Letter to the editor teaser

I support reelecting Judge Wes Williams this May. He has a sound grasp of both criminal and civil law, having served as both an attorney in private practice for many years and currently as a Union and Wallowa County judge.

I was impressed to learn that out of the thousands of decisions Judge Williams has made, including both civil and criminal cases, only one was overturned by the Court of Appeals. Prosecutors have never even appealed a decision of Judge Williams. Not once.

That’s why I was dismayed to hear that the Union County district attorney, appointed in 2014 by then-Gov. John Kitzhaber, consistently disqualifies Judge Williams from hearing criminal cases. In doing so, she purposely chooses to assign them to Union and Wallowa County’s other judge, appointed by Gov. Kate Brown. Why would that be? 

That question led me to ask about the practice of disqualifying judges and I learned that Senate Bill 807 went into effect on Jan. 1, allowing judges to challenge any motion for disqualification that would deny assignments to criminal or juvenile delinquency dockets. The right to disqualify is protected, but now judges can rightfully challenge abuse and overreach that serve agendas rather than justice.

I look forward to Judge Williams winning reelection and then challenging the district attorney’s disqualifications in a SB 807 hearing.

Sharon A. Barrick

La Grande