An Oregon defense lawyer has been promoted to the appellate court for his efforts to overturn the state’s illegal practice of convicting individuals without a unanimous jury.
Ryan T. O. Connor will take up a seat on the Oregon Court of Appeals in Salem, taking effect immediately, Governor Tina Kotek announced Wednesday.
According to a statement from the governor’s office, he has successfully battled some of the most significant and intricate criminal cases in Oregon.
Jacob K. Watkins was represented by O Connor, 46, who had appealed his 2010 Marion County rape conviction due to the fact that it was arrived at by a divided jury.
Before the U.S. Supreme Court banned the practice in 2020, Oregon and Louisiana were the only states in the country that permitted non-unanimous jury convictions.
Two years later, Oregon’s top court rendered what became known as the Watkins judgment, ruling that all non-unanimous decisions would be reversed retrospectively. Since the historic decision, hundreds of convictions have been resolved or re-litigated.
Jesse Lee Johnson is another well-known customer of O’Connor’s.
After it was discovered that the murder case against him was riddled with contradictions and accusations of racial bias on the part of the investigators, Johnson was released from prison after serving 25 years.
Born in Olympia, Washington, and a graduate of Notre Dame Law School and the University of Portland, O’Connor will now sit in judgment where he previously argued.
In a statement, O Connor said, “I am excited to serve the people of the State of Oregon alongside the outstanding and diligent judges on the Court of Appeals.”
He is filling a vacancy that has existed since Judge Josephine H. Mooney resigned in October.
For The Oregonian/OregonLive, Zane Sparling reports on court proceedings and breaking news. You may contact him at [email protected], 503-319-7083, or pdxzane.
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