EUGENE–Are Ballot Measure 11 and other mandatory minimum sentencing laws reducing crime? What impact do these measures have on public safety? How are they affecting young offenders?

These and other questions will be explored during the panel program "No Way Out? A Forum on Mandatory Minimum Sentencing" at the University of Oregon School of Law. The panel discussion is free and open to the public and takes place from 7—9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 18, in Room 175 at the Knight Law Center, 1515 Agate St.

Sponsored by the UO Wayne Morse Chair of Law and Politics, the program addresses one of the chair’s themes of inquiry over the next two years: "Race, Class, and the American Justice System." Panelists will explore the pros and cons of mandatory minimum sentencing measures, such as Oregon’s Ballot Measure 11 and California’s "three strikes" law. Drawing on research and actual experience, they also will discuss the effects of these measures on crime, public safety and offenders.

Panelists include Peter Greenwood, former director of RAND’s Criminal Justice Program, who will discuss his research on the impact of tough sentencing measures on crime and incarceration rates; Emily Simon, a Portland attorney who represents youth charged with Ballot Measure 11 offenses; Dale Penn, district attorney of Marion County; state Rep. Jo Ann Bowman, chief petitioner of the current initiative to repeal Ballot Measure 11; and Peter Ozanne, chief counsel to the U.S. Attorney in Portland.

The public is invited to a reception following the forum to meet the panelists and to celebrate the 100th birthday of Wayne Morse, which occurs on Oct. 20.

The Wayne Morse Chair was created in 1978 as a living memorial to the late Oregon senator and former dean of the UO School of Law. The chair is an endowed professorship financed by private donations and a matching federal grant. Increased funding is now allowing the chair to address a wider variety of issues and expand its range of programs on topics ranging from crime and punishment to labor in a global economy.

The Oregon State Bar is awarding two Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits for attorneys who attend the panel discussion.

More information about the forum is available on the web at http://www.morsechair.uoregon.edu or by calling the Morse chair office at (541) 346-3700.

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