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Rachel Philips Profile picture
Rachel Philips
@rachelbusygrl
Lawyer, consultant, investigator, writer, producer, dog lover, former pd. NOLA born & raised.⚜ Portland-based. Executive Producer: Meet Saint Paul documentary.
Jul 14, 2022 • 22 tweets • 7 min read
A Black defendant has his convictions reversed by the Oregon Court of Appeals because the DAs excused the only 2 Black jurors over the defense objection & this hasn't made a single local news outlet? Portland murder trial reversed - trial was under then MultCo DA Rod Underhill. Oregon was the VERY LAST state to stop the racist practice of non-unanimous jury verdicts. COA says in its opinion, "We begin with the axiom, no longer subject to reasonable debate, that racial discrimination in the selection of jurors is harmful."
This should be a big deal.
Jul 13, 2022 • 13 tweets • 4 min read
If PDSC wants to overhaul the system a good first step would be to take the claims of disparate pay by gender & retaliation seriously. After all, attorney Tara Herival won her case against OPDS paying her less in June 2022: What is the status of the investigation?"Multiple women defense attys have spoken w/ ACLU of Oregon about their experiences...(1) they have faced serious situations of retaliation from OPDS, including multiple situations of retaliation by a leadership-level male employee of OPDS"
Jul 13, 2022 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
If a defendant is being routed through a "social service navigator" that works for the DA - they are working w/ an agency w/ a conflict of interest. This is a terrible idea. Stop throwing $ at DAs & law enforcement!
Prioritize funding public defense & social services.
#orpol No questions in this article about the studies that show non-prosecution of low-level misdemeanors leads to safer communities. That the court backlog could be immediately reduced by better charging practices by DAs - less overcharging of cases & better settlement offers.
#orpol
Nov 13, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Good for the O, now other Oregon legacy media need to stop giving this former DA a platform to spread outright misrepresentations.

Brady material is anything that *might* be exculpatory - admissibility is NOT a factor in whether or not something is Brady material. In this piece by 2 former DAs there are claims that a police officer having lied about violating rules “had nothing to do with any particular case” & therefore would not be Brady material.

This is flat out WRONG.
Jun 17, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Oh look OPDS trying to tell attys & public defense providers the 4.5% budget cut is no biggie b/c they'll comply w/ #orleg requirements necessary to release withheld $100 million. Just like they've addressed the issues from the 6th Amendment Center report!
oregon.gov/opds/SiteAsset… Oh wait, OPDS *hasn't* addressed the problems outlined in the Sixth Amendment Center Report - which came out in December of 2018:
opb.org/news/article/p…
Jun 16, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
🧵on how Assault II in Oregon is usually charged for perspective on the recent indictment of PPB ofc Budnick of misdemeanor Assault IV.
Media might to ask DA's office for comparable cases where a baton or rod or bat or other item was used & case was indicted as BM11 Assault II: Assault II carries a mandatory 70 month prison sentence. If DA had charged Assault II that ofc wouldn't be able to negotiate for a dismissal via a civil compromise or setover-sentencing agreement, but with a misdemeanor Assault IV charge, a dismissal is a possible outcome.
Jun 12, 2021 • 13 tweets • 6 min read
Oregon Ways & Means voted to decrease funding for public defense by 4.5% today.

In 2018 the Sixth Amendment Center Report said Oregon's public defense system fails defendants & their lawyers. If #orleg wants criminal justice reform then it needs to properly fund public defense. Oregon was the last state in the country to require unanimous jury verdicts in felony cases.

And the only reason we now have unanimous jury verdicts in Oregon is because of a United States Supreme Court case - Ramos v Louisiana - and not because of the Oregon Legislature.
Jun 9, 2021 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
Oh Hi #orleg! I mentioned during my testimony on HB214 last month that good attorneys were leaving criminal defense. With OPDS being broke & the new proposed budget of even less $ for public defense - get ready for even more good attorneys to leave.
oregoncapitalinsider.com/news/state-pub… Here's an article from 2018 pointing out the Sixth Amendment Center's report that Oregon's public defense system fails defendants & their lawyers.
Its 2021 & we're moving backwards.
#orleg
oregonlive.com/pacific-northw…
Dec 6, 2020 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
Looking at photos from a trip to NYC in 2019. Love the Central Park bench memorials & this was a favorite:
In Loving & Eternal Memory
Norma Juliet Wikler
Outraged and Outrageous Kentucky 1940 - Costa Rica 2002 Memorial plaque on green Central Park bench with brown leave Looked up Norma Wikler & turns out she was exactly the kind of person I'd liked to have met.
"she was well known for her brilliant wit & sense of humor, her astounding energy, intellectual breadth, dramatic flair, & her often-zany sense of the absurd."
senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/_files/inmemor…
Dec 5, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
This was a fun quiz & not a surprise I got Musical. BRB going to make a playlist w/ some songs I haven't listened to recently - like The Pointer Sisters - who will forever be associated w/ both Beverly Hills Cop & sneaking into clubs to dance in HS:
buzzfeed.com/evelinamedina/… So much fun:
Jun 16, 2020 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
So apparently the Oregon legislature #orleg is seeking to eliminate the 180-Day Pretrial Detention Cutoff for people who have been arrested & held in jail & waiting for trial during COVID-19.
This is a bad idea, for the following reasons: 1) It’s contrary to the most recent OR Supreme Court Chief Justice Order, directing courts to “explore alternatives to current arrest and detention policies…to keep jail populations at a minimum” in the interest of public safety during the pandemic.
courts.oregon.gov/rules/ORAP/CJO…
Dec 6, 2019 • 36 tweets • 14 min read
Friday Thread on #CriminalJusticeReform in Oregon:

Yesterday ended a 20 month journey repping a young client (under 25) who started out as a giant pain in the ass & then turned into 1 of my favorite clients ever. It started with Client who wound up facing 6 cases w/ a possible 15 convictions on the line, ranging from contempt to misdemeanors to C level felonies.

The PDs office had a conflict & so I was appointed to the case.