Two new Deschutes Juvenile Court referees named
Presiding Deschutes County Circuit Judge Alta Brady signed Orders on Dec. 11 appointing local attorneys Bethany Powers Flint and Owyhee Weikel-Magden as Juvenile Court Referees under ORS 419A.150.
Ms. Flint will serve as the primary Referee replacing former Referee Stephen Kurzer. Ms. Weikel-Magden will serve as a back-up referee, a role which did not previously exist. The Juvenile Court Referee presides over juvenile delinquency matters held at the Deschutes County Juvenile Community Justice Building.
In making the appointments, Judge Brady stated, “I am pleased with the quality of candidates who applied for the position. Both Ms. Flint and Ms. Weikel-Magden have extensive experience working with juveniles and I am confident they will serve our families and children very well.”
Bethany Flint comes to the Juvenile Court Referee position with over 12 years of experience providing families legal representation and conflict resolution. She also serves as the Municipal Court Judge for the City of Bend, and has done so since 2014. Ms. Flint earned her law degree from Whittier College School of Law in 2003, summa cum laude, and was lauded as Outstanding Fellow of the school’s Center for Children’s Rights. She stated “she is honored to have this opportunity to serve the children and families in her community.”
Owyhee Weikel-Magden was raised in John Day with her two brothers and sister. She received her BA in Biological Anthropology from the University of California San Diego in 2000. She graduated from the University of Washington Law School in 2007. She opened her law practice in Bend, Oregon in 2008 with a primary focus representing defendants in criminal cases as a contracting attorney within the Bend Attorney Group. She has lived in Costa Rica, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, California and Washington but when it came time to settle down she and her husband knew they needed to return to Oregon, east of the Cascades. Owyhee enjoys time with her family, the occasional rock climbing, rafting, a long run and a good book when time allows.