From The Oregonian of Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007Dilapidated house: Neighbors seeing red City eyes a wide-ranging maintenance code that other cities have By David R. Anderson BEAVERTON — Neighbors of 9020 S.W. Rebecca Lane describe the home as every neighborhood’s nightmare — a gutted house with plywood-covered windows, no running water and a mysterious owner who burns God-knows-what in the fireplace. City officials say they can do something about the overgrown weeds, abandoned vehicles and garbage piled outside. But there is little they can do to regulate what property owners do inside their homes. Beaverton has nothing like the wide-ranging maintenance codes — requiring hot and cold running water, among other things — that other cities, including Tigard, Gresham and Portland, have. But the house on Rebecca Lane has Beaverton officials considering a similar ordinance. The house was a problem even before the fire, said Nathan Jones, who lives across the street. He began complaining to the city in spring 2005 about overgrown weeds. But things became much worse on Aug. 31, 2005, when the house caught fire. Clothing was left too close to the water heater, which was missing the protective plate covering the pilot light, said Karen Eubanks, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue spokeswoman. Fire officials determined the cause of the blaze was accidental. But insurance apparently didn’t pay for the damage and it has never been repaired. A blue tarp still covers the hole firefighters cut in the roof. About a year ago, when the house was abandoned, Jones said he went inside and saw moldy drywall and mushy subflooring. It was accompanied by a horrible smell. The home’s owner, Lance A. Christensen, apparently moved back into the house a week before Thanksgiving. But he has made no obvious repairs. Christensen could not be reached for comment and did not respond to a note left at the house. Jones and fellow neighbor Sandy Dow said they are worried about their property values and the safety of neighborhood children. Jones has a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son. “We just don’t go in the front yard now,” he said. “I am horribly uneasy.” Jones said city officials have taken a “very relaxed, lackadaisical” approach to the problem. City councilors adopted an ordinance in April to address vacant buildings, using the Rebecca Lane house as one example for the need. But neighbors said nothing apparently changed after that ordinance passed. For example, it requires that plywood over windows be painted the same color as the house. That never happened. And when Christensen moved back in, the house was no longer considered vacant. “I think the city is failing him,” Jones said. “What’s most aggravating is that no one cares.” But city officials say they have done what they could. Code enforcement officers have amassed an inch-thick file documenting their efforts over the past 16 months. Work includes towing two vehicles, cleaning rubbish from the yard, cutting weeds and securing the plywood over the windows, said George Fetzer, the city’s code services manager. The case has been particularly difficult, Fetzer said, because ownership has been confused after a mortgage foreclosure. That limited the city’s ability to enforce vacant building standards, he said. Mayor Rob Drake said he understands and shares neighbors’ frustration. He consulted the city attorney to see what could be done. “I just can’t believe someone can use their home without proper sewer hookup,” he said. There is no law requiring a residence to have water service, said Kent Burtner, a Washington County’s Department of Health & Human Services spokesman. City officials are reviewing a draft maintenance code. But Drake is cautious about adopting a sweeping ordinance. Cases of badly neglected homes are rare, Drake said. Though in recent years, he said, the city might have used such an ordinance to force improvements to rundown apartments in the Central Beaverton neighborhood. The city of Tigard adopted a maintenance ordinance in 1999, said Hap Watkins, Tigard’s inspections supervisor. The new code has been a success, Watkins said. For example, if a windstorm blows off shingles, the city will contact the owner if the tarp stays up too long, Watkins said. The city has also used the ordinance in cases of excessive mildew on a building, fallen gutters and rental units with stoves that don’t work. Jones said Beaverton leaders should do something. “I just need them to make him fix the house,” Jones said. From The Oregonian of Friday, May 4, 2007Beaverton ponders homes standards A proposal sets minimums for all properties and establishes fines By David R. Anderson BEAVERTON — A proposed ordinance that would set minimum standards for home maintenance — requiring a watertight roof, plumb chimney and at least one window that opens, for example — will be considered by the City Council on Monday night. The ordinance was inspired by a house on Southwest Rebecca Lane that was gutted by fire. It had no running water or electricity. A blue tarp covered a hole in the roof, and unpainted plywood was nailed over the windows. But because the owner was living in the house, the city couldn’t enforce its ordinance for abandoned houses. The owner has since sold the house to a developer who is remodeling it. “It will end up being the nicest house in the neighborhood,” said Nathan Jones, who lives across the street and has been complaining to the city for two years. “But the city didn’t do a thing about it. It resolved itself.” The city has a nuisance ordinance that addresses abandoned vehicles, overgrown vegetation and garbage in the yard. But it doesn’t have standards addressing homes that are overcrowded or falling into disrepair. The 17-page ordinance establishes minimum requirements for things such as foundations, exterior walls, handrails, doors and bathrooms. For example, a home must have a water heater that is capable of heating enough water to provide at least 10 minutes of 120-degree Fahrenheit water at each hot water outlet. It also sets standards for overcrowding, requiring at least 330 square feet of kitchen, dining room and living room for a home with six or more residents. The ordinance also proposes penalties that range from civil infractions that carry a fine of $50 a day to misdemeanors that can be punished with a $6,250 fine and 30 days in jail. “I think it will help citizens in the future,” Jones said. “We were an extreme case, according to the mayor. But it can happen anywhere.”

