Beavers to pay 1/3 of Duck’s Bowl of Dicks bills and damages

Reporter Noah McGraw has the scoop in the Daily Emerald here on the cost so far. Excellent reporting, read it all there, here’s a snippet:

… UO also has its own attorney fees. UO was represented by Eugene firm Harrang, Long, Gary and Rudnick. The total of all their approved fees is $394,925.70, according to the Office of the General Counsel. The university’s insurance policy has so far paid $281,867 to Harrang, Long, Gary and Rudnick.

UO has an insurance policy that will pay all $1.6 million. The Public Universities Risk Management and Insurance Trust, PURMIT, covers the seven public universities in Oregon.

“The University of Oregon has comprehensive insurance for situations involving University employees, officers and volunteers as well as the buildings, vehicles and other assets,” Julie Brown, the Campus Relations Director of Enterprise Risk Management, said. “The insurance program covers everything from earthquake damage to art collections.”

The PURMIT website, here, is not exactly a model of transparency regarding the expenditure of millions in public funds. Some minutes are posted, but apparently not all. No meeting materials are available. Budgets? Audits? Spending? Nope. They do have a list of who is responsible though:

Chair Eric Yahnke (WOU); Patrick Hughes (OSU); George Marlton (OIT); Brian Roy (PSU); Vice Chair Lara Moore (EOU); Craig Morris (SOU); Jamie Moffitt (UO)

From what I can figure out PURMIT is a risk-sharing pool for Oregon’s seven public universities, with outside reinsurance for losses beyond some threshold.

Which means that it is very likely that the costs of this case, and the Jane Doe lawsuit, and the James Fox settlement, etc., etc., are not being “paid by the insurance company” but instead are being spread out among UO, OSU, PSU, WOU, SOU, EOU, and OIT. Assuming the sharing is in proportion to budgets, this means UO is paying about 1/3 and the Beavers are covering about 1/3.

And this one’s not over yet. HLGR lawyer Andrea Coit has just filed a request with the Honorable Judge David O. Carter, asking him to set aside the jury’s decision:

Screen Shot 2015-10-28 at 4.11.38 PM

I’m no lawyer, but I’m thinking this is so not going to happen.

The US DOJ spent who knows how much money to bring in an out-of-state judge and run this trial. Not to mention the valuable time of 8 Jurors, for almost 2 weeks. From what I can tell Judge Carter was on top of things every step of the way. Coit agreed to the jury instructions. But she hears the jury’s verdict and *then* wants a do-over? That’s got to be a high bar.

I guess it’s worth a shot when you bill by the hour though. Her full request is here, attachments here, and more on the jury instructions etc. in the (free but incomplete) docket here.

Suck it up, Beavers.

UO rejected $600K offer, will now pay ~$1.5M for Bowl of Dicks

The BBC reports that the Ashmolean only paid £250,00 for their bowl:

So far UO’s tab is:

$452,200 Attorney Fees to plaintiff’s lawyers
$ 45,773 Costs to plaintiff
$650,000 Economic damages
$105,000 Punitive damages
$1,252,973 Total

Then of course you have to add in the many billable hours UO’s outside lawyer Andrea Coit charged, as well as the other HLGR lawyers, paralegals, transcripts, etc. Another $250K seems conservative for all that.

So it was interesting to read in the motion from former UOPD Officer James Cleavenger’s attorneys about legal fees (available free here, thanks to the late and much missed Aaron Swartz and recapthelaw.org) that UO rejected an offer from Cleavenger to settle pre-trial for $600K, and didn’t even seriously try to bargain:

Screen Shot 2015-10-14 at 11.47.21 PM

 A very expensive decision, in retrospect. The docket is here. I’m no expert on law and economics, but one of the main functions of the pre-trial process of discovery and depositions is to give both sides a good understanding of their likely prospects at trial, and thereby encourage the parties to reach an reasonable settlement before incurring still more wasteful legal costs.

What went wrong with that here?

Is Doug Park alive? Who is Randy Geller? Jamie Moffitt? Did McDermed go rogue?

10/9/2015: Just some of the questions raised by the Bowl of Dicks trial transcripts.

