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THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2022
Deputy district attorneys are scarce in Eastern Oregon
By ALEX WITTWER
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Coun-
ties across Eastern Oregon
have struggled over the past
few years to hire attorneys to
prosecute criminal charges,
and offi cials believe a vari-
ety of factors, including
uncompetitive salaries, have
contributed to the vacant
positions.
Wallowa County is bereft
of a deputy district attorney
for its already strained staff .
Morrow County and
Grant County each have just
their district attorney to han-
dle cases.
Umatilla County has just
fi ve prosecutors — includ-
ing the district attorney —
instead of the normal 10
attorneys.
Union County seems to
have fared better, but even
its offi ce is down one deputy
district attorney.
Only Baker County has
a fully staff ed prosecution
team.
Every other county in
northeastern Oregon has
positions open for deputy
attorneys. Those positions
have been hard to fi ll, and
in some cases have been left
open for at least three years.
Grant County District
Attorney Jim Carpenter
has had an open position
since 2018 — except a brief
period when a prosecutor
fresh out of college worked
for a short stint before leav-
ing to become a local public
defender. Carpenter remains
the county’s sole prosecutor.
“Following his depar-
ture, I had no confi dence
that I would be able to fi nd
a replacement,” Carpenter
wrote in an email, “espe-
cially knowing that areas
such as Deschutes and Mult-
nomah, which pay much bet-
ter than northeastern coun-
ties can, had numerous
openings and I would not be
able to complete with them
for quality applicants.”
Carpenter had an agree-
ment with Grant County that
he would serve as county
counsel in return for funding
for a deputy district attor-
ney position; before then,
the role was funded through
a grant. Unable to locate a
suitable attorney to fi ll the
role as deputy, he resigned
from his position as coun-
selor in February 2020.
Likewise,
Wallowa
County District Attorney
Rebecca Frolander has had
an open position for three
years. She was the dep-
uty prosecutor there before
she was elected as district
attorney.
“From 2018 up until we
revamped the position in
the fall of 2018, I received
two applications,” Frolander
said, “but before I could
even get them interviewed
they took jobs across the
state.”
For a long while after
Frolander became district
attorney in 2012, grants
funded the deputy district
attorney position in Wallowa
County. But it sat vacant
for an extended period, and
that grant money had to be
returned and the job left
vacant.
The paper chase
Data from the Oregon
State Bar during the past
decade show the number of
examinees per year steadily
dropping — approximately
12 less attorneys each year
pass the bar based on a sim-
ple linear regression model.
The exam has not become
more diffi cult over time,
but people are taking fewer
attempts to pass it.
And in 2020 the pandemic
ushered in a “diploma privi-
lege,” which allowed newly
graduated law students to
bypass the bar entirely and
receive their license — a fi rst
for Oregon. But even then,
only 343 attorneys were
minted in Oregon that year.
It was the lowest admission
numbers since 1972 when
just 310 attorneys passed the
bar exam.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus discusses the legal system and his route to becoming a lawyer during a career day at Pendleton High School in 2019.
EVERY OTHER COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN OREGON
HAS POSITIONS OPEN FOR DEPUTY ATTORNEYS. THOSE
POSITIONS HAVE BEEN HARD TO FILL, AND IN SOME CASES
HAVE BEEN LEFT OPEN FOR AT LEAST THREE YEARS.
Lower numbers alone
don’t make shortages —
they need to be coupled with
a higher number of law-
yers retiring or leaving the
fi eld. And that is exactly
what is happening. Accord-
ing to a 2017 economic sur-
vey released by the Oregon
State Bar, nearly 20% of
respondents said they had
planned on retiring within
the next fi ve years — or by
2022. Additionally, the aver-
age age of practicing law-
yers was 47 according to the
survey.
But perhaps the biggest
reason why lawyers have
given the cold shoulder to
Eastern Oregon attorney
offi ces is salaries in the rural
wild west have not been able
to compete with the metro-
politan areas.