Previous story about Timothy Dunn
From The Oregonian of Friday, April 27, 2007 Attorney found guilty in DUII case Timothy P. Dunn is also being investigated on misconduct allegationsBy Holly DanksHILLSBORO — A well-known Washington County defense attorney who has worked on several high-profile murder cases was found guilty Thursday of driving under the influence of intoxicants.Timothy P. Dunn, 54, will be sentenced Monday to mandatory jail, probation and a driver’s license suspension on his second driving impaired conviction in four years. What will happen to his license to practice law is unclear. Criminal convictions notwithstanding, the Oregon State Bar for years has been investigating Dunn on allegations of misconduct involving mishandling of client fees and neglecting legal matters. He currently is awaiting an Oregon Supreme Court ruling on whether he should be suspended from practicing law. Dunn said Thursday that he will appeal his conviction. He asked visiting Circuit Judge Karla J. Knieps to suspend his sentencing pending appeal, but prosecutor Deena Ryerson argued that Dunn needed immediate treatment to keep him from harming other motorists. “I would be remiss if I didn’t ask for the protection of the public,” said Ryerson, as an assistant state’s attorney. Without a jury in a two-day proceeding, Knieps found that Dunn was under the influence of the anti-depressant Librium when a Beaverton police officer arrested him July 1, 2006, on Southwest Farmington Road. Dunn admitted taking two of the pills and then going to Saturday Mass. Dunn, who acted as his own attorney, testified he took Librium because the drug made him not want to drink. He said he has been sober for more than two years.However, he said he has suffered from depression and anxiety for many years. Officer Alan Julifs testified that he stopped Dunn after observing a red Acura cross the yellow centerline several times along Farmington. Julifs said Dunn’s eyes were bloodshot, his speech was slow, his walk shuffling and lethargic, and his face sunken and pale. Julifs said that Dunn failed a field sobriety test and that he found a bag containing a bottle of Librium under the driver’s seat. At the Beaverton police station, Dunn took a Breathalyzer test that showed no alcohol in his system, but a urine test showed the presence of Librium and six other drugs. Dunn’s doctor told an investigator for the Oregon State Bar that he prescribed two of the seven drugs, but Ryerson could not use that evidence because Dunn refused to allow police to perform a drug evaluation. Dunn said he would appeal Thursday’s conviction on the grounds that his doctor violated patient-physician privilege, that the officer should not have opened the bag under the car seat and that the urine test was not quantitative or scientific. Dunn was the court-appointed defense attorney for Karen Huster, who was convicted in 2002 of shooting her 9-year-old daughter, dismembering her body and disposing of the pieces. He also defended Ali Mohamad Mattar, who pleaded guilty the same year to raping and strangling a Tigard woman and cutting off her head and hands. Dunn has not been given court-appointed cases in Washington County since earlier this year. Stacy J. Hankin, assistant disciplinary counsel for the Oregon State Bar, said in the March hearing that Dunn “poses a danger to the public, the court system and the legal profession.”

Previous stories about a Hillsboro teacher and a missing coat
From The Oregonian of Thursday, May 3, 2007Teacher accused of stealing coat from 3rd-grader The Jackson Elementary teacher allegedly tried to sell the jacket online By Holly Danks and Melissa Navas HILLSBORO — “I told her, ‘Be sure not to lose this coat,’” the third-grader’s mother remembers reminding the girl. “It’s expensive, and I usually didn’t let her wear it to school. But it was cold.” The 8-year-old promised. But on Jan. 10 she came home in tears. She had become warm during recess on the Jackson Elementary School playground and took off her gloves and the $114 navy blue Columbia Sportswear Tectonite coat. When she returned without the coat, her teacher immediately sent the girl to look for it. The gloves were where she had left them, but not the ski jacket her grandmother had given her. “A staff member found her crying by the lost-and-found,” the mother said. The jacket would turn up, but only after the girl’s mother tracked it to an eBay auction and took her suspicions to police. On Friday, Elizabeth Lucinda Logan, a Jackson Elementary teacher, will be in court. She faces charges of stealing the coat and trying to sell it. Two days after the coat disappeared, the girl and her mother blanketed the school with fliers showing a photo of her wearing it. For days, they searched classrooms, checked the school’s lost-and-found boxes, asked teachers and staff whether anyone had seen the jacket. “Things don’t disappear into thin air,” the mother said. “I just wanted an explanation. I just wanted the coat back.” An avid online shopper, the mother decided to check out eBay to find a replacement. “I was scanning them on the off-chance that it was there,” the mother said. “It was just a gut feeling.” What she found Jan. 18 she described as a punch to the gut. The photo of the jacket that had been auctioned for $46 first caught the mother’s eye. When she opened the site, she realized that the 7/8 size, colors and model perfectly matched her daughter’s missing coat. Digging further, she saw the seller was from Hillsboro and the jacket was posted for sale the day after her daughter’s disappeared. The seller’s eBay ID matched a name on the Jackson School Web site. The mother made an appointment with the principal on Jan. 22, when she presented “all the coincidental information.” Mysteriously, the jacket reappeared at the school that morning, ripped to pieces. The Oregonian is not identifying the girl or her family because of her parents’ concerns about their children who still attend the school. Police were called and took up the case. Investigators connected the eBay account to Logan, a Jackson Elementary first-grade teacher. Logan, 41, will be arraigned Friday in Washington County Circuit Court on a secret grand jury indictment. The