I’ve never looked at trial transcripts before, but if reading the good work of the Honorable Judge David O. Carter presiding doesn’t restore a little faith in the American judicial system and give you a few laughs along the way then you are a worse cynic than I am.

How did Johnson Hall let the incompetence, harassment, retaliation, and backstabbing revealed in these transcripts go on for years? These people call themselves leaders? How many careers have been ruined on their watch?

Here are the trial transcripts. The docket, here, lists who is testifying on which day.

FINAL-MINI-9-9-15-Carter-CV-1-Trial

FINAL-MINI-9-10-15-Carter-CV-Trial Day 3

FINAL-MINI-9-11-15-Carter-CV-Trial Day 4

FINAL-MINI-9-14-15-Carter-CV-Trial Day 5

FINAL-MINI-9-15-15-Carter-CV-Trial Day 6

FINAL-MINI-9-16-15-Carter-CV-Trial Day 7

FINAL-MINI-9-21-15-Carter-CV-Trial Day 8

FINAL-MINI-9-22-15-Carter-CV-Trial Day 9

FINAL-MINI-9-23-15-Carter-CV-Trial Day 10

FINAL-MINI-9-24-15-Carter-CV-Day 11-1

FINAL-MINI-9-25-15-Carter-CV-Trial Day 12-Verdict

And some excerpts:

Screen Shot 2015-10-09 at 12.43.12 AMScreen Shot 2015-10-09 at 12.43.40 AM

Screen Shot 2015-10-08 at 9.50.26 PM

UO General Counsel Randy Geller was fired resigned to spend more time with his family during the midst of the basketball rape allegation cover-up. He now works at HLGR with Andrea Coit. Not hard to imagine why she wouldn’t want the jury to know that.

And was UOPD Chief Carolyn McDermed’s retaliation against former officer James Cleavenger done against the advice and without the knowledge of former UO GC Randy Geller and former interim UO GC Doug Park? Or did the retaliation occur on their advice? With their knowledge? Did they give the full facts to Lane County DA Alex Gardner when he was considering Brady Listing James Cleavenger?

The court wants to know, but as it happens Andrea Coit, the HLGR lawyer, has redacted a key document. Funny how often that happens here at UO, but Judge Carter is not amused:

Screen Shot 2015-10-08 at 10.10.23 PM

Screen Shot 2015-10-09 at 12.48.33 AM

Screen Shot 2015-10-08 at 9.57.17 PM

Alive but conveniently not in court, lest Judge Carter haul his ass onto the witness stand and swear him in.

So did Randy Geller and Doug Park know what Chief McDermed was up to with the retaliatory Brady listing? I’ll be damned if I can figure that out from these transcripts. Comments welcome.

9/29/2015: Kafoury and McDougal accuse Doug Park and HLGR of participating in UOPD retaliation against Cleavenger

I don’t know if this would be a violation of the Bar’s ethics rules. From the website of the Kafoury and McDougal law firm that won the Cleavenger case:

Today, a federal jury in Portland awarded $755,000 to James Cleavenger, a former public safety officer at the University of Oregon who claimed retaliation and loss of his law enforcement career at the hands of the University of Oregon Chief of Police and two commanders. The jury found that defendants Chief Carolyn McDermed, Lt. Brandon Lebrecht, and former Sgt. Scott Cameron violated Mr. Cleavenger’s First Amendment free speech rights for speaking out on police policy and matters of public concern, of which his superiors disapproved.

As a University of Oregon law student in 2008, Cleavenger spoke out against arming the University of Oregon officers with tasers without proper training and a use of force policy with input from the campus community. Evidence at the trial showed that defendants resented his comments at the time, were baffled that he was later hired by the department, and the jury found that because of his taser speech this lead to papering his file and terminating him. The jury also found Cleavenger was secretly placed on the Lane County District Attorney’s “Brady List,” a process which blacklists officers found to be “dishonest,” effectively ending an officer’s law enforcement career.

