In the fall of 2006, PSJ pulled together an alliance of organizations and individuals committed to changing the way youth are treated as adults within the criminal justice system in Oregon. We developed solid public education material and legislative issue briefs and targeted two policies to promote: 1) a second look for youth convicted of a Measure 11 sentence, and 2) an automatic hearing to determine whether a youth charged with a Measure 11 crime should be treated in adult or juvenile court.

Both bills were introduced and we generated great press coverage in a very short amount of time. We received coverage by the Associated Press, the Willamette Week, the Statesman Journal and editorial support from the Register Guard, the state’s second largest daily newspaper. This is a very positive sign of progress, indicating that these issues are of more concern to the larger community than ever before.

We organized strong hearings with an impressive list of witnesses. For the first time, we were able to get judges involved. A highly respected juvenile court judge, Kip Leonard, testified supporting the principals behind the bills as well as the presiding judge of the state’s largest circuit court – Judge Dale Koch. Judge Koch is also the president of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.

In short, we accomplished what we set out to do this session. We knew that substantive reform of Measure 11 for youth would take multiple sessions, but we created the type of momentum that will pave the way for success in future sessions. Several key policymakers have agreed to work with us in the interim on moving this campaign forward, and we have a much better sense of the fiscal impacts of our proposals, as well as potential openings with law enforcement support. Our alliance of supporters, including the Juvenile Rights Project and the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, will be coming back together this summer to strategize how to move forward, and everyone has been energized by what we have done in a short amount of time.