teacher was arrested Feb. 6 and cited for theft by receiving and criminal misuse of a computer. In a prepared statement, Krista Shipsey, Logan’s private attorney, said: “Ms. Logan deeply regrets the impact that this allegation has had on her community, especially the children at Jackson Elementary. She has been a devoted and caring teacher for 20 years and truly misses working with her first-graders. Ms. Logan has been devastated by this allegation.” Lt. Michael Rouches, Hillsboro police spokesman, said Logan told investigators she found the jacket in the school’s lost-and-found bin and was auctioning it on eBay until her dog tore it up. Rouches said Logan has made more than 1,000 eBay transactions. She was still selling Wednesday under the screen name logan6921, with a 99.9 percent positive feedback rating. Logan told police she routinely buys bulk clothing at Goodwill for $1.39 a pound, goes through the pile for hidden treasures and sells what she can on eBay. Hillsboro School District officials said Logan was placed on paid leave Feb. 7, the day after her arrest. Nicole Kaufman, district spokeswoman, said administrators are conducting their own internal investigation. Logan began teaching in the Hillsboro School District in 1987 as a student teacher at Mooberry Elementary School. In 1998, she went to Jackson Elementary, where she was earning nearly $69,000 a year when she went on leave. Jackson School principal Janis Hill said she made a “measured decision” to call or meet with only the parents in Logan’s 25-student class to tell them the teacher was on paid leave during the investigation. Other parents at the 600-student school were not notified, even though the alleged crime victim was not in Logan’s class. Leana Garrison, whose 7-year-old son, Nate, is in Logan’s class, said parents were left in the dark about the reason for Logan’s leave. She learned about the alleged theft through school rumors. Since Logan’s departure, Garrison said her son is not as excited about school. It has been a jolting experience, she said. “He’s constantly writing to her,” Garrison said. “He just misses her and really liked her as a teacher.” Hill said school counselors have been available to students to help cope with emotional stress since Logan left. “First-grade teachers are kind of like the princes, the queen, mom rolled together,” Hill said.From The Oregonian of Friday, May 4, 2007 Handling of teacher’s case faulted Parents say officials kept them in the dark when a class lost its educator By Melissa NavasHILLSBORO — A group of parents at Jackson Elementary School expressed anger at school leaders Thursday, saying they mishandled information involving the case of a teacher accused of stealing a student’s coat and trying to sell it online. Several parents said they were kept in the dark about why their children’s teacher, Elizabeth Lucinda Logan, went missing from the first-grade classroom, as well as about counseling opportunities for children troubled by Logan’s sudden departure. Parents were also upset they weren’t informed initially about which substitutes took over the class. However, school and Hillsboro School District leaders defend how they handled the situation. They say they will not divulge much more information to parents because it is a personnel matter in an investigation. The parents call for better communication from school leaders and more stringent lost-and-found policies in light of police and district investigations into Logan’s actions. She was placed on paid administrative leave Feb. 7, the day after her arrest. The district has kept Logan on the payroll because it has not finished its internal investigation, said Nicole Kaufman, district spokeswoman. Logan, 41, will be arraigned in Washington County Circuit Court today on a secret grand jury indictment. She faces charges of stealing an 8-year-old girl’s $114 Columbia Sportswear Tectonite coat and trying to sell it on eBay in January for $46. Hillsboro police say Logan told investigators she found the coat in the school’s lost-and-found bin. Police became involved when the girl’s mother spotted the jacket on eBay. Principal Janis Hill said that within a day and a half of Logan’s departure, school staff had contacted at least one of the parents of each of Logan’s 25 students. Hill said she didn’t tell parents why Logan was on leave, saying only that students were not physically harmed and that counseling would be available. At least one parent said Thursday that her household did not immediately get that message. Linda Wedlake said she has learned about classroom developments from her 7-year-old son. Though Wedlake says she wasn’t told of counseling, her son told her he took part Wednesday in a mock trial of Logan’s case with other students and the school’s counselor. Wedlake was not told of the session, she said. District leaders said they were not obligated to notify parents in that case. Some students were sent to the session on a substitute teacher’s recommendation, Kaufman said. Since students heard Logan was going to court, they participated in the role-play activity, she said. “As part of working out their feelings, they wanted to understand what it was like to be in court,” Kaufman said. Wedlake sent a petition to the district in March and has contacted the teachers union to see if it was involved in representing Logan. The petition, signed by about 20 other parents, stated, “We agree that the action taken by Mrs. Logan was questionable, however we do not support any decision to relieve her of her teaching duties.” Representatives from the Hillsboro Education Association union did not return calls for comment Thursday. Some parents also want a more defined lost-and-found policy. The district has no set policy on what can be done with those items; most schools create their own procedures. At Jackson, a custodian displays lost-and-found items about once a month. Items are donated to charities or other organizations twice a year. Parents such as Michelle Besuyen, whose 7-year-old son is in Logan’s class, say it’s time to focus on students’ healing. “What is shocking to me is that we haven’t really been able to bond together as a school or a community to help the kids,” she said.

