Posted May/9/2012
The United States Supreme Court periodically issues decisions in which the scope of the public’s right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, as protected by the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution, comes into conflict with law enforcement’s use of new technology.
Read More...Posted May/2/2012
In the popular culture, the role of a criminal defense attorney is thought to be defense counsel’s role as champion for the accused during a high-stakes trial.
Of course, one of the responsibilities of defense counsel is to present a strong defense at trial. Indeed, criminal defense attorneys find nothing more gratifying than hearing the words “Not Guilty” at the end of a hard-fought trial.
Read More...Posted April/25/2012
Our law office frequently represents clients who are not citizens of the United States. Some of our clients were born abroad, yet have lived in the United States since they were small, and consider this their home. Others immigrated to the United States as students, or came legally to this country on professional or work visas. Some clients have applications pending for Naturalization, and others have a green card. Still others are undocumented aliens, yet have contributed to the economy and have paid taxes and supported their families for many years.
Read More...Posted February/17/2012
Any person who wishes to visit Canada must be aware that the Canadian government punishes the crime of driving under the influence much more severely than commonly encountered in the United States.
Read More...Posted February/17/2012
Our legal system grants important rights to all of us. These rights include the right to be presumed innocent, the right to require the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the right to representation by an attorney, the right to confront one's accuser, and the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.
Read More...Posted February/17/2012
Oregon Law offers three ways for a convicted felon to regain the right to possess a firearm.
First, in some cases, a person convicted of a felony can sometimes get a conviction set aside. The Motion to Set Aside is commonly referred to as expungement. The statute which governs the Motion to Set Aside is ORS 137.225. You can read the statute yourself by clicking this link: www.leg.state.or.us/ors/vol4.html Some felonies qualify for expungement and others do not. For example, convictions for sex crimes and class A felonies never qualify while virtually all class C felonies do. There are also strict waiting periods.
Read More...Posted July/21/2011
Oregon’s Expungement Law (ORS 137.225) took effect nearly 4 decades ago, and has been amended many times. Frequently, the amendments have made it more difficult for a person to expunge a criminal conviction. However, the latest session of the Oregon Legislature passed HB3376, and thereby expanded the Expungement Law, making expungement available to persons who previously did not qualify.
Read More...Posted July/19/2011
The 2011 Session of the Oregon Legislature continued its tradition of increasing the consequences for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII). One example includes HB2103, which prohibits any person who enters the DUII Diversion Program on or after June 23, 2011, from using alcohol except for purposes of religious sacrament while in Diversion.
Read More...Posted April/5/2011
The Oregon Legislature is currently in session. Many bills propose changes to Oregon's Expungement Law (ORS 137.225).There are also bills that propose reclassifying certain drug crimes, which will impact on expungement law and practice.Relevant bills include HB 2673, HB 2674, HB 2675, and HB 2698.There is no guarantee that Oregon's Expungement Law will continue in its current form.Anyone who qualifies for expungement under current law should proceed with seeking expungement immediately.
Read More...Posted November/29/2010
Year in, year out, the most frequent type of matter handled in our law office is a charge of Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII). When a person gets a charge of DUII, there is often a feeling of hopelessness, anger, and frustration. However, DUII's can be defended successfully.
Read More...Posted November/11/2010
Political interest groups are known for advancing the personal interests of their members. Thus, the NRA fights to preserve and protect the Constitutional right of Americans to keep and bear arms. The AMA and ADA seek to advance the economic interests of doctors and dentists. The NEA can be relied on to advance the interests of teachers.
Against this backdrop, I would like to commend an organization that actually works contrary to the private economic interests of its members, in the pursuit of justice.
The organization I refer to is the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, an organization of attorneys and others who devote their career toward the defense of persons who are accused of crimes.
Read More...Posted August/16/2010
There are hundreds of thousands of attorneys in the United States. The most crucial decision any criminal defendant must make is the choice of defense counsel. With so many choices, how can the defendant make the important decision as to which attorney will be chosen to take on the defense?
Read More...Posted August/13/2010
Many people think that they can handle their case without engaging the services of a criminal defense attorney. They frequently discover, to their regret, that they should have retained the services of an attorney at a time when the attorney could have done them some good. Do not make this mistake
Read More...Posted August/11/2010
The optimal time for a person to retain the services of a criminal defense attorney is the first moment when the person finds himself or herself under suspicion. That is the time when the attorney can do the greatest to help the client.
Read More...Posted August/9/2010
Oregon has a Diversion Program, which is a good option for many persons accused of Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. On the other hand, some people do not qualify. And some people who do qualify are well advised to fight their case. What should the defendant do when accused of DUII?
Read More...Posted July/23/2010
In today's world, a background check is required for nearly everything. Persons who have an arrest or a criminal conviction on their record may not realize that expungement may be an option. Anyone who has an arrest or conviction on their record should explore the possibility of expungement.
Read More...Posted July/7/2010
Mark Cogan, who represented Carl and Raylene Worthington when the couple was accused of child mistreatment and manslaughter charges when they decided to pray for their sick daughter instead of take her to a doctor, warned the public of rushing to judgment.
“Nobody has been formally charged,” Cogan said. “There’s all sorts of speculation innuendo rumor suspicion out there on the internet and public opinion and on television but at this point no formal charges have been lodged and I would just caution people from coming to any premature judgment until facts are in.”
Read More...Posted March/19/2010
A widely awaited opinion on the subject of police powers vs individual rights in the area of DUII enforcement. You can view the decision
I find the Court’s dismissal of the individual rights claim in Machuca very shocking. Although the result was not unanticipated, in its decision the Court uses callous and chilling language that would have appalled the Founders. The Court’s treatment of the very important issues at stake does not bode well for individual rights in our State.
