PORTLAND, Ore. – Last Friday, Chief Counsel to the Oregon Department of Justice Michael Slauson wrote a letter to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office (MCDA) outlining his findings in a complaint wagered against DA Mike Schmidt among others in the District Attorney’s office. The complainants were Joseph Owan Gibson and Russell Earl Schultz.
At the request of MCDA the Oregon Department of Justice, Criminal Justice Division (DOJ-CJ) reviewed the conduct of members of MCDA and their handling of the case of State of Oregon v. Joseph Owan Gibson and Russell Earl Schultz. The question presented to DOJ-CJ was whether MCDA violated its own policy, MCDA 1.06, by targeting any individual, on the suspicion of the individual’s having violated a provision of law, based upon that individual’s real or perceived age, race, ethnicity, color, national origin, language, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, political affiliation, religion, homelessness or disability. The investigation by Chief Counsel Michael J. Slauson concluded that the complaint by Mr. Gibson and Mr. Schultz was unfounded.
Earlier reports erroneously characterized DOJ-CJ’s participation in this review as the appointment of a “special prosecutor.” This was an administrative review conducted by an outside agency at the request of the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office in response to the complaint made by lawyers for Mr. Gibson and Mr. Schultz. DA Mike Schmidt thanks AG Ellen Rosenblum and Chief Counsel Michael Slauson for their thorough review of this matter.