I really don't know how to respond to that. Kind of like bank robbery is nothing more than unauthorized borrowing

And people wonder why some lawyers are hated so much....

It is interesting that Willy Week published an edited version of the quote:

"There are crimes and there are crimes. If [Adams] committed a crime ... that isn't a crime that looms large in the history of mankind."

I wonder if that's been Charlie's personal motto when it comes to relationships with underage boys over the years.

Any Hinkle "interns" reading this who might be able to clarify?

I like Charlie, but I'm afraid this may have been his last day as a credible spokesperson about anything.

I would never compare what Sam has done with Goldschmidt's statutory rape and abuse. But as for lawyers parsing the law, Hinkle's not the first. Here's what the general counsel of the state bar told me last year when she called to question me about my accusation that Kulongoski had detailed knowledge of Goldschmidt's crime and lied about it: An attorney who is aware of sex between a 30-year-old man and a 14-year-old girl is not required to report it to authorities, because "legislative intent" clearly meant the reporting law to apply only to babies and toddlers. (When I pointed out the Goldschmidt was 35 and the girl 13, she said it didn't matter.) She said that Goldschmidt was not a pedophile. And besides, there was no evidence that he had ever done it again.

I think he may be saying it was a misdemeanor, if it happened. I believe that is correct. But it's the wrong question that's being answered, isn't it?

... that is not a crime that looms large in the history of mankind.

It depends on what the meaning of 'is not' is.

Is Portland rotten to the core? It's starting to look that way.

Being that Charlie and his pal Steve Kanter told the bar I was incurably insane when I applied for admittance in the late 1980s, and didn't want the bar to take the word of my therapist that I wasn't; as well as the fact that someone, likely a lawyer for the Oregonian,told my recent employer something similar, which had to have come from a very, very convincing adovcate, and resulted in our parting ways, I don't find this hard to believe at all. In fact, this is mild for Charlie and his ilk.

Seems to me the question of whether Portland is rotten isn't judged based on what this guy said, but by the city's reaction to it. Sounds to me like this "defense" is doing more harm than good - if so, that speaks well for Portland.

Speaking of hard to believe he actually said this...

"I'm asking people to look at my two decades of public service and recognize this as an anomaly," Adams told the Portland Tribune editorial board on Tuesday.

Really? What's the anomaly? The poor judgment? The grooming? The lie itself? Getting caught in the lie? Smearing a political opponent? Paying hush money to a reporter hot on the case? Or the righteous indignation?

Which of those is the anomaly to your service to the public?

None,
It depends on what the meaning of "is not" is?

Nice line.

Follow the money.....

I am starting to think that it is time for the Feds to raid City Hall and the Portland Building, because everybody involved in running the city is corrupt. Rotten to the core is very correct!

hmmmmmmmm;
Republican Packwood and sexual misconduct=
Senate vote for expulsion
Democrat Sam Adams and lying about mentoring and sex with 17 or 18 year old man=no worries we need him? HUH?
Throw the BUM out!

Well, I don't know about anyone else, but even if nothing happened until Beau was 18, take note that Sam was there the moment Beau was 'legit'...just like a predator.

Y'know, I've never been much of a Sam fan, but 'smarmy lyin' chickenhawk politician' matches my ideal of mayor even less than 'smarmy lyin' politician'.

Since when are Esq. Hinkel, Mssr. Lauderdale, and Ms. Large "community leaders"? (Oregonian, "Community Leaders express support for Portland Mayor Sam Adams")...And do they really need the word "Portland" in front of Mayor?

I think Commissar Saltzman is the only leader there. And I would guess that's only because he knows what a disaster The Fireman could be, even for a few months. Better stock up on spray paint and duct tape now before they're exiled beyond city limits.

Oh yeah: I attended the "resign now" protest at 10:00 a.m. where the demonstrators were outnumbered by media 2:1. This city gets more apathetic by the day. And don't bother me with the 500 who showed up at 5:30 today to show their support. If you take out the bike nazis, the condo mafia, and the gay rights lobby, I doubt there would be 50 people left.

1) Reflexive, instant, fully developed and convoluted narcissism expressed by elaborate lying and creation of an elaborate conspiracy to prevent public knowledge of his conduct is the issue, not the sex.

2) That said, it's astonishing that someone who is "an ordained minister, United Church of Christ" is spinning for Sam Adams.

If Adams had sex with a minor, I don't think the judge and jury are going to see it the way Hinkle does.

