Oregon Measure 11 Crimial Attorney

Measure 11 Crimes

Measure 11 is a ballot initiative that Oregon voters passed in 1994. Measure 11 requires mandatory minimum sentences for any convictions of certain crimes including murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, rape, and sodomy. This ballot initiative also required that 15, 16, and 17 year old defendants charged with certain crimes be tried as adults. The Oregon legislature passed “Jessica’s Law” establishing a new area in Measure 11 mandating sentences of 25 years for anyone convicted of rape, sodomy, or unlawful sexual penetration of a child under 12 years old.

A Measure 11 sentence is served with no possibility of early release for good behavior or completing programs. Except in specific circumstances, a judge has no discretion to impose a sentence less than the Measure 11 minimum. Measure 11 has given prosecutors a powerful tool to force plea bargains, rather than go to trial.

Measure 11 charges need careful analysis and should be handled by an experienced criminal law attorney. I have handled hundreds of Measure 11 cases.