Attorneys including Doug Park, University of Oregon’s Acting General Counsel, participated in the decision to “Brady List” Mr. Cleavenger. The University of Oregon was represented by Andrea Coit of Harrang Long Gary Rudnick P.C. in Eugene, who participated in the efforts to have Cleavenger “Brady Listed.” The decision to “Brady List” Cleavenger came immediately upon the heels of the decision by a neutral arbitrator that Cleavenger’s firing was improper and that he was entitled to reinstatement. The arbitrator further rejected all of the department’s accusations of dishonesty by Cleavenger. Despite the Arbitrator’s decision, UOPD tried to renew these claims of dishonesty by Cleavenger without providing the DA the Arbitrator’s actual decision, in a deliberate attempt to try to block Cleavenger’s reinstatement and in retaliation for Cleavenger filing his lawsuit.

9/25/2015: It’s not about the Bowl of Dicks: Jury awards Cleavenger $650K+$105K punitive damages

It’s about the UOPD’s retaliation against him for exercising his 1st Amendment rights. He’d only asked for $400K.

Testimony showed UO’s Interim GC Doug Park was also involved in Cleavenger’s firing and knew about the UOPD’s retaliation efforts though he was not a defendant. Cleavenger has another case against UO pending in state court. The Oregonian’s Betsy Hammond elaborates on the involvement of Park and others, in the comments on her story on the verdict:

There was extensive testimony and documentary evidence about the role that Linda King, Brian Smith, Doug Park and others played in giving the officer written notice spelling out why he was going to be fired, in holding meetings and hearing on his discipline, in putting written materials into his file, etc. Chief McDermed testified she ran the Brady listing plans past Doug Park.

No info yet on how much Andrea Coit and Jonathan Hood will earn from losing this case, but HLGR typically charges ~$300 an hour. That’s a lot for lawyers who manage to lose a case so badly the jury awards more than the plaintiff asked for.

While UO claimed that insurance would pay for the lawyers and damages, that does not appear to be true – we’re in the PURMIT risk pool with the other state universities.

The report from Betsy Hammond is in the Oregonian here. A snippet:

“This is a victory for every honest police officer,” said Jason Kafoury, Cleavenger’s lead lawyer. “The jury today honored and enforced an officer’s right to speak freely on matters of public concern, regardless of whether their superiors approve.”

University of Oregon spokesman Tobin Klinger said Friday morning he needed additional time to provide the university’s perspective on the legal defeat.

Actually, Duck Advocate Tobin Klinger’s perspective on this First Amendment case is already on the record, in a letter to the editor he sent to the RG shortly after getting hired by UO for $115K to manage relations with the press and reading Diane Dietz’s July 11th 2014 story on the Bowl:

Story aimed for shock value

I’m a recent transplant to Eugene, having spent a majority of my adult and professional life working with media in northwest Ohio.

Like many, I idealized life in the Pacific Northwest. Eugene and its people have lived up to my vision. Eugene is access to independent film, unique foods, outdoor activities, cultural happenings and community pride.

I don’t know that this shines through on the pages of The Register-Guard, particularly with the sophomoric “reporting” of Diane Dietz.

I admit to having a bias. Dietz covers my employer, the University of Oregon. In my role as head of UO public affairs communications, it is my job to defend the integrity and the reputation of the university. I advocate for faculty, staff, students, administration and athletics. I advocate for the Ducks.

Earning positive attention is a challenge with a reporter who is more interested in pandering to the lowest common denominator than demonstrating the value of higher education. Where else would you see the phrase “bowl of —–” five times in a single news article (Register-Guard, July 11)? This obvious play for shock value diverted attention away from the fact that the reporter waited 26 paragraphs before sharing important details from the university.

Moreover, this same newspaper in February dedicated significant space to a major Sunday story that used a blatant stereotype of Chinese students as its primary theme.

Even though I’m new here, I’m certain this community deserves better.

Tobin Klinger, Senior director Public Affairs Communications, University of Oregon, Eugene

So it’s not exactly a mystery why UO’s relationship with the press has gone from bad to worse under Klinger. The First Amendment is our lowest common denominator? Continuing with Hammond’s report:

The jurors found McDermed violated Cleavenger’s First Amendment rights when she fired him in 2012, then again in 2014 when she and Lebrecht created a huge, potentially career-ending dossier designed to prove Cleavenger was too untruthful to testify in court.