Previous stories about a Beaverton hammer attack
From The Oregonian of Sunday, May 13, 2007 Shopper’s head hit by hammer; man arrested By Stephen Beaven A 56-year-old Portland woman suffered a fractured skull Saturday afternoon when she was struck in the head with a hammer while shopping at a Fred Meyer store, police said. Sharon Weil was in serious condition Saturday night at OHSU Hospital, a spokeswoman said. Officers arrested Eric I. Osterholme, 65, shortly after the incident as he stood by a checkout line at the store, according to Beaverton police Sgt. Paul Wandell. Osterholme, who faces allegations of attempted murder and assault, apparently did not know Weil. There was “no connection that we can show yet,” Wandell said. “This was a random attack.” Weil was in an aisle at the store on Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway when she was hit about 12:20 p.m. From The Oregonian of Monday, May 14, 2007 Woman was just shopping for brunch Sharon Weil, 56, recovers after she was hit in the head with a hammer in Fred Meyer on Saturday By Amy Martinez Starke The victim of an apparently random hammer attack at a Fred Meyer store in Beaverton was shopping for brown sugar and other ingredients to make “a fabulous strawberry French toast brunch” for her mother for Mother’s Day, according to her sister, Dana Hunt. Sharon Weil, 56, of Cedar Mill was in serious condition Sunday at OHSU Hospital with a skull fracture. She was attacked about 12:20 p.m. Saturday from behind while bending over on Aisle 10. The attacker then walked to a checkout stand, where he was arrested. “She thought she had been shot,” Weil’s mother, Elaine Savinar said Sunday. Weil is talking and “we’re hopeful for a full recovery,” Savinar said. The suspect, Eric I. Osterholme of Beaverton, is in jail on attempted murder and assault charges. Osterholme was arrested in 2002 in Beaverton on charges of harassment, said Sgt. Paul Wandell of the Beaverton Police Department. Osterholme is being held on $250,000 bail. Weil, who is single, is a partner in the property management firm Weil Enterprises and is active in community service organizations, including the Jewish Federation. She formerly co-owned The Lion and the Rose Bed & Breakfast in Northeast Portland and is a graduate of Sunset High School in Beaverton and the University of Washington. After the attack, her sister said, Weil was most concerned about the ingredients for the Mother’s Day brunch she had planned. “She is known for her wonderful cooking,” Hunt said. “But we’re going to save that for another day.” From The Oregonian of Tuesday, May 15, 2007 Suspect fails to cooperate with judge By Jill Rehkopf Smith HILLSBORO — A Beaverton man accused of striking a Fred Meyer shopper in the head with a hammer refused to cooperate at his arraignment Monday. Beaverton police say Eric Osterholme hit Sharon Weil, 56, in the head with a hammer as she shopped for groceries in the store at Beaverton Town Square. Weil, a Cedar Mill resident, was in fair condition Monday at OHSU Hospital. During the arraignment, Osterholme became belligerent with Washington County Judge Timothy P. Alexander. “I am being force-fed meals that will cause a heart attack. I am pre-diabetic,” said Osterholme, 65, of the Washington County Jail food after Alexander asked him whether he had seen the charges against him. Charges include attempted murder, first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon, all felonies. “You didn’t answer the question,” Alexander said. “I’m not going to answer the question,” Osterholme responded. “Just listen then,” Alexander said. “I’m not going to listen,” Osterholme said. Alexander scheduled Osterholme’s next court appearance for May 21. Rob Bletko, chief deputy district attorney, said he will bring the case before a grand jury that morning, so the court appearance will probably be in the afternoon. Osterholme will be arraigned on the charges in the indictment from the grand jury, Bletko said. According to Beaverton police Sgt. Paul Wandell, Osterholme was previously arrested in May 2002, when he struck a 6-year-old boy in the throat after the boy approached him to say hello. Osterholme was convicted of harassment and fined $309, Wandell said. Osterholme remains in the Washington County Jail with bail set at $250,000. A public defender will be appointed to represent him.

