Oregon officials are walking away from their last shot at a criminal case against a federal drug agent involved in a deadly Salem bike crash, leaving a controversial legal shield for federal officers firmly in place.
The Oregon Department of Justice has decided not to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review whether a federal agent can be criminally prosecuted after a 2023 crash that killed a Salem cyclist. That choice leaves intact federal rulings that threw out the state's negligent homicide charge against DEA Special Agent Samuel Landis. Cyclist Marganne Allen died after being struck while riding home on March 28, 2023.
The decision, announced Friday, March 13, ends more than two years of litigation in the case, according to Salem Reporter. Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson said the criminal charge cannot go forward and called the outcome "disappointing" for Allen's family. Prosecutors said they weighed the risk that a Supreme Court ruling could tighten, rather than loosen, future options for prosecuting federal officers.
What the federal court found
In a January 2025 opinion, U.S. District Judge Michael McShane wrote that the basic facts were not in dispute: Landis rolled through a stop sign at about 18 miles per hour while surveilling a suspected fentanyl courier, and Allen, who had the right of way, was killed, according to the court's opinion. McShane concluded that the Supremacy Clause entitled Landis to federal immunity because the agent honestly believed that breaking the traffic law was necessary to perform his duties. On that basis, he dismissed the state's negligent homicide charge.
Appeals, the state's calculation and why it stopped
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld McShane’s dismissal on Dec. 11, 2025, leaving the criminal case effectively out of reach for state prosecutors, Salem Reporter reported. During oral argument, state lawyers told a three-judge panel that McShane had brushed past factual disputes and questions about DEA driving policy, according to Courthouse News Service. After that loss, Oregon's Justice Department weighed the risk that a Supreme Court ruling could broaden federal immunity and ultimately chose not to take the case any higher.
Family reaction and civil case
While the criminal door is closed, the civil fight is still very much alive. Allen's husband has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit naming Landis, the DEA and the city of Salem, seeking about $2.5 million in economic damages, according to KPTV. That case is moving forward even as the criminal process has ended, and neighbors say a memorial at the intersection of Southeast Leslie and High streets continues to mark the spot where Allen was killed.
Broader legal stakes
Prosecutors say the decision not to seek Supreme Court review reflects a larger worry about national precedent that could make it harder for states to bring criminal cases against federal officers. The New York Times has reported on a broader push to expand immunity for federal enforcement agents, a trend that figured into Oregon's calculus.
For neighbors and advocates in south-central Salem, the criminal road has ended, but policy debates and the civil lawsuit are still unfolding. The intersection of Southeast Leslie and High streets remains a makeshift memorial, and the pending civil case will decide whether Allen's family receives any measure of accountability through the courts.
