Oregon

Both Rhode Island and Oregon recently expanded their laws allowing for DNA testing by people trying to prove they were wrongfully convicted.

Both states have enacted laws to expand access to DNA testing for people convicted of a crime who are no longer in prison, The Oregonian's Maxine Bernstein and The Providence Journal's Katie Mulvaney respectively report.

Steve T. Wax, legal director of Oregon's Innocence Project, told Bernstein that Oregon's law was one of the most restrictive in the country. In that state, the standard to get post-conviction DNA testing will now be showing there is a reasonable possibility that testing would lead to a finding of actual innocence.

In the 14 years since Oregon enacted a law to allow defendants to get DNA testing to show they might be innocent, only two have gotten judges to approve such testing. As a result, legislators in Oregon have introduced a bill to reform the state's DNA testing law for defendants, Oregon Public Broadcasting's Amelia Templeton reports.

Under current law, defendants have to show that DNA testing on specific pieces of evidence would conclusively prove their innocence. The new bill would relax the standard, requiring defendants to "present a theory of defense supported by DNA evidence, and prove that a favorable DNA result would lead to finding that person would not have been convicted if the testing had been done before their trial," Templeton reports.

Supporters of an Oregon measure that would require labels on genetically modified food lost their effort to prevent the state from certifying the results of a recount, The Oregonian's Laura Gunderson reports. The measure failed by 812 votes out of 1.5 million cast. A Multnomah County judge denied the request for a temporary restraining order, which leaves the Secretary of State's Office likely to certify the results from a recount next week.

Voters in Oregon and Colorado rejected measures that would have required labeling of genetically modified food, Reuters' Carey Gillam reports. The vote was much closer in Oregon than in Colorado. Instead, the fight will shift to the federal level, Gillam reports: "Labeling proponents are pursuing a federal mandate for labeling of GMO foods, while labeling opponents are backing a proposed law that would nullify any mandatory labeling laws, including one approved by Vermont lawmakers earlier this year."

Oracle Corp. has asked legislative leaders to defund a lawsuit Oregon has brought over the failed health insurance website the company built for the state, the Associated Press reports. Oracle contends that the insurance portal Cover Oregon failed because of mismanagement by the state. The state is suing Oracle for false claims and other causes of action, while Oracle has sued for state for breach of contract and alleged violations of its copyrights, the AP further reports.

Oregon has sued Oracle America for allegedly shoddy work on the Cover Oregon health exchange, The Oregonian's Nick Budnick reports. The state is prosecuting various theories all alleging that the IT firm fraudulently enriched itself at Oregon's expense.

Both sides blame each other for the failure to hire a systems integrator, or a general contractor to oversee Oracle's work, Budick further reports. When the systems integrator was not hired, Oracle became the primary contractor and ultimately was paid more than $103 million.

Outside counsel Markowitz, Herbold, Glade & Mehlhaf has been deputized to handle the case for the Oregon Department of Justice in exchange for a $2 million contract, Budnick concludes.

Pennsylvania's ban on same-sex marriage was struck down today, just a day after Oregon's ban on sam-sex marriage was struck down. Marriages have begun in both states.

Now there are 25 states that allow same-sex marriage and 25 that don't, the Associated Press reports.

In Oregon, U.S. District Judge Michael McShane said there was no rational relationship to any legitimate government interest to ban same-sex couples from marrying, the Oregonian reports. He also found that the ban violates same-sex couples' constitutional right to equal protection.

In Pennsylvania, U.S. District Judge John Jones III said same-sex marriages must be discarded onto the ash heap of history, the AP reports. 

Oregon has passed a law to allow school districts to enter into agreements with American Indian tribes to use American Indian mascots and names. But the law is already being threatened by possible litigiation: "Sam Sachs, a racial-justice activist who also is a Portland Human Rights Commissioner, said the state Board of Education is obligated to create a safe environment for all Oregon children to learn free of discrimination and bullying. 'But this new law does not get there,' Sachs said of the bill, which will allow a district school board to enter into an approved written agreement with federally recognized American Indian tribes in Oregon to use a mascot that represents, is associated with, or is significant to the tribe," the Statesman Journal reports.

Oregon's constitution bans same-sex marriage, but the Oregon Department of Justice has opined that same-sex marriages from other states must be recognized by Oregon governmental officials, The Portland Business Journal reports. The DOJ said that withholding benefits from same-sex spouses who legally wed out-of-state would violate equal protection principles and would be consistent with the policy of recognizing "valid out-of-state marriages that could not be performed in Oregon, including common-law unions," the publication also reports. Just like other states, lawsuits have been filed to challenge Oregon's ban on same-sex marriage.