Jurors ironically decided that it was McDermed who most likely lied under oath when she testified that she ordered creation of that dossier because she was worried Clevenger was a danger to himself and other officers, not because he complained to her superiors and filed a lawsuit that made her and her department a national laughingstock.

And then:

The UO’s top lawyers and human resources officials were intimately involved in the decision to fire Cleavenger, and McDermed testified Douglas Park, then UO’s No. 2 in-house lawyer, knew she was going to try to get Cleavenger on the Brady list. Since then, Park was promoted on an interim basis to UO’s top interim lawyer, but he is slated to return to the No. 2 job when a permanent successor takes over in about a week.

Kafoury said, “It’s a disgrace that the attorneys for the university were in on the decision to Brady list and ruin Clevenger’s career” while defending UO against a lawsuit alleging retribution for whistleblowing.

And then:

Cleavenger also brought to light the department’s petty, vindictive management style and the lack of professional training and record-keeping. Although he had been UO’s most productive safety officer, McDermed eventually ordered Cleavenger, via an intermediary, not to report any crimes except felonies – an order that appears to violate a high-profile federal campus safety law.

The verdict is in:

Screen Shot 2015-09-25 at 12.20.53 PM Screen Shot 2015-09-25 at 12.20.44 PM Screen Shot 2015-09-25 at 12.20.34 PM Screen Shot 2015-09-25 at 12.20.25 PM

9/24/2015: Harrang lawyers claim Bowl of Dicks not “a matter of public concern”, judge disagrees

The Honorable David O. Carter must have an art history degree. He rejected HLGR’s last minute plea, apparently without snickering, and the jury is now deliberating. Docket here.

9/23/2015: HLGR lawyers claim Bowl of Dicks not “a matter of public concern”

That’s what they want the judge to tell the jurors when they get the case in the next day or two. The complaint from UO’s HLGR lawyers about the judge’s proposed jury instructions is below.

Given the large public response to the press coverage of this case – Tobin Klinger chimed in too – this argument ignores the foundation of modern economics, Paul Samuelson’s Weak Axiom of Revealed Preference. It also contradicts the “De gustibus non est disputandum” work of two other Nobel Prize winners, George Stigler and Gary Becker.

So maybe HLGR’s lawyers majored in literature, not economics? It’s news to me, but wikipedia says that the modern meaning of the phrase comes from Fyodor Dostoyevsky. OK, so not every lit major makes it through The Brothers Karamazov.

Or maybe they were Art History majors? Apparently not. One of the most celebrated works of famed Renaissance artist Francisco Urbini is, yes, a Bowl of Dicks. The BBC – how’s that for classy – has the report here.

Sorry, but the public is plenty interested in the bowl, dicks, and the First Amendment and retaliation issues the combination has raised, as Diane Dietz explains very well in the RG, here.

The BBC:

Screen Shot 2015-09-23 at 9.17.30 PM

Yes, I bet it was. Probably a lawyer. The great thing about great art is its timeless relevance to our daily lives.

Here’s HLGR’s plea to the judge for a change in the jury instructions:

Continue reading

DESAADFA Eric Roedl’s Bowl of Ducks case to go to jury Feb 2016

What’s it about this time? Duck bowl games.

In a nutshell, Duck Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director for Finance and Administration Eric Roedl – let’s just call him the DESAADFA – got hit up by some insurance salesman for a policy that would pay the Duck football coaches in the event their unpaid student-athletes won enough bowl games to trigger the lucrative bonus clauses in the coaches’ contracts:

Screen Shot 2015-10-05 at 9.41.56 PM

These bonuses topped out at about $1M. Eric Roedl paid Lloyd’s of London $489,940 for the policy:

Screen Shot 2015-10-05 at 10.44.57 PM

Unfortunately it seems that our DESAADFA had not read the fine print on the contract. Hey, it’s not like he was spending his own money, as Milton Friedman would have put it.

It turns out Lloyd’s was only obligated to pay the coaches if the Ducks won the BCS. If they topped out at some intermediate lesser rank, then the bonuses were UO’s problem – not a dollar from those pommie bastards at Lloyd’s.