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Previous stories about a Beaverton photo-radar ticket
From The Oregonian of Wednesday, March 21, 2007 City to cop: Sorry, you were doing 10 over A police officer takes Beaverton to court for a $125 speeding ticket that she says is unfair By David R. Anderson BEAVERTON — A Beaverton police officer cited by photo radar for speeding while on patrol is fighting her ticket. What most would find an ironic turn — a police officer sworn to uphold the law battling to avoid paying a $125 fine — is turning into an expensive legal standoff almost a year old. Both sides claim the high ground in the dispute, the latest in a string of controversies over Beaverton’s use of photo radar. City officials — who will spend as much as $5,000 to hire a special prosecutor — say they are taking a principled stand after investigating the case and finding that Officer Jessica Hull had no reason to be driving 10 mph over the limit. “Just because you’re a police officer, you don’t get special treatment,” City Attorney Alan Rappleyea said. “We don’t want the public to think we don’t prosecute our own people.” Lawyers representing Hull say city officials are retaliating against her. City officials routinely dismiss photo-radar citations in other cases involving on-duty officers, said Mark Makler, a lawyer who represents the Beaverton Police Association. The city is prosecuting Hull because she is female and her union has consistently opposed the city’s photo-radar program, Makler said. “There’s a whole host of issues that come out of this,” Makler said. “We have big issues with photo radar in Beaverton.” Hull, 29, is accused of driving 40 mph in a 30-mph zone in the 12400 block of Southwest Allen Boulevard on April 16, 2006. The citation lists a fine of $125. In 11 years, the city has issued 15 photo-radar citations to police officers on duty, Rappleyea said. In two cases, the officers were convicted, with the other tickets dismissed after police investigators found the officers were responding to calls. Critics say Beaverton has a history of pushing the high-tech policing law beyond its intent. In 2004, the legislative counsel’s office said Beaverton was violating state law by requiring a vehicle’s registered owner to provide the name, address and driver’s license number of the person driving at the time of a citation if it wasn’t the owner. Legislators pressured city leaders until they changed the policy. The city also has placed warning signs too close to vans, ticketed drivers in a school zone at the wrong time and ticketed drivers outside the city. City officials defended those problems as honest mistakes. Police union leaders oppose the photo-radar program because drivers are ticketed without contact from an officer, Makler said. That eliminates the discretion an officer has to issue a warning, he said. In addition, radar vans are staffed by retired officers, not sworn police. Hiring retired officers saves the city at least $2 an hour plus benefits, said Linda Adlard, the city’s chief of staff. But she said current duty officers weren’t interested in sitting in the photo-radar vans, and she hasn’t heard complaints from officers for six or seven years. The lawyer representing Hull in Beaverton Municipal Court, James McIntyre, agreed with Makler that Hull is being prosecuted because she is a woman. Like Makler, he would not elaborate on that accusation. McIntyre also refused to discuss the defense he planned to use. “My position is that they are singling out a female police officer,” said McIntyre, a former Multnomah County senior deputy district attorney. “What we’re doing is challenging everything. We’re saying this ticket is not valid.” Hull declined to comment, McIntyre said. The case has not affected her job as a patrol officer, Makler said. Officers often exceed the speed limit without lights and sirens to catch up to suspicious vehicles, he said. But Hull’s speeding was not justified, Rappleyea said. Decisions about whether to prosecute officers for speeding on duty are made by police department command staff, he said. Hull is the first officer to request a trial over a photo-radar ticket, Rappleyea said. As a result, the city hired an outside lawyer to prosecute the case to avoid a conflict of interest. On Monday night, City Council members approved spending as much as $5,000 for local lawyer Benjamin Grandy. In 2006, the city issued 6,820 photo-radar citations, with a conviction rate of 74 percent. The city collected $886,500 in total revenue from photo radar. After paying the vendor, state and county assessments and programs costs, including officers’ salaries, the city collected profit of $83,330. In addition, the city issued 2,938 citations for photo red-light violations. Jerry F. Boone column of Monday, March 26, 2007 Cop’s ticket sets stage for real challenge It is difficult to tell exactly what is at stake in the legal case of Beaverton vs. Jessica Hull. But you can bet that if Beaverton is willing to invest $5,000 to prosecute the case, it’s a lot more than a $125 traffic fine. Hull is the Beaverton cop fighting a photo-radar speeding ticket she was issued while on duty in a patrol car. Last week, the City Council authorized spending as much as $5,000 to hire a special prosecutor to handle the case. City Attorney Alan Rappleyea said Beaverton should spend the money to avoid a conflict of interest in Beaverton Municipal Court. Critics say it’s far too late for the city to be concerned about a conflict of interest. Already, the judge is on the city payroll. He is hired by the City Council at the recommendation of Mayor Rob Drake and Linda Adlard, his chief of staff, who have a history of terminating judges and court administrators who don’t toe the line. That became obvious three years ago, when I tried to talk to then-Judge Peter Ackerman. He declined to talk, saying he first