Gov. Brown seeks applicants to fill 2 new Deschutes County judgeships

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Gov. Kate Brown announced Friday that she is accepting applications to fill two new judicial vacancies on the Deschutes County Circuit Court.

The new judicial positions were created by the Legislature in Section 8 of House Bill 3011, which the Governor signed earlier Friday.

Interested applicants should mail (no hand delivery) completed application forms to: Dustin Buehler, General Counsel, Office of the Governor, 900 Court Street NE #254, Salem, OR 97301-4047. Forms must be received by 5 p.m., on Monday, August 23. Forms emailed by 5 p.m. on the closing date will be considered timely if original signed forms postmarked by the closing date are later received.

Governor Kate Brown fills judicial vacancies based on merit, the announcement stated. She encourages applications from lawyers with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences.

ORS 3.041 and 3.050 provide that at the time of appointment to the court, the candidate must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of Oregon, and a member of the Oregon State Bar. 

SB 977, passed by the Legislature in 2019, changed the residency requirement. It amends ORS 3.041 and requires that these vacancies must be filled by persons who are residents of or have principal offices in the judicial districts to which they are appointed, or adjacent judicial districts.

For questions about the appointment process, or to request an interest form, contact Shevaun Gutridge at 503-378-6246 or shevaun.gutridge@oregon.gov.

The judicial interest form is also available online.