>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

Chief Justice Paul De Muniz

Paul De Muniz, chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, paid a visit to La Grande Wednesday afternoon to discuss the condition of the county’s facility, which he said represents an endemic problem around the state and beyond.

He addressed a group of county and city officials, including representatives from the courthouse.

After assuming his present position in 2006, De Muniz said he took a tour of some of Oregon’s court buildings.

“I had no idea what our infrastructure around the state looked like,” he said.

De Muniz co-chaired a 2006 task force that submitted a “Report on Oregon Court Facilities” in December of that year. Union County’s courthouse, which is situated in the Joseph Building on K Avenue, is singled out in the report as an example of the inadequate nature of many in the state.

“The building has only one toilet available to women,” the task force wrote. “Pillars in the courtroom obstruct the judges’ ability to see the audience and the full jury. The clerk’s office is in the same building, but is accessible from the courtrooms and the chamber only by going outside.”

But De Muniz emphasized that he had traveled to La Grande to work on solutions, not dwell on negatives.

“I’m here in the spirit of wanting to show the Legislature that there may be some innovative ways of funding and building a courthouse,” he said.

Many counties in Oregon — and a number of other states in the country — are facing the same issues of dilapidated, outdated judicial buildings, he said.

Through a 1981 legislative compromise, the state took on operational costs and indigent defense in courthouses, while maintenance of the physical facilities fell to counties.

De Muniz said he fully recognized the county’s fiscal limitations. But while he could not promise state funding for such a project, he said he has personnel resources available to assist with creative thinking on financing — like tax credits, urban renewal funding or public/private partnerships.

Commissioner Colleen MacLeod, who said the Association of Oregon Counties has been struggling to publicize the issue, said, “We are well aware that we have a problem, and that (the courthouse is) not sufficient.”

She said De Muniz’s high-profile interest could only benefit the cause.

All seemed to agree on the need for a proactive approach.

Russell West, the presiding judge in the Union County Circuit Court, said, “I don’t think we can rely on the Legislature to solve this. I think they can offer some assistance.”

And Union County District Attorney Tim Thompson offered, “I like the idea of a preemptive strike.”

Commissioner Nellie Hibbert stressed that assistance from the state would be crucial, as the county could not afford to tackle an upgrade on its own and a new tax might not be a viable option. “With your assistance,” she told De Muniz, “I’m an optimist.”

She added, “I think it’s a viable project that we could do, and I think there’s a lot of energy to move this forward.”

An effort in Union County could enhance that energy, De Muniz said.

“I think this can be a catalyst to help the Legislature understand that people are working hard to do this.”

The chief justice said one of his goals was to institute an “electronic courthouse” for the state, compiling records in an online database to advance the judicial system. Such a move, he emphasized, requires sound physical infrastructure in every Oregon courthouse.

Commissioner Steve McClure suggested the board of commissioners form a committee with “clear expectations” to investigate the matter. The board plans to take up the issue when it meets Wednesday at 9 a.m.

The 2006 Report on Oregon Court Facilities is available online at www.osbar.org/_docs/resources/CourtFacilities06dec.pdf .