Which, of course, is what happened:

Screen Shot 2015-10-05 at 10.48.51 PM

So now UO is out the $687,965.74 in bonuses, *and* the $489,940 for the useless insurance.

So the UO General Counsel’s Office promptly sued the Athletic Department’s Eric Roedl, for not reading the contract.

Just kidding. Roedl works for the Ducks. How bad would that look? Instead we sued the insurance brokers. HLGR is now collecting its usual ~$300 an hour. As for Duck Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director for Finance and Administration Eric Roedl?

He got a raise:

2014:

Screen Shot 2015-02-09 at 9.14.23 AM

2012:

Screen Shot 2015-02-09 at 9.14.11 AM

And, from the looks of the lengthy PACER docket available free from RECAP here, I’m guessing HLGR ain’t doing too badly on this deal either, when it comes to billable hours.

From what I can tell this is Harrang et al’s last unfinished business for UO, unless they get the contract to defend UO and former interim GC Doug Park in state court over the Bowl of Dicks case they lost in federal court. Which would seem unlikely.

Harrang has already had to change lawyers on this once, after Joshua Stump and a bunch of other attorneys left HLGR for Buckley:

Screen Shot 2015-10-05 at 9.28.44 PM

 

(4J update) Sharon Rudnick, Bill Gary, and Randy Geller’s HLGR law firm losing money, contracts, and lawyers

9/30/2015: Eugene’s 4J school system let HLGR keep the $19K they had billed before they mistakenly sent the RG the school board’s “confidential” emails about the Berman firing. But if I interpret this correctly, 4J now has replaced HLGR with local law firm Luvaas Cobb:

The District paid $18,532 in legal costs and fees to Harrang Long for services rendered in connection with the Register Guard litigation. The District paid $23,730 in legal costs and fees to Luvaas Cobb following Harrang Long’s inadvertent disclosure of documents; however, such fees and costs were not limited to litigation services in the Register Guard case.

Sincerely,
Charis

Charis McGaughy, Ph.D.
Chief of Staff
Eugene School District 4J

And here’s the report on how the City of Eugene has been saving legal costs by getting rid of HLGR (thanks to a loyal reader for the link):

Screen Shot 2015-09-30 at 11.43.19 AM

9/22/2015: Sharon Rudnick, Bill Gary, and Randy Geller’s HLGR law firm losing money, contracts, and lawyers

Screen Shot 2015-09-22 at 11.19.55 PM

Not to mention its client’s public records.

Rumor down at the bar tonight is that Harrang Long Gary and Rudnick has lost some large contracts for legal work recently, and not just from UO. Its partners and associates are moving on too. Below are recent departures from the firm including some deserting a year or two after coming aboard. One after just six months.

Here are recent departures from HLGR:

Sam V. Rayburn, now at Buckley.

Screen Shot 2015-09-03 at 8.48.26 PM

John Witherspoon, now at Buckley.

Screen Shot 2015-09-22 at 9.41.45 PM

Elijah Van Camp, now at DeWitt Ross and Stevens

Screen Shot 2015-08-20 at 12.07.17 AM

Vaden Franscisco, now at SynergAir

Screen Shot 2015-08-20 at 12.04.46 AM

Marjorie Elken, now at Zupancic Rathbone

Screen Shot 2015-08-20 at 12.04.12 AM

Randall Duncan, now at Buckley

Screen Shot 2015-08-20 at 12.03.13 AM

Craig Capon, now at Alacrity Services

Screen Shot 2015-08-20 at 12.01.50 AM

Rebecca Cambreling, now at YHC Law.

Screen Shot 2015-09-22 at 9.31.01 PM

and

Joshua P. Stump, now at Portland’s Buckley Law
Katherine Watkinson Wright, now at Watkinson Laird Rubenstein Baldwin & Burgess PC
Amber Zupancic-Albin, hired in 2014, now at OHSU
Richard Larson, hired in 2013,  now at Hutchinson Cox Coons Orr & Sherlock PC
Daniel Harris, hired in 2013, now at www.harrismediator.com
John R. Roberts, hired in 2013, now at Arnold Gallagher PC
Jason Yarashes, hired in 2012, now at the Virginia Supreme Court

My apologies if I’ve missed anyone, send me the details and I’ll add you to the list.

