Salem-News.com Legal articles Page 55

Oregonians Could Qualify for Nationwide Insurance Class-Action Settlement

The lawsuit claims that Nationwide underpaid policyholders by not taking into account general contractors' overhead and profit when it paid certain claims involving damage to a building or other structures.

(SALEM, Ore.) - More than 9,000 Oregonians may be eligible for payments as a result of a class-action settlement between Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. and affiliated companies and homeowner policyholders who claimed they were underpaid on structural damage claims since 1996.

Claims must be submitted by August 26, 2009.

Marine Spouse Battles Navy Over Contamination at Naval Base in Japan

Shelly Parulis, wife of a retired Marine Master Sergeant, is engaged in a running battle with the Navy over dioxin and other toxins at NAF Atsugi, Japan.

(ATSUGI, Japan) - No one assigned to Naval Air Facility (NAF) Atsugi, the home of Carrier Air Wing 5, would have suspected that duty in Japan could exposed them to toxic chemicals, including deadly dioxin, the carcinogen infamously associated with Agent Orange.

Shelly Parulis, a spouse of a retired Marine Master Sergeant who was stationed at Atsugi from 1995 to 1998, and her family suffered the results of toxic exposure and leads the effort to obtain compensation and health benefits for Atsugi veterans, dependents ad civilian workers.

American Forces Continue to Imprison Reuters Photographer in Iraq

Advocates say Ibrahim Jassam's detention is illegal as the Iraqi central criminal court dismissed all charges against him last November.

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - As US forces continue to withdraw from Iraq, a Reuters photographer remains detained despite court order, the group FreeDetainees.org says.

They report that as the US troops withdraw from Iraqi cities, many questions remain about the people still being held by the American military.

Wandering Toddler Leads to Neglect & Endangering Charges‏

Police believe the uncle and granddad were smoking marijuana as the child slipped away unnoticed.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Salem Police say a two-year old child that was found wandering in a southeast Salem neighborhood led to the citing of the uncle and the grandfather of the child on neglect and endangering charges.

Lt. Dave Okada with Salem Police says a citizen located the female child at about 9:00 p.m. on July 1st barefooted and wandering on 24rd St SE near Adams Street SE.

Carlton Man Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter and DUII Charges

The Umatilla County District Attorney's Office moves forward with case involving October 2008 Quadruple Fatal Crash east of Pendleton‏.

(PENDLETON, Ore.) - 47-year old John Cole Carlgren of Carlton, Oregon pleaded guilty Thursday morning to charges arising from the October 2008 vehicular homicide east of Pendleton on Interstate 84 that claimed the lives of Jessie Cline, William Nephi Johnson, Michelle Marie Sawyer, and Fred Angel Young Jr.

Dean Gushwa with the Umatilla County
The defendant pleaded guilty to four counts of Manslaughter in the First Degree and one count of misdemeanor Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII).

Oregon Attorney General Announces `Three Key Legislative Victories`

Attorney General Kroger praises the Legislature for approving drug treatment, environmental crimes and civil rights initiatives.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Attorney General John Kroger announced that last night the Legislature approved three of his highest priorities: a commission to reform and improve Oregon’s drug treatment and prevention programs and the creation of environmental crimes and civil rights enforcement units.

The creation of the environmental crimes and civil rights units was paid for by shifting resources from lower priorities within the Department of Justice’s budget.

Former Promoter of Abusive Trusts Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

Orem, Utah, resident, formerly of Oregon, was scheduled to begin trial next week

(WASHINGTON D.C.) - Roderick Prescott, a resident of Orem, Utah, and a former principal of National Trust Services (NTS) in San Jose, Calif., and later Selma, Oregon, pleaded guilty today to tax evasion, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

Prescott admitted to evading at least $550,000 in personal income taxes for 1998 and 1999. Prescott was scheduled to begin trial on July 7, 2009, before Chief U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken in Eugene, Oregon.

Crime and Punishment

Our society is pathologically distorted by money. Even the crime and punishment. Other than that, your opinion is as good as mine.

(CALGARY, Alberta) - On June 29, 2009, Bernard Madoff, convicted of the largest Ponzi scheme in history (about $65 billion) was sentenced to 150 years in prison. He’ll never wear a silk shirt again—except for the last time when he won’t feel it.

Considering that most crime is committed for money—either directly or indirectly—a little exploration might be both fun, educational—and discouraging.

`A Dictionary for Gil`

Your office, Mr. Kerlikowske, does not offer protection from the truth. Maintaining the drug war's lies has cost far too many innocent lives, and ended or destroyed the lives of far too many of our police officers.

(EUGENE, Ore.) - I nearly sprayed coffee on my monitor when I watched our nation's new head of the White House Office of No Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske, say legalization is not in his vocabulary. I wondered if perhaps someone had removed the word from my dictionary!

So, I opened up my Funk & Wagnalls... flipped... through the pages... to... "L." Sure enough, right there on page 772 - "legalize." And in noun form, "legalization." To make legal.

House Increases Penalties for Crimes Against Pregnant Women

“We must, as a Legislature, make sure that our prosecutors have the tools in place to deal swiftly and surely with those who commit violence against pregnant women” - State Rep. Vicki Berger

(SALEM, Ore.) - The Oregon House on Wednesday passed legislation increasing penalties for crimes against pregnant women.

House Bill 3505-A would require a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for murder against a pregnant woman. Second degree assault charges would be moved up to first degree assault. Fourth degree assault, currently a misdemeanor, would be charged as a Class C felony.