Civil rights lawyer Lare Aschenbrenner, a 1957 University School of Law graduate, will speak on campus tonight at the Knight Law Center about some of the cases he experienced in his 45 years as an attorney, including his work exonerating a black Oregon man who had been convicted of murder.
Aschenbrenner, who will speak at 5 p.m. in the fourth-floor’s Lewis Lounge, was appointed as Oregon’s first public defender in 1964 after the U.S. Supreme Court made several rulings expanding the rights of the accused.
In 1965, Aschenbrenner helped free Teddy Jordan, a black man who had been sentenced to life in prison after he was accused of killing a white train steward. Jordan was exonerated after Aschenbrenner’s office reviewed transcripts of the case and discovered racism in the trial.
Aschenbrenner, who retired in 2002, was recently given the Frohnmayer Award for Public Service.
His talk is sponsored by the Oregon Innocence Network and the School of Law. The event is free and open to the public.
— Jared Paben