Posted December/30/2009
Some people feel it is unnecessary to hire a criminal defense attorney because they believe they are innocent and procuring legal representation is not needed. The fallacy with this way of thinking is that, in our adversarial legal system, the only way that people can be assured of having their rights protected is when they have capable legal representation.
When a person is accused of a crime, he will find himself up against the police, the prosecutor, and the judge, all of whom are savvy in the ways of the law. None of these professionals can be depended upon to safeguard the rights of the accused. Only a defendant who has a capable and experienced defense attorney at his side can be assured of having a “level playing field” and being given a fair chance at being exonerated.
Posted December/29/2009
We are often asked this question by prospective clients. The answer is: a capable and experienced defense attorney can go a great deal even for someone who is totally guilty.
For one thing, three are many cases where the defendant is guilty of committing a criminal offense, but mitigating circumstances may exist that can lead to less severe consequences. When a defendant pleads guilty and places his fate at the mercy of the court, his fate is often far worse than it would be if he had legal representation by an experienced defense attorney.
Posted December/15/2009
Prosecuting attorneys throughout the State of Oregon have become more aggressive in opposing DUII Defendants being allowed to enter the Diversion Program.
We have seen cases in which prosecutors have opposed a Defendant’s application to enter Diversion for varying reasons. In some cases, a prosecutor will oppose a Defendant being allowed to enter Diversion because the underlying case involved an accident where an injury is alleged to have occurred. In other cases, a prosecutor will oppose a Defendant’s application to enter Diversion because a child was in the Defendant’s vehicle at the time of the underlying offense. Other situations in which prosecutors sometimes oppose a Defendant entering Diversion include situations where the Defendant has had a prior DUII, where the Defendant has been in alcohol or substance abuse treatment in the past, or where the Defendant registered a high reading on a breath or blood test.
Posted December/14/2009
Oregon law offers a framework for a resourceful defense attorney and a pragmatic client to accomplish dismissal of a criminal charge, even where the prosecuting attorney objects to the case being dismissed.
In a situation where the criminal charge encompasses alleged harm to another individual or business entity, the defense attorney has the opportunity to negotiate a settlement with the alleged victim, and follow up with a motion to dismiss the case as a Civil Compromise pursuant to ORS 135.703 to 135.709. When insurance coverage is available, typically in an automobile accident scenario, it is best to coordinate negotiations with the defendant’s insurance company. The client should be aware that the insurance company’s framework is limited to the negotiation of a civil settlement. The focus of the criminal defense attorney is on avoiding criminal consequences to the client. In many situations, the criminal defense attorney will collaborate with the insurance company for the benefit of the client.
Posted October/26/2009
OREGON IS A VAST AND BEAUTIFUL STATE, ATTORNEY MARK C. COGAN GOES THE EXTRA MILE FOR HIS CLIENTS, HERE'S THE PROOF!,FOLLOWING ARE THE VENUES IN WHICH MARK C. COGAN HAS REPRESENTED CLIENTS IN CRIMINAL MATTERS.
Read More...Posted October/25/2009
Since 9-11, employers nationwide have made widespread use of background checks as a employment screening tool. Landlords conduct background checks to screen potential renters. Anyone who has a criminal record faces an additional obstacle to personal advancement.
We are frequently contacted by persons who are interested in clearing up their record of a past arrest or conviction. Fortunately, Oregon law permits expungement of arrest or conviction records in many cases, thus opening new opportunities for many. Not everyone who contacts us is eligible for expungement, but we are pleased that we are able to help roughly 50% of those who seek our assistance.
Posted October/24/2009
We represent many clients who are facing a first-time DUII charge and are seeking advice on whether they should take their case to trial or enter the DUII Diversion Program.
Sometimes it is difficult to decide whether to enter Diversion or to take one’s case to trial.On the one hand, the client may feel that the police were not justified to take the action they did in the first instance. There may be frustration that signs of intoxication were exaggerated and signs of sobriety were ignored. The client might feel that the police are only looking to pad their stats, and produce revenue through the court system.
Posted October/23/2009
IMPORTANT NEW DECISION ISSUED BY THE COURT OF APPEALS SUPPORTS THE RIGHT OF THE DUII SUSPECT NOT TO BE COERCED INTO GIVING INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE TO THE POLICE
On September 30, 2009, the Oregon Court of Appeals handed down an important decision in the case of State vs. Thomas Gregory Machuca, which supports the right of the DUII suspect not to be coerced into furnishing incriminating evidence to the police.
Under Oregon’s Implied Consent Law, police officers routinely procure breath, blood and urine samples from DUII suspects under threats that, if such evidence is withheld, the suspect’s license will be suspended and financial penalties will be imposed.
Posted October/12/2009
The 2009 session of the Oregon Legislature enacted more than 125 bills that have an impact on Criminal law and procedure. Some of these new laws impact our clients in a major way. The most important new laws are summarized in this article.
Read More...Mark C. Cogan
Attorney Mark Cogan has been practicing exclusively in criminal defense for more than a quarter century. A New York University School of Law graduate, he has trained with the most highly acclaimed criminal defense attorneys in the nation.
Mark has received an AV Peer Review Rating, the highest rating available to attorneys, and has been selected as an Oregon Super Lawyer from 2007 through the present time.
Mark C. Cogan, P.C. Law Offices
Crown Plaza Building, Suite 780
1500 SW 1st Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97201
Phone: 503-827-8092