Is state paying for Sean Riddell's ethics defense?
We get all sorts of e-mail. Here's one that came in yesterday:
My name is Scott Upham. I was the elected DA for Washington County from 1982 -1999. I have been following the [Oregon] DOJ miscues with much dismay. Yesterday I learned that AG [John] Kroger hired an attorney at taxpayer expense to defend Sean Riddell on his pending ethics matter. The K [contract] is for up to $50,000 @ $300 per hour. Maybe times have changed but I was repeatedly told during my tenure as DA that the State of Oregon would never pay for an ethics defense for any AG or DA.
Riddell is the deputy attorney general who got in trouble over tactics he used in the failed Cylviagate investigation, involving the governor's girlfriend's contracts with the state Department of Energy. To us, it seems as though there were bad guys on both sides. But if the state is paying for something that it never paid for before -- especially in the current money-tight climate -- it's news.
| Posted at 8:49 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (4)
Is this (allegedly) a state issue, or a bar association issue? These are all lawyers we're talking about here, right?
Posted by Mr. Grumpy | March 1, 2012 9:34 AM
You can get the bar investigation documents here:
http://www.uomatters.com/2011/09/frohnmayer-and-gary-bar-complaint.html
I've just put in a request for any updates. The contact person is Jennifer Brand, she is very helpful:
jbrand@osbar.org
Public Records Coordinator
Oregon State Bar
16037 SW Upper Boones Ferry Rd.
P.O. Box 231935
Tigard, OR 97281-1935
p: 503-431-6330
f: 503-968-4457
Posted by UO Matters | March 1, 2012 9:56 AM
The ethics complaint is not new. The paying for his defense out of taxpayer funds, though, is something I had not heard before.
Posted by Jack Bog | March 1, 2012 11:51 AM
Then there's the ongoing fight between Deschutes's county DA Flaherty and the county commissioners. Mostly behind the Bend Bulletin paywall, but here's the timeline:
http://bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110930/NEWS0107/110929999
Frohnmayer is also pushing that bar complaint - and apparently being being paid $550 an hour to do so, by the county:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/971644/uomatters/Frohnmayer/20110311%20Deschutes%20representation.pdf
So, public money can be used to bring a bar complaint, but not to defend against one?
Posted by UO Matters | March 1, 2012 12:59 PM