UOPD and campus community policing

Diane Dietz has an article in the RG here, with a link to a very interesting Atlantic piece here.

Presumably Jamie Moffitt will be starting the searches to replace UO Chief Carolyn McDermed and other top officers soon, unless President Schill simply dissolves the UOPD and goes back to the more sensible and much cheaper public safety model, with police services contracted from the Eugene PD. After a rocky start 5-10 years ago, the EPD now seems to be doing quite well with its campus area party patrols, for example.

The Bowl of Dicks is back

I’ve been reluctant to post this update, given how the subject tends to set off UO’s strategic communicator and “Duck Advocate” Tobin Klinger. After Diane Dietz broke the bowl story in the RG, last year, Klinger sent her editors at the RegisterGuard this sophomoric attack on her reporting:

I’m a recent transplant to Eugene, having spent a majority of my adult and professional life working with media in northwest Ohio. Like many, I idealized life in the Pacific Northwest. Eugene and its people have lived up to my vision. Eugene is access to independent film, unique foods, outdoor activities, cultural happenings and community pride. I don’t know that this shines through on the pages of The Register-Guard, particularly with the sophomoric “reporting” of Diane Dietz. I admit to having a bias. Dietz covers my employer, the University of Oregon.

In my role as head of UO public affairs communications, it is my job to defend the integrity and the reputation of the university. I advocate for faculty, staff, students, administration and athletics. I advocate for the Ducks.

Earning positive attention is a challenge with a reporter who is more interested in pandering to the lowest common denominator than demonstrating the value of higher education. Where else would you see the phrase “bowl of —–” five times in a single news article (Register-Guard, July 11)? This obvious play for shock value diverted attention away from the fact that the reporter waited 26 paragraphs before sharing important details from the university. Moreover, this same newspaper in February dedicated significant space to a major Sunday story that used a blatant stereotype of Chinese students as its primary theme. Even though I’m new here, I’m certain this community deserves better.

Tobin Klinger, Senior director Public Affairs Communications, University of Oregon

Nice try Klinger, but it turns out this case involves some pretty important issues, such as the right of public employees to exercise free speech without fear of retaliation.

The bowl case has been around the block over the past year, as documented here and in the Federal Court docket, here. HLGR lawyer Andrea Coit tried to get Judge Carter to dismiss the case. Judge Carter did dismiss Cleavenger’s case against UO, but last week he let stand Cleavenger’s core claim of a civil rights violation by UO Police Department employees, on the basis of their alleged retaliation against him for his exercise of his first amendment rights.

The 8/6/2015 opinion is very interesting, read it all here, this is a brief extract:

Screen Shot 2015-08-10 at 4.46.49 PMScreen Shot 2015-08-10 at 4.47.20 PM

Screen Shot 2015-08-10 at 4.51.15 PMScreen Shot 2015-08-10 at 4.51.30 PM

HLGR’s Jens Schmidt drops “Bowl of Dicks” case, Cleavenger hires civil rights firm.

The background on the case is here. Former UOPD officer James Cleavenger is now represented by the Portland firm of Kafoury & McDougal:

Screen Shot 2015-01-09 at 11.24.44 AM

Dave Frohnmayer and Randy Geller’s firm, “Harrang, Long, Gary and Rudnick (sic)”, is representing UO of course. Lead counsel was Jens Schmidt, one of HLGRs top ~$300 lawyers:

Screen Shot 2014-07-06 at 12.45.39 AM

Schmidt’s 5/2/2014 response to Cleavenger’s complaint is here. But Schmidt has now withdrawn from the case, leaving it in the hands of junior partner Andrea Coit:

Screen Shot 2015-01-09 at 11.36.41 AM

How much has HLGR billed UO on this mess so far? I don’t know. Doug Park is doing his former boss and new HLGR lawyer Randy Geller a solid, by leaving the billing codes off the BANNER reports and redacting the hell out of the invoices:

UOPD sued over retaliation against whistleblower

7/7/2014: I’m no law professor, but this complaint against UOPD Chief Carolyn McDermed and others raises plenty of questions about UO’s new sworn and armed police department:

