolvable tobacco products packaged to look like mints or candy.

(PORTLAND, Ore. ONS) - It's being called the strongest anti-tobacco measure since the U.S. Surgeon General ruled more than 40 years ago that smoking causes lung cancer.

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate voted to allow the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate tobacco. The House already passed a similar bill, and must now vote on the Senate's changes.

Oregon Woman Indicted For Killing Infant Son

Araceli Velasquez Espain will be arraigned on Tuesday, June 16th.

(HEPPNER, Ore.) - Morrow County District Attorney Elizabeth A. Ballard and Attorney General John Kroger today announced that a grand jury has indicted Araceli Velasquez Espain on multiple counts for the death of her infant son.

The indictment accuses Espain of intentionally killing her baby on June 6th. She is scheduled to be arraigned in Morrow County Circuit Court at 1:15 p.m., Tuesday, June 16th. Espain faces charges of aggravated murder, first-degree manslaughter, second-degree manslaughter, first-degree criminal mistreatment and abandonment of a child.

MPP Condemns Prison Sentence for Medical Marijuana Defendant Charles C. Lynch

Law-Abiding Medical Marijuana Collective Was Licensed by City.

(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) - The Marijuana Policy Project strongly condemned today's federal sentencing of Charles C. Lynch, a California medical marijuana provider who worked scrupulously to follow state and local laws but now faces one year and one day in federal prison.

"Years from now, Mr. Lynch may well be remembered as the last American to go to federal prison for a mistake, the final victim of an already repudiated policy well on its way to the ash heap of history, but whose mean-spirited effects still linger," said MPP executive director Rob Kampia.

Open Letter Encourages Sanity in Sentencing of California Medical Marijuana Dispensary Owner

Forward by Salem-News.com's Tim King.

(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) - Veteran American marijuana activist Ed Rosenthal has drafted a letter he hopes will have an effect on the outcome of the sentencing of a California medical marijuana dispensary owner. Charles Lynch was in the opinion of thousands, possibly millions of Americans, completely railroaded by an overzealous California sheriff; one who overstepped his own boundaries countless times in the case.

The most basic information about California state law allowing medical marijuana use was disqualified because Charles Lynch was convicted on a federal level, and the United States government clearly, more than ever, does not respect the rights of states in a legal manner.

House Appropriations Committee Seeks Clarification on Medical Marijuana Policy

Amendment Seeks Explanation in Light of Attorney General Holder's Recent Statements.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) - In light of recent statements by Attorney General Eric Holder indicating that the Obama administration would not pursue prosecutions of individuals involved in medical marijuana activities sanctioned by state law, the House Appropriations Committee has added language seeking clarification of the new policy to the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill.

The language, sponsored by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), states, "There have been conflicting public reports about the Department's enforcement of medical marijuana policies.

Texas Enacts `Innocence Committee` Over Excessive Wrongful Convictions

"Hang 'em high" state approves innocence commission.

(SAN ANTONIO) - Texas' unenviable record of convicting too many innocent people has helped the Texas House pass legislation creating an innocence commission that would investigate how innocent people ended up in prison.

"What we're trying to do is to make sure that we never, never ever convict a person wrongly again," says. Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, author of HB 498. The bill still needs Senate approval before he heads to Governor Rick Perry.

Oregon Man Battles to Remove Historic Mojave Desert Cross Honoring War Dead

It began when an Oregon who said he was "offended" by this historic cross honoring WWI war dead.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Religious groups and veteran's organizations are applauding arguments from the federal government in favor of a historic cross in the California Desert, built by war veterans to honor their fallen.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty explains that in a brief filed in the Supreme Court in Salazar v. Buono, the United States government defended the constitutionality of the 75-year old Mojave Desert Cross, which memorializes World War I veterans.