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Board approves $397,750 one‑time state appropriation to help retry or resolve cases affected by non‑unanimous jury ruling
Summary
Multnomah County accepted a one‑time $397,750 Special Purpose Appropriation from the state to help address non‑unanimous jury verdict cases after the Oregon Supreme Court decision; DA Nathan Vasquez described staffing shortfalls and a backlog of work, and the board approved an amendment correcting a prior typo in the grant amount.
The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners on April 2 approved a budget modification to accept $397,750 from a state special appropriation created after the Oregon Supreme Court’s decision on non‑unanimous jury verdicts. The funds are a one‑time allocation intended to help district attorney offices manage non‑routine prosecution expenses tied to retrials, resentencing or other related legal work.
Commissioner Jones Dixon moved approval of R3 and Commissioner Moyer seconded. During the meeting staff identified a $20,000 typo in the original proposal and the board approved an amendment to raise the grant total from $375,750 to $397,750 and the related insurance/risk fund adjustments; the motion as amended passed unanimously with Commissioners Moyer, Singleton, Bridal Edwards, Jones Dixon and Chair Vega Peterson recorded in the affirmative.
Michelle Myers, MCDA finance manager, told the board the appropriation comes from Senate Bill 5506 and described the state allocation process. She said the Oregon Supreme Court’s December 2022 ruling invalidating non‑unanimous jury verdicts increased the DA office’s workload; the 2023 legislature provided a $1,000,000 special appropriation distributed among district attorney offices statewide, with Multnomah County receiving $397,750 for this purpose.
District Attorney Nathan Vasquez used his remarks to describe an understaffed office and a backlog of work. He said the current workload includes complex case processing that did not exist 25 years ago — for example, review of body‑worn camera footage and other modern evidence — and he gave multiple examples of deputies working extra hours and taking on tasks that would traditionally be done by legal assistants. Vasquez said the one‑time funds will help for the current fiscal year but that the office anticipates further budget requests to address ongoing capacity gaps.
Public comment included supporters urging approval and acknowledging the need to “clean up” the consequences of a statewide decision. Commissioners asked about case counts and timelines; Vasquez said staff are sorting cases through a justice integrity unit and that cases range widely in age and complexity, with some earlier matters being retried and others resolved through plea discussions.
Ending: The board approved the amended budget modification. County and DA staff said the funds will be used this fiscal year to support prosecution of cases affected by the non‑unanimous jury decision and that the DA’s office will present additional budget requests as part of the normal budget process if longer‑term staffing changes are required.
