Category Archives: Judicial Dept.

Oregon’s first female Supreme Court chief reflects on her first year

When Chief Justice Martha Walters was sworn in to her position on the Oregon Supreme Court one year ago Tuesday, she did not yet know what kind of challenges she would face. As the first woman to ever hold that position in the state of Oregon, Eugene’s own Walters now is reflecting on her past […]
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Driver in triple fatal completed DUI diversion — but Oregon can’t prove it works

A Salem man accused of killing three teens had a history of drunk driving, but his 2015 DUI charge was dismissed after he entered a diversion program. Source: Driver in triple fatal completed DUI diversion — but Oregon can’t prove it works

Editorial: Lawmakers fail to fund needed judges in Deschutes County

Oregon lawmakers have apparently decided, in their questionable wisdom, not to give the Deschutes County Circuit Court a new judge this legislative session. In fact, the bill fills only two of the 14 new judge positions sought by the state Judicial Department. All would help their judicial districts improve the speed with which juvenile cases […]
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Gable freed from prison after nearly 30 years

Federal judge reverses 1991 conviction for killing former Oregon corrections director, state appealing ruling. Frank Gable walked out of a Kansas prison on Friday morning after spending almost three decades in custody for the killing of former Oregon Department of Corrections director Michael Francke. Source: Pamplin Media Group – Gable freed from prison after nearly […]
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Retiring Deschutes County judge reflects on career

A. Michael Adler retiring at end of June. Deputies in Red Bluff, California, should have done more to get murderer Edwin Lara an attorney, according to Judge A. Michael Adler, who presided over Lara’s trial in 2017-18. Source: Retiring Deschutes County judge reflects on career; A. Michael Adler retiring at end of June

Editorial: Legislature should give Deschutes County a needed judge

Amid all the other things that Oregon lawmakers may cram into the last few days of the 2019 legislative session should be this: They should make certain Deschutes County’s circuit court gets a badly needed additional judge. Martha Walters, chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, has asked for 13 new judges statewide. Source: Editorial: […]
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Approval for Yamhill County farmland subdivisions overturned

Nearly 90 acres of farmland in Oregon’s Yamhill County cannot be subdivided into home sites under ballot initiatives that eased land use restrictions, according to the Oregon Court of Appeals. The ruling overturns a determination by the county government that owners of two properties in “exclusive farm use” zones had “vested rights” to carve them […]
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Oregon Public Defenders Walk Out to Seek Resources

Facing ever-mounting caseloads, dozens of public defenders in Oregon walked out of courthouses and into the Statehouse this week to lobby for a bill that would fix a staffing shortage and an outdated contract payment system that has some attorneys representing more than 200 clients at once. A national watchdog report deemed Oregon’s fixed-fee contract […]
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Lukens column: Legislature poised to address Oregon’s car-theft crisis

Thefts surged following two notorious Appeals Court decisions. Only a car thief could hate House Bill 2328, which is progressing through the Legislature with minimal drama and a whopping 27 cosponsors. Fortunately, car thieves rarely hire lobbyists. This bill is necessary because Oregon has become a car thief’s paradise. Vehicle thefts in the state increased […]
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Gov. Kate Brown Appoints One of House Republicans’ Leaders to Judgeship

Mike McLane will leave the Capitol at the end of this session for the bench in Crook and Jefferson Counties. Gov. Kate Brown today named one of the Oregon House Republicans’ savviest members to a circuit court judgeship in Crook and Jefferson Counties. Brown picked state Rep. Mike McLane (R-Powell Butte) to fill the judicial […]
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