May 13, 2022

BOG Public Affairs Committee Reviews Proposed 2023 OSB Legislative Concepts

On April 21, 2022, the Oregon State Bar (OSB) Board of Governors (BOG) Public Affairs Committee met to host the 2022 Legislative Forum. This year six OSB sections, workgroups, and committees submitted nine law improvement proposals. If adopted, these proposals, along with any BOG priority legislative proposals, will be submitted to the Oregon Legislature’s Office of Legislative Counsel for drafting. The proposals are reviewed by the bar’s General Counsel and the Public Affairs Committee to ensure that they meet the criteria established by both the OSB bylaws and the U.S. Supreme Court case Keller v. State Bar of California, 496 US 1 (1990).

This year, due to the lingering challenges arising from COVID-19, the Legislative Forum was a hybrid event. Representatives from the sections, workgroups, and committees, as well as other interested parties, attended the forum and listened to the presentations from section representatives. The Public Affairs Committee submitted recommendations to the full BOG, which will be reviewed during the May 13, 2022, BOG meeting. The BOG will review the proposals in the fall before submission to the Oregon Legislature for consideration.

To review the proposed legislative concepts and guidance on Keller, please visit the OSB’s Public Affairs/Legislative web page (https://www.osbar.org/pubaffairs). If you have questions about the Bar’s legislative process or about a specific proposal, please contact Public Affairs staff at [email protected].

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Three Branch Summit to Address Indigent Defense in Oregon

In late April, Governor Kate Brown, Chief Justice Martha Walters, Senate President Peter Courtney, and Speaker of the House Dan Rayfield created a work group to address the challenges that Oregon’s public defense system is currently experiencing. The work group, chaired by Senator Floyd Prozanski and Representative Paul Evans, is expected to meet over the next 20 months and potentially develop legislation for the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions. The first meeting of the work group, held in early May, provided an overview of Oregon’s public defense system and identified immediate state funding needs for indigent defense. Future meetings are expected to delve further into the Oregon service delivery model and other states’ public defense service models, as well as review the findings of the American Bar Association’s report and the Sixth Amendment Center’s report on Oregon’s indigent defense system.

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OSB Publishes Judicial Candidate Voting Guide for Primary Election

Each election cycle, the OSB publishes an online Judicial Candidate Voting Guide to provide the public and media with information about judicial elections. It includes a substantive questionnaire regarding the professional history of candidates for judicial office. Participants also answer questions about the judicial role and key issues facing the Oregon court system. Participation is optional, and candidates in both contested and uncontested races participate. The site has received accolades for making judicial elections more open and accessible to the public, while adhering to the judicial canons and maintaining the impartiality of the justice system. The guide can be found at www.osbar.org/judicial/JudicialVotingGuide2022Primary.html.

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2022 Oregon State Bar Award Nominations Due June 1

Every year, the Oregon State Bar honors community members, lawyers, and judges for their contributions to their communities and the profession. The bar is accepting nominations for the following awards:

• • • Award of Merit
    • Wallace P. Carson, Jr., Award for Judicial Excellence
    • President’s Diversity & Inclusion Award
    • President’s Membership Service Award
    • President’s Public Service Award
    • President’s Public Leadership Award
    • President’s Sustainability Award
    • President’s Technology & Innovation Award

   

• The Oregon Bench & Bar Commission on Professionalism is also accepting nominations for its Edwin J. Peterson Professionalism Award.

This year the nomination deadline is Wednesday, June 1, 2002 at 5:00 pm. The nomination form, and information on the awards, can be found on the Oregon State Bar’s website (Oregon State Bar Events).

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