According to the eco-
nomic survey from the Ore-
gon State Bar, the gap is sig-
nifi cant. Median income for
the 2017 survey shows an
average Oregon lawyer can
expect a salary of $105,000
per year. Eastern Oregon
attorneys will see $84,000.
Portland attorneys, how-
ever, will earn $125,000, or
nearly 20% more than the
Oregon average and roughly
50% more than those work-
ing in Eastern Oregon. That
$41,000 a year diff erence
means student loans can be
paid off much faster.
But those averages,
which cover all attorneys,
not just prosecutors, still are
higher than the advertised
salary posted for many East-
ern Oregon counties.
Union County, which has
one open position, off ers a
starting salary of just more
than $56,000 a year and
going up to $92,000 a year
based on experience. Mor-
row County, which has no
deputy district attorney
at the moment, advertises
$68,400 per year with the
ability to earn up to an addi-
tional $30,000 per year by
doing county and city work.
Umatilla County pays up to
$77,000 for an entry level
deputy district attorney.
Wallowa County’s open
position advertises a yearly
salary of just over $52,000
for a newly minted lawyer.
Frolander said the salary
for a prosecutor was raised
recently, but has yet to attract
any prosecutors to join the
team in Wallowa County.
facebook.com/dailyastorian
While the district attorney’s
offi ce waits for applicants,
the lack of qualifi ed staff to
prosecute cases means cases
sometimes don’t receive the
attention they deserve.
“There are cases that I
have resolved for less than I
wanted to,” Frolander said,
“and there have been cases
I’ve declined to prosecute
due to resources.”
Frolander also said the
coronavirus pandemic had
created a traffi c jam of cases
that has yet to clear, further
impacting the offi ce’s ability
to prosecute crimes.
“Prosecutors should be
able to make decisions on
whether to pursue a crimi-
nal action, based on the mer-
its of the case, rather than
on the resources available,”
Carpenter wrote. “However,
that is exactly the position
many prosecutors in north-
eastern Oregon are in at the
moment. The lack of avail-
able deputy prosecutors and
the lack of funding to attract
the qualifi ed applicants leave
us in the position of making
resource based decisions
every day.”
Umatilla County Dis-
trict Attorney Dan Primus
said his offi ce was able to
increase the salary, but he
mused that money isn’t the
sole cause of hiring woes in
Eastern Oregon.
“I think that regionally,
it plays a role in what we’re
doing. I think it’s also less
desirable to be a prosecutor,”
Primus said.
Soldiering on
Morrow County District
Attorney Justin Nelson is
used to working on holidays
or late into the evening. His
phone and laptop are never
too far out of reach, just in
case the sheriff ’s offi ce or
the police need a search war-
rant reviewed or a suspect
charged.
However, he’s not used to
doing it alone.
“When it’s only two,
when you have one gone
you defi nitely feel it,” Nel-
son said.
The Morrow County Dis-
trict Attorney’s Offi ce held
on to a full staff through most
NorthWest
Senior &
Disability
Services
SENIOR ADVISORY COUNCIL (SAC)
AND DISABILITY SERVICES
ADVISORY COUNCIL (DSAC) 2022
PUBLIC MEETING SCHEDULE
The function of the Senior Advisory Council (SAC) and
Disability Services Advisory Council (DSAC) is to advise
the Board of Directors and the Executive Director on the
general welfare of older adults and people with disabilities
in the areas served by NWSDS (Clatsop, Marion, Polk,
Tillamook and Yamhill counties). It is to also advise the
Board of Directors on the services to older adults and people
with disabilities served by the Agency, and on all important
matters effecting the operations of the agency, except for
matters of personnel administration, staff pay, and benefits.
The agenda includes regular council business, public
comment, legislative updates, updates on NWSDS programs,
recommendations to the board of directors, and various
council member and agency reports.
