Columbia County Justice of the Peace
Justices of the Peace have jurisdiction over traffic tickets, fish and game tickets, landlord-tenant cases, and small-claims cases. In some counties they also have jurisdiction over misdemeanor crimes. To qualify, a candidate for Justice of the Peace must be a U.S. citizen, a registered voter, a resident of the precinct or of an adjoining precinct in the same county, and age 18 or older. If not a member of the state bar, the candidate must take 30 hours of continuing education every two calendar years.Term: 6 years. The position is nonpartisan.
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James (Jim) Gibson
(N)
What should voters know about the qualifications and experience necessary to be a good Justice of the Peace?
What would you like to do to improve the functioning of the Justice Court in this jurisdiction, and how would you address them?
Considering the widespread housing shortage in Oregon, how would you balance the interests of landlord and tenant when ruling on eviction cases?
Contact Phone
503-369-3756
Campaign Phone (public)
503-728-0764
Town Where You Live
Clatskanie
Your Experience/Qualifications
30 years of Law Enforcement, 16 years as Private Investigator/Defense Investigator, 3 years as Pro Tem Justice of the Peace
County
Columbia
Term
6 years
Term Expires
12/31/2030
I have a 30 year background in Law Enforcement and have been a Licensed Private Investigator for 16 years doing Criminal Defense Investigations. This has given me the knowledge and well rounded experience from both sides of the criminal justice system. I am an appointed Pro Tem Justice of the Peace for over 3 years. I completed National Judicial College education and training on Federal Rules of Evidence as well as Courts of Special Jurisdiction training. I have attended numerous educational trainings through Oregon Judges Association and Oregon Justice of the Peace Association in the past 3 plus years. I have been running the Court two weeks per month for the previous year so I have the knowledge and experience necessary to do the job.
Reviewing current Court policies and procedures will be a ongoing process and getting them updated to improve operational procedures will be a priority. Improving public trust in the Courts is another area. Our Justice Court already does a good job of working with defendants in keeping their fine payments as reasonable as possible and in trying to get them properly licensed and insured when driving our roadways. I will continue that if elected. I hope to improve our Court's technology in order to do more remote Video Court so that Officers and Defendants can present their cases without having to drive to our Court facility in Vernonia for trials. Authorizing Clerks to reduce ticket fines in some guilty plea cases will also be looked at.
Currently our Justice Court does not handle landlord Tennant cases. We currently only handle Traffic Violations, Animal Control Violations, County Ordinance Violations, Commercial Vehicle Weight Violations, Fish and Game Violations, and similar Violation cases.
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