News A dedicated mental health prosecutor is now a full-time part of the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office.As the findings of last month's scathing report by the Department of Justice about the Portland Police Bureau's unconstitutional treatment of the mentally ill ripple outward, the district attorney's office decided to assign Laura Maurer as Mental Health Deputy D.A., says Rod Underhill, Chief ...   More

News A second candidate has officially indicated his interest in replacing Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schrunk.Rod Underhill, a chief deputy district attorney in Schrunk's office, registered a candidate committee on Tuesday with the Oregon Secretary of State's office to run for district attorney.Underhill's campaign has more than $13,000 in the bank and lists some influential donors, including ...   More

News As reported in this week's Murmurs column, word in political circles is that longtime Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schrunk (pictured left) is considering stepping down after 30 years on the job.Sean Riddell, a former deputy for Schrunk who now heads the criminal division at the Oregon Department of Justice, is already gunning to take over the DA's office.But the lawyer often viewed as the ...   More

News In today's Murmurs column, we reported Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schrunk is rumored to be considering whether to step down before his four-year term expires in 2012.Insiders mentioned two candidates actively seeking to replace Schrunk, if and when he retires. Rod Underhill did not immediately return a phone call for comment. As a chief deputy in Schrunk's office, Underhill has long been ...   More

News A yearly report on jails and prisons in Multnomah County says suicide prevention is the main concern of the grand jurors tasked with studying the local corrections system. The corrections grand jury report (PDF) released today by the District Attorney's Office says the downtown Multnomah County Detention Center has had two suicides since July 2009. There was one suicide in the four years prior ...   More

News Like clockwork each year, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schrunk rides into battle against the county chair's office to fend off budget cuts in the DA's office. After 29 years in office and 10 straight years of shrinking county budgets, Schrunk is regarded as a quiet master at such fights. This year he's found allies in traditionally law-and-order-oriented East County with county Commissioner ...   More