ACS Oregon: The Right to Counsel Cannot Wait -- A Discussion on Oregon's Inability to Provide this Critical Constitutional Right

Please join the American Constitutional Society's Oregon Lawyer Chapter for a panel discussion with leading experts on Oregon’s critical shortage of attorneys for the accused. The right to counsel a foundational function in our criminal justice system. Without that obligation being met, individuals accused of crimes are denied the right to a fair and speedy trial. Similarly, victims are denied their opportunity to participate and interact with a criminal justice system that functions and ensures that justice is done. Join the discussion and see what has been and is being done to address this crisis right now and what plans are in place for the future. 

Featuring:

Jennifer Nash, Chair of the Oregon Public Defense Commission

Jennifer Nash is an attorney in private practice in Corvallis, Oregon. She was a public defense provider in the Benton County consortium from 1999-2017 representing adults and children in criminal and juvenile court and was their contract administrator for 16 years. She joined the Public Defense Services Commission in August 2022 and became its chair in August 2023. When the Commission transitioned to the Executive Branch in 2024 and became the Oregon Public Defense Commission, she remained as its chair. She is a passionate defender of the constitution and the rule of law.

Carl Macpherson, Director of Metropolitan Public Defenders

Carl Macpherson is the Executive Director of Metropolitan Public Defender (MPD), which is the largest, single provider of trial-level public defense services in Oregon. MPD is a non-profit criminal defense law firm founded in 1971. Carl has been a criminal defense attorney for over twenty years, practicing in three different jurisdictions. He has been a public defender for his entire career except for four years when he worked in a criminal defense law firm in Ann Arbor, Michigan (2007-2011).

Aliza Kaplan, Law Professor and Lewis and Clark Law School

Aliza B. Kaplan is a Professor at Lewis & Clark Law School and the Director of the Criminal Justice Reform Clinic (CJRC) where students work on a variety of cases and projects relating to the back-end of criminal cases in the areas of parole, clemency, wrongful convictions, and juvenile justice. She serves as of counsel to the Forensic Justice Project, is a co-founder of the Community Law Division at Metropolitan Public Defender and co-founded the Oregon Innocence Project.

Suman Malempati, Federal Public Defender 

Suman Malempati, J.D., M.D., is an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the District of Oregon. After graduating from Emory University School of Law in 2021, he clerked for Judge Marco A. Hernández at the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. Before joining the Federal Public Defender’s Office, Malempati worked as a trial attorney at Metropolitan Public Defender in Multnomah County.

Moderated by:

Ryan J. Anfuso, Attorney at Law, Anfuso Law, P.C.; Board Member, ACS Oregon Lawyer Chapter