Oregon Supreme Ct - Oct 20, 2016

by: Sara Werboff • October 21, 2016 • no comments

State Habeas Corpus - An Inmate Transferred Out of State has the Right to Challenge Conditions of Confinement in Oregon

The court upholds the right of inmates convicted and sentenced under Oregon law, who were transferred pursuant to interstate compacts to out of state prisons, to assert that their rights under the Oregon and federal constitution have been violated in an Oregon state habeas proceeding.

The court holds that Oregon law permits out-of-state prisoners to challenge the conditions of their confinement through a state habeas corpus proceeding. A transferred inmate retains the right to challenge unconstitutional conditions in a habeas proceeding under the Oregon constitution, even when he is housed in a different state, when, as here, he has alleged that the state violated his rights by transferring him to a place where his confinement violated Oregon law. Finally, because Oregon retains jurisdiction over transferred prisoners, the proper defendant is the Oregon superintendent.

Barrett v. Peters, 360 Or 445 (2016) (Walters, J.)

Taylor v. Peters, 360 Or 460 (2016) (Walters, J.)