Author's Entries

• Non-Unanimous Jury Law in Oregon

  In 1934, Oregon amended its constitution to allow for non-unanimous jury verdicts in criminal cases, excluding cases where a defendant is on trial for first-degree murder. That change to the state constitution made Oregon one of only two states (the other is Louisiana) that allowed non-unanimous jury convictions in criminal …

  Oregon Encyclopedia

• Santiago Ventura Morales Exoneration Case

  In 1986, Mixtec farmworker Santiago Ventura Morales was wrongfully convicted of murder at the end of a trial where he was given a Spanish interpreter rather than one who spoke his Indigenous language. Following extensive advocacy and media coverage, the conviction was overturned in 1991, which helped spur reforms in …

  Oregon Encyclopedia