Oregon Justice Resource Center

“A copy of the 990 is circulated to all members of the governing body and reviewed before filing”

“Annually the Board of Directors discloses any conflicts of interests”

“The Board of Directors review the performance of the Executive Director and determines the compensation based on comparable positions in the community.”

“The organization makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements available to the public upon request”

“Statement of Program Service Accomplishments, Form 990, Part III, line 4cOregon Innocence Project:This year, we appeared in state and federal courts on behalf of three clients. Nick McGuffins case was one of the first brought to us when we began in 2014. The post-conviction review hearing this summer represented the culmination of thousands of hours of staff and volunteer investigation, research, and preparation, in particular by our pro bono researcher, John Comery. In November, all our efforts bore fruit when Mr. McGuffinsmanslaughter conviction was overturned by the circuit court. Nick McGuffin was released in December (our second exoneration) after the State decided not to appeal and the district attorney chose not to seek a retrial. Jesse Johnson has been on death row since 2004. We have been representing him for the purpose of seeking DNA testing of physical evidence from the crime scene since 2014. Last year, the Marion County Circuit Court denied our motion for testing and we appealed. At argument before the Court of Appeals in August, we again made the case that Mr. Johnson should be granted testing of items from the crime scene that were never tested or were tested using outdated procedures. We are still awaiting a decision.Earl Bain petitioned the U.S. District Court to grant him a writ of habeas corpus which would overturn his conviction for sexual abuse and remove the hardship of remaining on the sex offender registry for life. The complaining witness in his case, now an adult, has recanted her story and wishes to help him clear his name. Last year, the District Court denied his petition. We argued Mr. Bains case before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in June. Unfortunately, the court denied his petition this fall. Statement of Program Service Accomplishments, Form 990, Part III, line 4bWomens Justice:This year, we helped pass legislation that funds a two-year pilot program for a civil legal services clinic inside Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, Oregons womens prison (HB 2631). This is set to be perhaps the first in the nation to operate inside prison walls with several dedicated attorneys. The Womens Justice Project has received funding from the state to staff the program. We decided to call our clinic Re*Membering to signify the core concept of our services the concept of returning people isolated by incarceration to membership in our communities with respect and dignity. Three attorneys are staffing the clinic to provide limited representation of women who need help with a wide range of re-entry focused civil legal issues such as family matters, debt, property or employment. We are particularly grateful to members of our Advisory Committee who shared their experiences with legislators to educate them about the need for expanded legal services at Coffee Creek. We provided individual legal assistance to over a dozen people this year with a wide range of needs including child custody, immigration, tribal enrollment, student loans, and much more. Our Women in Prison Conference which takes place in Portland each fall was our largest yet, with more than 250 people in attendance at the Portland Art Museum in November. This years theme was Justice for Survivor-Defendants and we explored the reforms that would help create more just outcomes for people facing criminal charges who are also survivors of domestic violence. We began to publish a series of reports based on the findings of our HerStory Oregon Survey of women incarcerated at Coffee Creek. Our first two reports were on intimate partner violence and trauma and on mental health, physical health, and substance use. This year we also published A Guide to Preparing for Your Murder Review Hearing, authored by Mark Wilson and released in partnership with the Youth Justice Project. We also collaborated with the Immigrant Rights Project to create a guide for people in prison who are subject to ICE detainers (requests from ICE to the Department of Corrections to ho”