had to receive permission from Adlard. And it is Adlard who oversees the photo-radar program. Beaverton runs the system, issues the tickets, owns the court and collects the fines. No one has said Beaverton’s system isn’t legal. And for the city, it is very profitable. Last year, Beaverton netted more than $83,000 from photo-radar speeding tickets. It got even more from its red light cameras. Although the photo-radar van says “Beaverton Police” on its side, active-duty officers have nothing to do with the tickets. They are issued by non-union retired cops who sit in the van to be sure the equipment is working and the “photo radar ahead” signs are properly placed. The only thing the active-duty cops get from the program is grief from angry motorists. Using non-union workers is one of the reasons the police union is siding with Hull. Adlard defends the city program’s management by saying sworn officers aren’t interested in staffing radar vans. Given the nature of the work, how the system is administered and the ill will $83,000 already buys, you can hardly blame the officers. Beyond the obvious, this is the type of case that attorneys who have appeared in the city’s court have been wanting to see for a long time. Secretly, they hope it will shine a bit of light on how the court operates — stacked or not. Count John Henry Hingson near the top of that list. “Justice is a bit different in Beaverton,” says the defense attorney, who practices in Oregon City. “Now Beaverton finds itself in an uncomfortable situation, and it really isn’t sure what to do.” Hingson was annoyed three years ago when he tried to force Beaverton into obeying state law governing photo red light cases. He volunteered to defend three clients, hoping for a conviction he could appeal for the chance to debate the city’s policy. Every time Hingson appeared, the judge dismissed the case and killed his opportunity to appeal. “But the city can’t get out of this one,” Hingson says. “The last thing it can do is dismiss the case and open itself up to criticism that police officers get different treatment than everyone else.” The city’s best option may be to send the case to a court where Hull is the only person on the city payroll. City leaders could see how things turn out when they don’t control the process. But that may be exactly what Beaverton’s leaders are worried about. Jerry F. Boone’s column of Wednesday, March 28, 2007 Defendant’s not guilty in jury of readers In the court of public opinion, the case of Beaverton vs. Officer Jessica Hull ended in a decision for the defendant. At least that’s the way responses came in to Monday’s column about the Beaverton cop fighting a city-issued photo-radar speeding ticket. She got the ticket about a year ago, driving a police cruiser on Southwest Allen Boulevard while on duty. Roughly a quarter of the readers want to string up the police officer. The rest want to indict the folks at Beaverton City Hall who oversee the contentious but profitable photo-radar program. To review the evidence: Hull was caught speeding. Lots of cops speed. It often is part of the job. They do it to catch up to fleeing felons, to make up ground on suspicious vehicles or to rush to another officer’s support. They don’t always use lights and sirens. Sometimes it is best if they don’t. A cop working a radar gun would have never issued Hull a ticket. But the city’s photo-radar van doesn’t know the difference between a police car and a Porsche. Hull apparently doesn’t exactly remember why she was speeding. Officers inside the police department say she is sure enough that it was in the line of duty that she refused to plead guilty and pay the fine. Absent a believable alibi, Beaverton wants its $125 fine. The cops who called me and requested that I not use their names say they don’t like the photo-radar system and the municipal court’s cozy relationship with City Hall. They want Hull’s case to go to a higher court. One correction from Monday’s column: Linda Adlard, Beaverton chief of staff, said I was wrong when I reported she and the mayor decide whom to hire and fire as judges. That’s a decision the City Council makes. So now we sample the jury (or at least those who voted by midday Tuesday through e-mail or phone call) and see how readers would decide the case: Gerri, Beaverton: “I’d like to run a red light or get a photo-radar ticket and get out of it, too. Sometimes I’m in a hurry to get across town. If I have to put on a blue suit to get out of a fine, I’ll put on a blue suit. This is a bunch of baloney.” Gary, Beaverton: “You outlined the obvious conflict of interest very well. In military parlance, Beaverton city administration would be loudly identified as a ‘chicken operation.’ ” Barbara, Eugene: “She was speeding! . . . I feel quaint actually thinking that police officers were supposed to uphold the law. “I have received a speeding ticket (two, actually) and paid them. I just figured I got caught, and paid because I thought that’s how one played by the rules.” Linda, Tigard: “Another interesting twist to when you get a ticket from the photo radar –the tickets are issued by a company in Arizona! Don’t you think what happens in Oregon should stay in Oregon?” Hans, Beaverton: “Forget the fact that Beaverton wastes taxpayer money like toilet paper and recoups the cost by employing marginally constitutional antics. . . . For such a shameless and soulless entity, the city of Beaverton sure has deep pockets! As a taxpayer (and a victim of these phony-baloney red light cams and radar vans) I’m sick of it.” Dave, Beaverton: “The city nets less than 10 percent of the revenue generated by these underhanded enforcement policies. Also, if the red light photo ticketing program raises more money than the speeding citations, the people of our area are being nicked for around ($1 million) per year! . . . No wonder the police aren’t on board.” Apparently, most