Well, Leonard officially dumped Adams on KGW today saying in short that his "intuition tells him there are worse elements to be discoverd in the case" and that "looking back at Sam's past denials turns my stomach" (paraphrased)
Obviously fireman Randy did some reading up and discovered he would hold interim power if Adams resigns and then would have a foothold to run for mayor.
Or he authored that anonymous email to WW with this in mind all along...

The only crimes under the Oregon statutes with which Sam could be charged, if Beau was 17 when they had sexual contact, are either Class A misdemeanors or a Class C misdemeanor.

Is this the scandal of the century, or even the month? No. Why don't we stop with all the over-reactions.

If Adams really thinks people are going to "stop over-reacting" when he informs them that sex with a teenager is "only a misdemeanor", he does not remotely have a grasp of the sensibilities of the people who elected him.

Because, stepping stone, he won office under false pretenses. He slandered an otherwise viable candidate (BALL) and skewed the vote results for his opponent in the race (Dozono)
After that, he used his paid campaign consultant to initialize the coverup of the affair and used the office of Mayor to further the coverup via job offers and bureau assignments. I could care less about the sex part, but this lying scum needs to clear out of city hall at once.

I can't believe that quote from Hinkle. Do you think his partners at Stoel Rives are cool with this? It seems like they work hard at Stoel trying to cultivate an image of being a positive force in the community. A statement like this, from a prominent partner, makes me wonder if it's all a big rotten act to drum up business. I would feel mortified if I was one of Hinkle's clients.

He said it again this evening, and hit back at those in the "blogosphere" for criticizing him for it.

http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2009/01/23/500_turnout_for_pro_adams_ral

After admitting to myself that I am addicted to the local media's commentary and this blog's commentary over this issue, I had a thought.

What if the City in proposing projects and changes to the status quo was to use this same medium to disseminate information and collect the public's response? I mean, what if all of us tax paying property holding citizens had a chance to weigh in on whether we thought green bike boxes were more important than salvaging the existing infrastructure? Or whether it was more important to have a functional I-5 bridge than one that "makes a statement?" Look at all the dialogue taking place on the internet over Sammy boy! One can get a pretty accurate read on what the majority of people really want in the city of Portland. Just think, the City could examine the needs, desires and interests of the people they serve, and make their decisions based on their input instead of holding meetings behind closed doors and then taking the general public by surprise. Portland could become a leader in the process of involving the entire community in the decision making process! No longer would a single-digit percentage of the population be catered to because it would "look good" in special interest forums. We could lead the country in including and involving the voices of all good people who work and sacrifice daily to raise a family and contribute to the common good of their neighborhoods and society in general! Portland could be a landmark of fair, transparent, open honest....

Naaaaawwwww. Never mind.

Legally what gets me is how the threshold for criminal wrong doing is the standard for what is morally right or wrong for a man in Sam's position.

Sam's critics aren't saying he should go to jail, only that he resign. Clinton was in the same position and maintain public support, but the facts were different.

Society sets criminal standards (i.e. 18 years for consentual sex) as a threshold for the loss of freedom and liberty. Does that mean what we expect as the standard for the dregs of society to live up to is the same standard that exhonerates a sitting commissioner and mayoral candidate of a major US city from impropriety?

You're a lawyer, Jack. Please advise on the criminal and tortious ramifications to this case.

Another great quote from the rally tonight came from Dan Savage. From the Merc: "The Oregonian is assuming that Portlanders can't forgive him, that we don't have a sophisticated view of sex and relationships."

But isn't that exactly what Adams did when he chose to lie about his relationship with Breedlove?

Come on, everybody. Adams was just trying to protect us from the truth. It was for our own good. If he had been honest with us, we might have chosen not to elect him, and we now would be deprived of the benefit of his service as Mayor.

so many disorders...so few remedies and solutions
Can Sam leave the building for treatment now?
Puleeze???

I don't want Sam to go to jail, but I do want him to resign. I agree that Portland has many serious issues to face but I don't see that Sam will have the credibility to get it done. Which is what REALLY matters at this point.

And I'm getting tired of people telling me that opinion makes me a homophobe. I enthusiastically voted for the guy, knowing full well about his sexual orientation.

It's the lies that upset me.

It's amazing that the Dan Savages and Thomas Lauderdales of the world are the ones that keep bringing this back as a "gay sex" issue. Whether he lied about doing meth, having sex with a minor, or owning illegal weapons is not the important point. The point is how he lied, which people (i.e. Ball) were directly and professionally affected by his lies, how long he lied to the citizens of Portland, etc. not to mention the circumstances leading to his "apology."

Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out...

Freak shows on top of freak shows.

Un-believable.

Even if having sex with a person under 18 is not "the worst crime in history" it's still a crime.

I picked up a copy of today's edition of "Just Out" at the library this afternoon. It has a very articulate and well-reasoned editorial written by Marty Davis explaining
why "Just Out" is calling for Adams to resign. Certainly no one can say it's homophobic.

I did vote for Adams, in the primary and the November election; and I voted for him to resign in the poll on this blog.

Dan Savage? Wasn't he a porn star?

Then Tonya Harding's attorney.

Maybe Sam could get Elaine Franklin or Jeff Gillooly to show up at the next Kumbaya session.

This just gets better and better.

I'll admit it: I don't want Tram Boy to jump off a bridge (or even go to jail), but I'm enjoying watching this death spiral way too much.

Wow. All I can say about Hinkle is that he is one heck of an attorney. Anyone who can be an ordained minister yet stand up and justify a possible statutory rape as "not that big a deal, in the grand scheme of things" is my kind of lawyer.

RE: Jack's new nickname for Adams

Someone has probably already pointed this out, but Adam's current boyfriend, reporter Pete Zuckerman, won a Livingston Award for uncovering a sex-abuse scandal involving the Boy Scouts of America. I wonder what he thinks about the whole thing.

If I were he, I'd be getting regular HIV tests, and requiring the same from Mr. Creepy.

Zuckerman was also more or less run out of Idaho Falls after reporting the story. I suppose it would be a stretch to compare that to what happened to Ball...

I took a couple of classes from Hinkle at law school. Critical thinking isn't his key skill set anymore. Hinkle sold his soul to the liberal left so long ago he can't even think straight these days. He views everything in the context of how to get more rights for his side and he doesn't care about society as a whole.

I'll be avoiding Stoel Reeves law firm in the future. I don't see the "sure my client committed statutory rape, but who gives" defense getting very far.

Somehow we need to quantify displeasure with Adams. Supporters are making a big deal about the 500 people who showed up at their rally last night. They're claiming it represents the majority sentiment of Portland.

The majority of Portlanders have real lives and/or are too lazy to stand around in the dark freezing their butts off to make an obvious statement that's already been made by so many.

He views everything in the context of how to get more rights for his side and he doesn't care about society as a whole."

Seems to be a lot of that going on these days........

Snards -- some things to think about: (a) If you want to boycott the law firm, you should first figure out what its name actually is; otherwise you might screw it up. (b) Where did you get the idea that Adams is a client of that firm? You must have made that up. (c) Who says Adams is guilty of statutory rape? That isn't the offense that might have been committed if Breedlove was under 18, but so far we have no facts supporting that, other than an understandable disinclination to believe Adams. (d) Hinkle is expressing a personal opinion about a (so far hypothetical) legal question; his conclusion, while narrow and of limited relevance, is unquestionably right.

I've heard that Sam the Tram is planning a media news conference on the male Tram car.

Then, just recently OHSU has advised the Tram operators to be on a suicide watch for a guy with a hair cowlick and a short rope ladder.

That's not funny. Given Sam's personality, if he loses this job, he's going to be awfully depressed.

I was at the Friday 10:00 a.m. protest (no, I wasn't one of the Jesus freaks), and the turnout was woefully disappointing (less than 15 in the half hour I was there) as we were outnumbered by the journalists. I talked with a few of them but refused to be quoted, so they left me alone.

I would hate to see Sam harm himself; but I would enjoy seeing those steely blue eyes on the other side of the counter at Subway or McDonalds. That would be poetry.

I wouldn't let him handle my food.

Jack,that might have been a little over the top, sorry. But narcissistic people seldom succeed in suicide, they just want to be watched in an attempt for attention. Sam is getting to be more like Sho, Show.

I know the reference to Sam working at McDonalds is a joke, but seriously, the same knowledge and experience that got him elected would be valuable to anyone who wants to do business in Portland. I think Sam could make $500 an hour as a consultant, and work as much as he wants. He could resign, cash in, and start having a good time and a private life.

The proposition is easy to prove true. For example:

"Tension between the Vatican and Jewish groups looked set to explode yesterday after Pope Benedict XVI rehabilitated a British bishop who has claimed no Jews died in gas chambers during the second world war." (link)

Except some folks, small timers or big timers, uniformly should not be entrusted with any power at all. If I were a mind reader there are some people's minds I would not want to investigate, even from a distance. And I don't need to, thank god.