Jackson County, Oregon Judges face Fitness Complaints

     "Judge Bloom told me when he was considering doing this [vacating the ban on Judge David Orr hearing criminal cases] in October 2023, that it was politically motivated to assist Judge Orr in his reelection."
          District Attorney Beth Heckert, April 22, 2024

District Attorney Beth Heckert says she will file complaints with the Commission on Judicial Fitness against Judges David Orr and Benjamin Bloom.

Heckert

The Jackson County district attorney accuses Judges David Orr and Benjamin Bloom of playing politics. She says it is improper and against the rules for Oregon judges. 

First the backstory. Judge David Orr is having a troubled first term as judge. The district attorney, Beth Heckert, considered his rulings on criminal cases so erratic and wrongly decided that she did something unique in her 35-year career. In 2021 she filed a motion to remove a judge from hearing all criminal cases. After review, the then-presiding judge, Lorenzo Mejia, signed an order approving her request. Now Orr is up for re-election and faces a challenger, Johan Pietila, a senior assistant counsel in the office of the County Counsel. Orr lost the poll of local attorneys to Pietila, a serious vote of no-confidence. The blanket ban on hearing criminal cases is a black mark on Orr's reputation.

Heckert issued a press release yesterday afternoon detailing the timing of meetings between her and the current presiding judge, Benjamin Bloom. She said Judge Bloom told her in October that he wanted to lift the ban as a political favor to Judge Orr. She said she repeated her ongoing concerns about Orr's ability to judge cases fairly, and Bloom relented. But this past week, with the May election close at hand, judicial candidates faced a deadline to answer questions posed by the local newspaper, the Rogue Valley Times. She wrote that she learned Judge Orr had stated the ban on his hearing criminal cases had been lifted. She learned that Judge Bloom agreed to lift the ban and had it officially backdated to comply with the timing of Judge Orr's assertion, doing so "Nunc Pro Tunc," a judicial way to backdate a ruling.

Heckert calls this political gamesmanship. She wrote that Bloom is using his office to benefit the campaign of a fellow judge. Her announcement to local media concludes:

Judges in Oregon must comply with the Code of Judicial Conduct. . . .. I will be filing a complaint with the Commission for the conduct of both Judge Orr and Judge Bloom during this incident. I believe both Judge Orr and Judge Bloom violated the following:

Rule 2.1 (A) A judge shall observe high standards of conduct so that the integrity, impartiality and independence of the judiciary and access to justice are preserved and shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the judiciary and the judicial system.

Rule 2.2 A judge shall not use the judicial position to gain personal advantage of any kind for the judge or any other person.

Rule 5.1 (C) knowingly use court staff, facilities, or other court resources in a campaign for judicial office.

Heckert's full text.

This blog looks at winning and losing political acts and strategies. There are two big losers. Judge Orr is a loser. In trying to erase the black mark, he brought a little-remembered problem back into the public eye, making it a significant issue once again. Orr? Oh, yeah, he's the one who couldn't be trusted to hear criminal cases.

Judge Bloom is a loser. In an apparent attempt to accommodate a colleague's wishes, Bloom made things far worse for Orr. The black mark splattered onto Bloom, too. Bloom has been called out for playing politics. Judges dislike needing to defend complaints with the Judicial Fitness Commission. They dislike even more a public reprimand, if one should happen to come.

The public loses because this creates more discord within a courthouse already under stress. The Jackson County courts have scheduling and docket problems caused by a combination of too few judges, the Orr blanket recusal, and the RISE Law Group's high-volume practice that includes widespread and multiple recusal requests.

There is one "winner." Judicial candidate Johan Pietila is a bystander to all this, but his campaign is almost certainly helped. Few people pay attention to the judges we elect, so incumbent judges are normally re-elected by default by an inattentive public. The apparent efforts of Judges Orr and Bloom backfired spectacularly. They reminded people that Orr has baggage. 

[Note: I welcome guest posts from Judges Orr and Bloom responding to this criticism by the district attorney.]

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