The state Elections Division found Friday that Wallowa County district attorney candidate Zachary Hostetter did not violate election law by stating his occupation as “prosecutor” on his filing forms.

The Elections division declined to review a second section of the complaint, filed by a Wallowa resident, alleging that Hostetter misrepresented himself as having interned for Wallowa County district attorney Dan Ousley in 2004.

Hostetter provided the Elections Division with a “Rule 9” limited practice card from the Washington State Bar and answers to 15 questions posed by the Elections Division. He also submitted a letter from his supervisor, senior King County, Wash., deputy prosecuting attorney Scott Peterson, stating Hostetter was a Rule 9 legal intern specifically hired as a prosecutor who would prosecute misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor cases in district court for the State of Washington.

Elections compliance specialist Norma J. Buckno, responding to the complaint filed April 17, wrote in a determination letter sent to Hostetter, “You have supplied sufficient information and documentation to demonstrate that you have not made false statements about your occupation in the the information you supplied on your candidate filing forms for the May 16, 2006, primary election.”

Anthony Chrisman of Wallowa filed the original complaint against Hostetter on April 17, charging that Hostetter misrepresented his occupation on his filing forms and intern experience in campaign literature. Regarding Hostetter’s stated occupation, Chrisman wrote, “To represent that Mr. Hostetter was a prosecutor without more description is misleading, at best.”

Buckno cited Oregon Revised Statute 260.715(1), which states that “(a) person may not knowingly make a false statement, oath or affidavit when a statement, oath or affidavit is required under the election laws.” Violation is a Class C felony. She said that to pursue prosecution, the state must show beyond a reasonable doubt that a statement is false and that evidence of falsity would be insufficient if there is a reasonable interpretation of inference of fact that could make the statement true. In this case, she said there was no violation of state law.

“It’s not a surprise, knowing what I do on a daily basis — straight up criminal prosecution,” Hostetter said of the decision. “My supervisor sent a letter, saying they hired and pay me to do criminal prosecution. A Rule 9 intern is just another way to say ‘limited practicing attorney.’ In one sense, I was hired as a limited practicing attorney for prosecution.”

In the complaint filed April 17, Chrisman also stated that Hostetter’s campaign literature claims the candidate was a legal intern in 2004 in the office of Wallowa County District Attorney Dan Ousley.

Buckno said in her letter to Hostetter that the portion of the complaint regarding Hostetter’s claims that he spent time in the district attorney’s office as a district attorney’s intern was not reviewed by the Elections Division because the allegation did not involve an official state elections document. She said the matter is civil in nature and is covered under ORS 260.532. The statute covers campaign publications containing false statements and the civil action, remedies and limitations available. To date, no civil suit against Hostetter has been filed.