of the readers aren’t either. From The Oregonian of Wednesday, April 18, 2007 Photo radar challenge fails, will be appealed By David R. Anderson BEAVERTON — Tuesday’s speeding ticket trial of police Officer Jessica Hull included accusations of misconduct by city officials and a challenge to the very foundation of Beaverton’s photo-radar system. None of that seemed to impress Municipal Judge John T. Mercer, who found Hull guilty of speeding on duty and ordered her to pay a $125 fine. That’s exactly what Hull’s lawyers thought would happen. Now they say it is likely they will appeal to Washington County Circuit Court, where they can get the case out of Beaverton’s legal system. “We expected it; this is the city,” said Mark Makler, the lawyer for the police union. “This is a way for the city to wash its hands.” City officials weren’t available for comment after the two-hour trial. Hull, 29, was accused of driving her patrol car 40 mph in a 30-mph zone in the 12400 block of Southwest Allen Boulevard on April 16, 2006. City leaders, who agreed to pay as much as $5,000 for an outside lawyer to prosecute the case, have said they are taking a principled stand that no one — including an on-duty Beaverton police officer — is above the law. Makler said the case is about attacking photo radar because it is not operated in Beaverton by active-duty officers but by retirees who aren’t union members. Hull, who did not testify, declined to comment after the trial. James McIntyre, Hull’s lawyer, accused city officials of misconduct. He filed three motions requesting the case’s dismissal. The most important, he said, was a contention that city officials violated state law when they fired the Multnomah County district attorney’s office after a special prosecutor there told McIntyre the case would be dismissed. Susan Isaacs, a private lawyer hired by city officials last week, responded that the city had the right to choose its lawyer. Mercer agreed. The judge did not rule on a motion by The Oregonian and KGW-TV and joined by McIntyre to unseal an affidavit filed by the district attorney’s office. Isaacs argued for the city that it should remain sealed because it contains privileged information between district attorneys and city officials. Norm Frink, Multnomah County chief deputy district attorney, would not comment on the affidavit or the reason for withdrawing from the case. McIntyre also argued that the city violated Hull’s right to a speedy trial. McIntyre cited the case of state Rep. Mitch Greenlick, who was ticketed for running a red light in Portland. The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that 15 months between the citation and a trial violated the Portland Democrat’s right to a speedy trial. But Mercer ruled that the 10 months since the citation was issued to Hull was not an unreasonable amount of time. McIntyre also attacked city leaders’ operation of the photo-radar system, which uses retired police officers. He claimed Allen DeVault, a retired police officer who was operating the photo-radar van, did not qualify as a police officer under the state law that requires “uniformed police officers” to run the system. Records from the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training show that DeVault’s certification lapsed in March 2003. But Isaacs argued, and Mercer agreed, that DeVault didn’t need to be certified to be considered a police officer for the city. Reserve officers, for example, are not certified with the state. After Mercer rejected McIntyre’s motions to dismiss the case, the trial consisted mostly of testimony from DeVault, police Chief David Bishop and a contractor who supplies the city’s photo-radar equipment. McIntyre did not claim Hull was responding to an emergency. Instead, he argued that the city had not sent the photo-radar equipment to the manufacturer to be calibrated for nearly 14 months. City policy is to calibrate the equipment about once a year. But Mercer said DeVault tested the equipment that morning and it was working. In the end, the judge said the traffic rules applied to Hull as much as any other driver that morning on Southwest Allen Boulevard. Jerry F. Boone column of Wednesday, April 18, 2007 The real point of cop’s trial? You tell me The real issue in the Beaverton vs. Jessica Hull case has nothing to do with whether the city cop’s police car was doing 40 in a 30-mph zone when she was caught on photo radar a year ago. It is . . . um. . . . Well, I’m not sure. It could be why Beaverton leaders insist a part-time uncertified photo-radar officer who doesn’t carry a weapon or handcuffs and who gets paid to sit in a van and watch a TV monitor is called a cop. Or it may be why city leaders hired a special prosecutor — possibly as many as two or three — to build a case against Hull and rejected their advice to walk away from the case. Perhaps it is how city leaders ignored their own policy and cited Hull after using a radar unit two months beyond its annual certification. Or it could be none of the above. The only thing certain after Tuesday’s two hours of courtroom machinations is that the real issue won’t be decided until the case goes to Washington County Circuit Court on appeal. It will be the first Beaverton photo-radar ticket anyone can recall ever going beyond a Beaverton courtroom. And that should worry city officials. I’m hoping it lands before Judge Gayle Nachtigal, who already knows some of the players from her nearly two years with the Nike vs. Beaverton debacle. I can’t think of anyone in the audience who was surprised when Municipal Court Judge John Mercer found Hull guilty. Not her attorney. Not police Chief David Bishop. Not the judge. Not Hull. Not Linda Adlard, the city’s chief of staff who is generally considered the overseer of the photo-radar program (in spite of the “Beaverton Police” script on the vans). Not the cadre of police officers from neighboring departments who showed up to watch how justice is administered inside Beaverton Municipal Court. “We’re here to support Jessica and to see how officers are treated in Beaverton,” said Sgt. Mike Fort, among a handful of motorcycle cops wearing Portland Police Bureau uniforms. “It’s different than in Portland,” he said. That’s all he would say. Perhaps the only surprise Tuesday was that it took so long for the judge to come to a decision. It was a courtroom crowded with witnesses and the curious. And it wasn’t just Hull on trial. It was Beaverton’s entire photo-radar system and — to a degree — the court’s reputation. Mercer first waded through an hour of motions covering things he generally didn’t want to consider. Agreeing to some of them — such as voiding the authority of the photo-radar officers — could easily jeopardize the very foundation of the photo-radar system, which last year grossed more than $1.5 million in fines from speeding and red-light cameras. On the bright side, it may be encouraging to know that even a cop gets the same treatment and predictable outcome as everyone else in the city’s courtroom. All during the two hours, Hull sat next to her attorney, never speaking. It is hard to tell if she is a gritty trailblazer or a sacrificial lamb. The only thing she said — before her lawyer began answering questions for her — was that she expected things to turn out exactly the way they did. That was probably the voice of experience, with a perspective gained from years on the other side of the ticket book.From The Oregonian of Wednesday, May 9, 2007 Ticket case filing is revealing Beaverton fired a special prosecutor with an opinion the council didn’t like, documents indicate By David R. Anderson BEAVERTON — City officials fired a special prosecutor after he recommended the city dismiss a photo-radar speeding ticket against an on-duty police officer, a newly released court document shows. The case against Beaverton police Officer Jessica Hull was weak for four reasons, including the lack of a clear policy and the appearance that Hull was singled out for prosecution, wrote Jose Cienfuegos, a Multnomah County deputy district attorney. The case raises concerns that city leaders interfered with an independent prosecutor, said John Kroger, a Lewis & Clark Law School professor and former federal prosecutor. Once the city hired the district attorney to avoid a conflict of interest, it should have deferred to him. “They should not be shopping for a second prosecutor who will rubber-stamp their judgment,” he said. “It flies in the face of getting an independent counsel.” Kroger compared the case to the special prosecutor in the Watergate scandal: “It’s a little like Richard Nixon trying to fire Archibald Cox.” But the private lawyer now prosecuting the case for the city, Susan Isaacs, said Tuesday that Cienfuegos was never a special prosecutor. Instead, he was in an attorney-client relationship with the city. As the client, city leaders could dismiss him. “It’s the client who gets to make the decisions regarding the case,” said Isaacs, who followed Cienfuegos on the case. Hull, 29, was accused of driving her patrol car 40 mph in a 30-mph zone on Southwest Allen Boulevard on April 16, 2006. Municipal Judge John Mercer convicted her April 17, 2007, and ordered her to pay a $125 fine. Isaacs also said Cienfuegos is wrong about the case facts, including that Hull was responding to a call. Isaacs pointed out that Hull’s lawyer, Jim McIntyre, didn’t use any of the four supposed defenses during trial last month. But McIntyre said he didn’t raise all possible issues at trial because he knew he would get a new trial if he appealed to Washington County Circuit Court. He has filed that appeal, but no hearing has been scheduled. City officials also deny they fired Cienfuegos. Instead, he asked to be removed from the case because he didn’t have time, said Linda Adlard, the city’s chief of staff. However, Cienfuegos’ filing contradicts the city’s claims and raises doubts about the case. Cienfuegos wrote that “there did not appear to be any coherent policy regarding this issue.” In addition, it appeared the city handled Hull’s case differently than others in which public employees were cited on duty. “I was unable to find another investigation that was similar in extent to the one conducted in this case, nor was I told of one,” Cienfuegos wrote. He wrote that it appeared Hull was responding to a call at the time, which is a legitimate defense. And Hull was improperly given the citation in person instead of by mail. In early October, Cienfuegos said he met with his boss at the district attorney’s office, Fred Lenzser, and they agreed to dismiss the case. A month later, Cienfuegos met with Adlard and other city officials. The details of that meeting remain secret, but soon after Cienfuegos was removed from the case. After Cienfuegos was off the case, the City Council voted in March to pay as much as $5,000 for a private lawyer to prosecute the case. The council made the decision with no discussion. Councilors on Tuesday offered varying answers to whether they knew Cienfuegos recommended the case be dismissed before hiring another lawyer. Cathy Stanton said that she didn’t know but that it probably would not have made a difference. Betty Bode said she couldn’t remember. And Catherine Arnold said she knew but only because she had a private conversation with Alan Rappleyea, the city attorney, before the meeting. Cienfuegos filed his affidavit under seal. McIntyre asked Mercer last month to unseal the document. The Oregonian and KGW-TV had also filed motions seeking the document. Mercer ruled Cienfuegos’ affidavit should be unsealed. However, he removed at least seven paragraphs at the request of city officials, saying they were exempt under attorney-client privilege.

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