Oregon Judge of the Circuit Court District 5 Position 11
There are 173 Circuit Court Judges in Oregon, grouped into 27 judicial districts. The Circuit Courts are the state trial courts of general jurisdiction. In most counties they have jurisdiction in juvenile cases, though only for termination of parental rights cases in Gilliam, Morrow, Sherman, and Wheeler counties, where the County Court is responsible for other juvenile cases. The Circuit Courts also exercise jurisdiction in probate, adoptions, guardianship, and conservatorship cases in all counties except Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman, and Wheeler. Candidates must be U.S. citizens, registered voters, and residents of Oregon for at least 3 years before filing for candidacy; for at least 1 year they must have resided or had a principal residence in the judicial district or an adjacent one; and they must be members of the Oregon state bar at time of election. They may not be older than 75 years.Term: 6 years. This position is nonpartisan. Salary: $163, 476.
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Susie L Norby
(N)
What qualities and experience best qualify you to serve as a judge?
What considerations would you bring to bear on sentencing decisions?
What reforms, if any, would you support for the administration of the Circuit Court?
Your Experience/Qualifications
Circuit Court Judge (2007-Present); Oregon Court of Appeals Pro Tempore Judge (2009-2012); Clackamas County Counsel (1996-2006); Clackamas County Deputy District Atty (1991-1996); Northwestern School of Law, JD 1990
County
CLACKAMAS COUNTY
Term
6 years
Term Expires
12-31-2024
In my 18 years as a trial judge, I have relied on my qualities of hard work, equanimity, listening thoughtfully, and being firm but as kind as possible under each set of circumstances.. Experience has taught me that it is important to not only listen, but also to help people feel heard. It is important to be direct and honest, but not unpleasant. It is important to make decisions that are well thought through, but not to delay the decisions too long. And it is important to explain decisions in plain language. I also learned important lessons when I was allowed to judge part-time on the Court of Appeals between 2009-2012. My experiences as a litigator in criminal and civil law, and as a writer of local laws are always helpful.
The law requires that judges focus on rehabilitation and efforts to reduce recidivism whenever a path toward that is realistic. Courts have options to sentence offenders to various treatment specialty courts, and programs that focus on services for the houseless, for those with mental health challenges, and for families in crisis. But sometimes there is not a realistic path toward rehabilitation because of the degree of criminality or the resistance of the offender to change. In those cases, incarceration is necessary. The question of how much incarceration depends on knowledge of what lengths of sentences have been given to other offenders in similar circumstances, and the spectrum of harms that have been caused by similar conduct.
The primary need for court administrative reforms continues to be the need for more services to people pursuing court cases without lawyers to represent them. I support revisions of forms to make court documents easier to complete and understand without an attorney. I also support the development of forms in multiple languages for court users.
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