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| Lawyer suspended over appeals work |
| By The Oregonian |
| Published: 02/08/2005 |
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The Oregon Supreme Court has suspended a respected Salem attorney who won the release of a Death Row inmate in 2000, in part because of his more recent mishandling of another Death Row inmate's appeal. Eric M. Cumfer, who works in the state Office of Public Defense Services, faces a two-year suspension of his law license stemming from his handling of five criminal appeals, including that of Death Row inmate Clinton W. Cunningham. In 2000, Cumfer persuaded the Oregon Supreme Court to release Scott Dean Harberts, a Death Row inmate convicted of killing 2-year-old Kristina Lynn Hornych of Oregon City, because prosecutors violated his right to a speedy trial. But in 2003, Cumfer's neglect nearly cost Cunningham his right to appeal his death sentence to federal court. Only a decision by the Oregon Supreme Court to revive the case allowed Cunningham to maintain his federal appeal rights. Cunningham, 37, has been on Death Row since 1992, when a Douglas County jury convicted him of raping and murdering 19-year-old Shannon Faith of Vancouver, B.C., and dumping her partially clothed body along a logging road near Elkton. After the Oregon Court of Appeals refused to grant Cunningham a new trial in June 2003, Cumfer missed the 35-day deadline to appeal to the Oregon Supreme Court. If an inmate does not pursue all of the appeals available in state court, he is largely prevented from filing a federal appeal, said Stephen T. Wax, federal public defender for Oregon. When attorneys in Wax's office discovered the problem in Cunningham's case, another attorney on New Year's Eve asked the Oregon Supreme Court to revive the case, which it did. Cunningham's case is now before the U.S. District Court in Portland. James Nass, appellate legal counsel for the Oregon Supreme Court, said the court typically reinstates cases that are dismissed because of missed deadlines when the conduct of the attorney caused the problem. Cumfer, a member of the Oregon State Bar since 1994, has no prior record of discipline. He was apparently suffering from "personal and emotional problems," according to state bar records. Cumfer continues to work for the Office of Public Defense Services as a paralegal, said Peter Gartlan, his supervisor. Gartlan said Cumfer's future with the state agency had not been decided, but added that he "has an excellent reputation within the criminal defense community." Cumfer did not return a call seeking comment. He agreed to the state bar's description of his conduct, according to bar documents. |
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