Oregon Democrats have agreed to make significant changes to a bill that would vacate convictions for those who can prove they were convicted by a non-unanimous jury. This agreement came under pressure from both state Republicans and district attorneys who claimed that this bill would harm crime victims.
The amended version of Senate Bill 1511 clarifies who would be eligible, ensuring only those currently in custody with victims of at least 18 years of age would be allowed to petition. It would not apply to those on probation, parole, or who have completed their sentences.
Democrats originally sought to give those convicted by 10-2 or 11-1 juries a chance to seek a second trial, following the 2020 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court finding this practice to be unconstitutional.
Oregon was the last state in the nation to allow non-unanimous juries and has been working towards a change to this law since 2020. The new SB 1511 would offer millions of dollars to prosecutors and community organizations across Oregon to support victims whose cases may be retried.
Senator Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, told the Statesman Journal’s Conrad Wilson that, “Oregon was wrong,” continuing that the state, “should have never allowed for non-unanimous verdicts on criminal cases. This is an opportunity for us … to actually heed what they said and give as much relief as we can.”
The Vote
Both Republicans and Democrats on all sides of the argument signaled that they hadn’t decided how they may vote should this bill reach the Senate floor.
“This bill is much improved with the amendments,” Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, said during the hearing. “This whole exercise is not required by the Supreme Court. What was required is we had to get rid of the non-unanimous juries and there was not a requirement to go back and retry them. So this is completely optional.”
This bill would also raise the bar for proving a defendant was convicted by a non-unanimous jury, something which is not well documented by Oregon courts. Anyone seeking to overturn or revisit their conviction would need a court record to prove the conviction was not unanimous.
So far, there are roughly 250 people convicted by non-unanimous juries who have shown interest, but many are out of custody and wouldn’t be eligible under the new changes to the bill.
“By limiting this to just those adults in custody, we have significantly reduced the numbers that would be eligible, as well as the number of individuals that would be potentially retried,” Prozanski said.
The Victims
At the beginning of this month, lawmakers heard testimonies from supporters of the bill and victims alike. The amended legislation, according to Oregon lawmakers, attempts to balance the victims’ trauma while acknowledging that some people in prison today were convicted by juries that the U.S. Supreme Court found unlawful.
The further history of non-unanimous juries being based on racist efforts to imprison and control Black Americans and other marginalized groups further complicates the matter.
According to OPB, of the 250 people in Oregon who can prove they were convicted by a non-unanimous jury, 18% are Black, despite the state’s population being only 2.2% Black. Latinos and Native Americans are also overrepresented as those who were convicted by juries which were not in full agreement.
“I think it is important to keep in mind that the U.S. Supreme Court found nonunanimous jury convictions unconstitutional and this bill only provides an opportunity to those in custody with nonunanimous jury convictions to have their cases retried, leaving others behind,” said Lewis and Clark Law Professor Aliza Kaplan to OPB. “While I am pleased that some folks will get their constitutional day in court under SB 1511 and that victims will be cared for in the process, it is a shame that all Oregonians convicted unconstitutionally will not get the justice they deserve.”
By Ethan Hauck
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