Meeting Dates (SAC 10:30 am,
Joint 11:00 am, and DSAC 1:00 pm):
Thursday, January 20, 2022
Thursday, February 17, 2022
Thursday, March 17, 2022
Thursday, May 12, 2022
Thursday, July 21, 2022
Thursday, September 15, 2022
Thursday, November 17, 2022
The public can attend this meeting via zoom:
https://nwsds.zoom.us/j/353358393
Or by phone:
877 853 5247 Meeting ID: 353 358 393#
of the pandemic, unlike Nel-
son’s colleagues in Umatilla,
Wallowa and Grant coun-
ties. That meant the rolling
backlog of cases caused by
the court shutdowns in 2020
never had a chance to metas-
tasize into growing prob-
lems, like those felt in Wal-
lowa County.
“I’m now experienc-
ing what Mr. Primus has
been experiencing for quite
a bit,” Nelson said, refer-
ring to the Umatilla County
district attorney. “That’s a
unique thing for me to expe-
rience now. We really went
through the COVID-19 thing
fully staff ed, so I do think
we were in a better position
than any of the other coun-
ties, because while COVID
aff ected everybody, we
weren’t also dealing with a
staffi ng shortage at the same
time.”
But Nelson, like district
attorneys across northeastern
Oregon, is used to the chal-
lenges and the duty that is
asked of them. Nelson noted
that despite working through
every holiday — especially
now with his offi ce short
staff ed — his troubles are
eclipsed by the offi cials and
public he serves.
“Anytime law enforce-
ment is working, I have to
be working too,” Nelson
said. “If there’s a single offi -
cer out there that might need
to have a search warrant
reviewed, I need to be avail-
able. If it’s a weekend and
someone gets picked up on
a warrant, I need to be avail-
able. But I’m going home at
night. I’m with my family at
night. You know, there’s law
enforcement offi cers out on
the street, and they have it
harder than me. At the end of
the day, I’m a lucky guy.”
And while other coun-
ties have their own version
of a deputy district attorney
shortage, and some noted the
lack of attorneys may make
cases take longer and require
more attention, none of them
have said the lack of lawyers
will aff ect their ability to
prosecute crimes and defend
victims’ rights.
“Our offi ce has worked
with a shortage of attorneys
before and likely will again,”
Union County District Attor-
ney Kelsie McDaniel said.
“We strive to make sure that
the citizens don’t see any dif-
ference in the work coming
out of our offi ce on behalf of
Union County.”
NorthWest
Senior &
Disability
Services
BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2022
PUBLIC MEETING SCHEDULE
NorthWest Senior & Disability Services (NWSDS) has
a five-member Board of Directors (BOD) consisting of a
County Commissioner from each of the counties they serve
(Clatsop, Marion, Polk, Tillamook and Yamhill counties). The
function of the BOD is to advise NWSDS management on all
important matters affecting the operations of the agency.
The public may attend any of the BOD meetings unless it
is an Executive Session. The agenda includes regular board
business, public comment, legislative updates, updates on
NWSDS programs, and various board and agency reports.
Meetings will be held from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
on these dates:
January 3, 2022
February 7, 2022
March 7, 2022
April 4, 2022
May 2, 2022
June 6, 2022
August 1, 2022
October 3, 2022
November 7, 2022
December 5, 2022
The public may attend these meetings via zoom:
https://nwsds.zoom.us/j/93970835127?
pwd=djc2bWY2R0hjL1Z3OWQvaE5pUm9jQT09
Or by phone:
877-853-5247 US Toll-free, Meeting ID: 939 7083 5127
A meeting passcode is required to join the zoom meeting.
To request a passcode, accommodations/accessibility, or
interpreter, or for questions, contact Zaira Flores Marin at
503-304-3451 or zaira.flores@nwsds.org. Requests should be
made at least 48 hours before the event.
For questions about accessibility or to request an
accommodation, please contact Gloria Kincade at
503-304-3482 or gloria.kincade@nwsds.org.
Requests should be made at least 48 hours
prior to the event.
To learn more, visit:
https://nwsds.org/index.php/home/about-us/
advisory-councils/
To learn more visit:
https://nwsds.org/index.php/home/about-us/
board-of-directors/