Bar association lawyers weigh in on Circuit Court candidates.Byline: Bill Bishop The Register-Guard If you were to ask Lane County's lawyers for their opinion about the top candidates in a four-way race for a seat on the Lane County Circuit Court - as the state bar association did in a pre-election poll - they would say Debra Vogt and Alan Leiman. Neither candidate would win the seat outright, if the lawyer's preference poll were to hold true in the May 16 primary election. Vogt, a senior prosecutor in the Lane County District Attorney's Office, got 44 percent of the lawyers' votes. Leiman, an assistant Eugene Municipal Court judge, got 33 percent of the 313 votes cast by local lawyers. James Chaney James Earl "J.E." Chaney (May 30, 1943 – June 21, 1964) was an American civil rights worker who was murdered (along with Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman) by members of the Ku Klux Klan. Chaney was born in the town of Meridian, Mississippi. , a private practice civil attorney, got 18 percent of the votes while Beverly Anderson, a comparatively new lawyer, got 5 percent. The bar poll carries no weight on its own, but is a traditional pre-election exercise conducted by the Oregon State Bar Association on the notion that local lawyers are in the best position to assess each candidate's history, intellect, temperament, and ability to be fair and balanced "Fair and Balanced" is a trademarked slogan used by American news broadcaster Fox News Channel. The slogan was originally used in conjunction with the phrase "Real Journalism. . Candidates for judicial office must follow the judicial code of conduct, which bans them from making statements about proposed legislation or about other candidates or issues that may undermine public confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary. Consequently, judicial races focus on the legal qualifications and temperament of candidates. In that arena, Vogt emphasizes the endorsements she has received from other judges - most notably Oregon Appeals Court Chief Judge David Brewer This article is about the businessman and Lord Mayor of London; for the American jurist, see David Josiah Brewer Sir David Brewer CMG (born 1940) was Lord Mayor of London between 2005 and 2006. and Lane County Circuit Court Presiding Judge presiding judge n. 1) in both state and federal appeals court, the judge who chairs the panel of three or more judges during hearings and supervises the business of the court. Mary Ann Bearden - and from several law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is a term used to describe any agency which enforces the law. This may be a local or state police, federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). - including the officers' associations of Eugene and Springfield and the Oregon State Police. In public appearances, Vogt notes that she spends every working day in court, and has handled at least 3,600 cases in her decade in the DA's office. She says her trial experience gives her a head start on the steep learning curve any new judge will face. Leiman emphasizes he is the only candidate with experience as a judge, handling misdemeanor criminal cases, ordinance violations and traffic offenses in municipal court. In his career, he also has worked as a prosecutor, criminal defense lawyer, civil attorney and mediator. As examples of his commitment to crime prevention and education, Leiman notes his volunteer work with the west Eugene and Bethel teen courts Teen courts are authorized by law in many United States to provide an alternative disposition for juveniles who have committed a delinquent act and are otherwise eligible for diversion. , handling minor first-offenses by teens over the past five years, and his work on the Victim Impact Panel that addresses residents charged with drunk driving. Chaney said he is pursuing the judicial post out of a desire to do community service after a successful career in private practice. He is running a low-key grassroots campaign relying on his Web site, public appearances and door-to-door campaigning. He is accepting no campaign contributions. He focuses some of his campaign effort on educating the public about the shortfall in funding for public safety programs, including jail space, in the hope that the campaign may raise public awareness and support for additional funding. Anderson emphasizes her nontraditional career path as the strength of her candidacy. She says her 12-year experience as a stay-at-home mom, a decade spent as a single parent, and her decision to pursue a law degree in her early 40s shows tenacity, persistence and a balance of compassion and common sense. She says her life experiences, listening skills, impartiality and temperament would compensate for any lack of experience she may have in court. While she agrees the public safety system lacks adequate resources, she says a judge's role is to use the resources available to get the job done. Circuit court judges are elected to six-year terms. If none of the candidates gets more than 50 percent of the ballots cast in the primary, the top two vote-getters will run in the November election. In either case, the winner will take office in January. The vacancy results from the announced retirement of Judge Bryan Hodges at the end of his current term. The office pays $95,800 annually. DEBRA VOGT Personal: Age 37, married, three children Education: Southern Oregon This article is about the southern region of the U.S. state of Oregon. For the University, see Southern Oregon University. Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. State College, 1987-88; Oregon State University Oregon State University, at Corvallis; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1858 as Corvallis College, opened 1865. In 1868 it was designated Oregon's land-grant agricultural college and was taken over completely by the state in 1885. BA, 1991; Willamette University Willamette’s College of Liberal Arts is the undergraduate school on campus. The oldest of the graduate programs is the College of Law, founded in 1883 and located in the Truman Wesley Collins Legal Center. law degree, 1994. Work experience: Senior prosecutor, Lane County District Attorney's Office. Civic experience: Eugene Active 20-30 Club, past president; chairwoman for numerous projects for children's charity fund-raisers; Child Advocacy Child advocacy refers to a range of individuals, professionals and advocacy organizations who promote the optimal development of children. An individual or organization engaging in advocacy typically seeks to protect children’s rights which may be abridged or abused in a Center, board member; instructs numerous police academy courses on investigation. More information: www.osbarorg and www.vogtforjudge.org ALAN LEIMAN Personal: Age 43, married, one child Education: Wesleyan University BA 1985, University of Miami This article is about the university in Coral Gables, Florida. For the university in Oxford, Ohio, see Miami University. The University of Miami (also known as Miami of Florida,[2] UM,[3] or just The U law degree, 1992 Work experience: Assistant Eugene Municipal Court judge since 2002, Eugene city prosecutor, 1999-2002; private practice 1998-2002; former assistant public defender public defender, governmental official who represents indigent persons accused of crime. U.S. Supreme Court decisions expanding the right to counsel to pretrial proceedings and holding that a person cannot be sentenced to even one day in jail unless a lawyer was . Civic experience: Volunteer Teen Court judge; Lane County Victim Impact Panel speaker; Community Mediation Services, board member; Site Council Representative, Eugene School District Eugene School District (4J) is a public school district in the U.S. state of Oregon. It serves the city of Eugene Elementary schools
More information: www.osbarorg and www.alanleiman.com JAMES CHANEY Personal: Age 48, married, two children Education: Stanford University, economics, BA 1979; UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX law degree, 1982. Work experience: Private law practice experience in broad range of state and federal civil matters, construction, insurance, professional liability, personal injury. Civic experience: Lane County Human Services Commission Community Action Advisory Committee, former youth sports coach, former Boy Scout leader. More information: www.osbarorg and www.chaneyforjudge.com BEVERLY ANDERSON Personal: Age 54, married, five children Education: UO, rhetoric and communication, BS 1987, MS 1989; UO law degree, 1995; Work experience: Private law practice 1995-2000 in domestic relations domestic relations. For psychological and sociological aspects, see marriage. For legal aspects, see divorce; husband and wife; parent and child. and civil litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. , former in-house counsel and chief financial officer for Ad Group until 2006, currently in private practice. Civic experience:Oregon Community Credit Union, board member; Lane Pregnancy Support Center, board, 1997-2001; Sunday school teacher, Willamette Bible Chapel. More information:www.osbarorg and www.electbevanderson.com |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion