News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Justice will come to Sisters this summer, in the form of a new regional court.
The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners, on Wednesday, February 9, unanimously approved the formation of a Justice Court to serve outlying communities, including Sisters.
According to Sheriff Greg Brown, the county will seek a court administrator next month and ask Governor John Kitzhaber in April to appoint a Justice of the Peace. If the appointment process goes smoothly, the court should be in operation around July 1.
The Justice of the Peace, who by law must be an attorney, will hear traffic cases and small claims. The office starts out as an appointment, but will become elective.
A Justice Court is a local community court run by the county as opposed to a circuit court run by the state or a municipal court run by a city.
The courts existed in Oregon before, but fell out of favor in the 1970s because many JPs were not qualified. That is why, Brown said, the Legislature now mandates a law background for Justice Court judges.
There is a growing trend toward Justice Courts in Oregon, because centralized courts are overloaded and service is poor. There are currently 33 Justice Courts in Oregon, with 29 judges.
Justice Courts are designed to be "citizen friendly."
"We specifically mandated that the community had to have at least one court per month and at least one night court per month," Brown said.
Sisters area residents who get a traffic ticket on the highway can, under the Justice Court, take care of it at a Sisters night court instead of taking time off work and going to the courthouse in Bend.
Even Camp Sherman residents would be allowed to use the court, if Jefferson County approves.
The Sisters Municipal Court could merge with the Justice Court if the city council chooses.
The Justice Court will also operate in LaPine, Terrebonne and Redmond.
According to estimates from the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, the county will receive a much greater share of revenue from traffic citations under the Justice Court.
Under the Justice Court, revenue is expected to climb to $320,000, up from the $130,000 currently awarded from state-collected fines.
The extra money can be used for intensified traffic safety efforts, such as crosswalk enforcement in Sisters, according to Brown.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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