Screen Shot 2014-07-05 at 11.44.47 PM

Screen Shot 2014-07-05 at 11.45.06 PM

The court docket is here (courtesy of the RECAP program that Aaron Swartz and Carl Malamud helped create). The complaint, well worth reading in full, is here, and UO’s response is here. UO admits their police have a “Bowl of Dicks” list:

Screen Shot 2014-07-05 at 11.49.17 PM

Who’s defending UO? Frohnmayer’s HLGR firm, of course. Specifically Jens Schmidt, at ~$300 per billable hour, he’s got no incentive to wrap it up:

Screen Shot 2014-07-06 at 12.45.39 AM

 

7/8/2014: OK, by popular demand, let’s see who’s in the UO Police Department’s “Bowl of Dicks”:

Subject: public records request, “Bowl of Dicks” list
Date: July 8, 2014
To: [UOPD Spokesperson and UO Public Records Officer]:

Dear [ ]

I apologize for the language in this public records request. I am asking for any public records that list the members of the “Bowl of Dicks” list kept by UOPD employee [ ].

This list is mentioned in paragraphs 20 and 21 of the “Amended Complaint” filed in US District Court and posted here: http://ia902504.us.archive.org/12/items/gov.uscourts.ord.114420/gov.uscourts.ord.114420.9.0.pdf

Its existence is acknowledged in paragraph 21 of UO’s response, filed here: http://ia902504.us.archive.org/12/items/gov.uscourts.ord.114420/gov.uscourts.ord.114420.16.0.pdf

I am asking for a fee waiver on the basis of public interest, which is considerable.

7/10/2014: UO Police Department sued over retaliation against whistleblower

The RG’s Diane Dietz has the story on the UO Police Department’s “eat a bowl of dicks list”. It’s the usual UO mismanagement, bad legal advice, wasted money, and more than a touch of the absurd. Many interesting, sad quotes. Police Chief Carolyn McDermed even provides a version of the list.

What has our feckless President Mike Gottfredson done about this? He’s thrown a lot of money around. The Police budget has increased from $4.3M when he arrived to $5.5M this year, with more in the pot. And that excludes the cost of the HLGR lawyers, back pay to the whistleblower, etc. In five years the cost that’s on the books has gone from $3M to $5.5M:

Screen Shot 2014-07-10 at 9.01.38 PM

Anyone know of a Police Academy that needs a new President?

 

7/18/2014 update: UOPD dick list goes viral

Betsy Hammond has the story in the Oregonian, with many interesting comments, here.

UO’s Strategic Communication Command is still in full denial mode, but a UO Matters stringer has now provided incontrovertible photograph proof of the actual bowl, here. (Warning: This link is NSFW for most though apparently not all UO employees.)

7/23/2014: Latest Oregonian story details additional UO PD sexual harassment grievances.

Betsy Hammond has the story, here. One sexual harassment complaint was settled for $2K in attorneys fees, mandatory sexual harassment training, and 5 box seat tickets to the Civil War game. You can’t make this up. The department comes across as out of control, to be kind. No wonder Gottfredson had the EPD investigate the basketball rape allegations, and then gave the report to his athletic director instead of his police chief.

This story doesn’t even cover the three previous public safety directors who left under unexplained circumstances. Daily Emerald reporter Ryan Knutson won an award for reporting on one situation back in 2009. Some other recent scandals are here, but it’s hard to keep up. Last time I looked up the salary information UO was paying Chief McDermed more than the City of Eugene paid its police chief.

8/23/2014 update:

Screen Shot 2014-08-23 at 1.56.53 PM

I’ve redacted the 4 names and signatures, of the grounds that they probably don’t want to see the bowl come up #1 when someone googles them.

It seems like interim UO GC Doug Park is still paying HLGR’s Jens Schmidt $300 billable for every hour he can drag this out. The case docket is here (courtesy of the RECAP program that Aaron Swartz and Carl Malamud helped create). The complaint, well worth reading in full, is here, and Schmidt’s response is here.

Screen Shot 2014-07-06 at 12.45.39 AM