03/13/1985 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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- e e Mr. Davis said the Eugene area is a desirable place to live and work; it is relatively inexpensive, the University of Oregon provides amenities, and a citizen has access to political activities. On the other hand, the airport gives a negative impression of the community. Some professional services, such as legal, accounting, advertising, and marketing services, are difficult to obtain because people do not know about medium- and hi-tech industries. Some engineering and technical support must be obtained outside of the area. Sometimes the bad air quality in Eugene affects Mr. Davis and the people with whom he works. Crosspoint Systems recently received venture capital to expand the company from a private source, Mr. Davis said. There seem to be lots of resources here. Answering a question from Ms. Wooten, Mr. Davis said he does not actively recruit industries for Eugene. Research and development activities do not need access to parts and manufacturing services and, therefore, can locate here easier than some other manufacturers. Mayor Obie thanked Mr. Davis for his presentation and suggested Mr. Davis talk about Eugene to his business acquaintances. V. QUESTIONING OF PROSPECTIVE JURORS (memo, background information distri- buted) City Manager Micheal Gleason introduced Ms. Ehrman who initiated consideration of new court procedures. Ms. Ehrman said she is sensitive to the operation of Municipal Court because she is a defense attorney. The fact that the judge now handles the voir-dire questioning is a major procedural change initiated for efficiency. Ms. Ehrman suggested the procedure be modified to permit defense attorneys to question jurors for a total of 10 or 15 minutes after the judge has finished questioning. In that case, each attorney would be able to question jurors for five or seven minutes regardless of how long the other attorney took. She advocated questioning by the defense attorneys because the attorney and client can listen to the juror at that time. She noted there is no time limit for questioning by defense attorneys in District and Circuit Courts. Answering a question from Ms. Bascom, Ms. Ehrman said the attorneys who prac- tice in Municipal Court had an opportunity to fill out the questionnaire about the new procedure. Ms. Bascom said most of the attorneys indicated the changes had been good. No councilors voiced objections to Ms. Ehrman's suggestions, so Mayor Obie directed the staff to prepare material for council action. Mr. Gleason had attended a session of the court and recommended that others do so. He said court attendance emphasizes the civil liberties people in this country have. MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 13, 1985 Page 7