Public defenders in the Portland metro area are working with a national advocacy organization to reform the cash bail system in Oregon. We talk with two of the people leading the push: Carl Macpherson, the executive director of Metropolitan Public Defender, and Tara Mikkilineni, a senior attorney with Civil Rights Corps. We’re also joined by Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton.
Last month, TriMet announced that it would be adding nine new fare enforcement officers to stop riders from using buses and trains without paying. The agency says riders have complained about other riders who don’t pay. But advocates say that fare enforcement unfairly targets people of color and people who can’t afford to pay the fare. Bernie Bottomly, executive director of Public Affairs at TriMet, and Huy Ong, executive director of OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon, join us to explain how fare enforcement will work and what the concerns are with the system.
Bradley W. Parks
/The Albina-Mississippi TriMet MAX stop in Portland, Oregon, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018.
Copyright 2019 Oregon Public Broadcasting