McDaniel cleared by Oregon Bar Board
By Paul Hall on Friday, October 29th, 2021 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
UNION COUNTY – In April of 2020, Union County District Attorney Kelsie McDaniel filed a motion, order, affidavit, and supporting memorandum to disqualify Union County Circuit Court Judge Wes Williams pursuant to ORS 14.260 in State v. Royal, Union County Circuit Court Case No. 20CR20079. Although not required to do so, McDaniel’s memorandum provided specific examples of Judge Williams’ conduct that were intended to support her belief that Judge Williams could not be fair or impartial toward the State. The Union County District Attorney’s Office has filed the same motion package to disqualify Judge Williams in subsequent criminal cases.
In June of 2020 a complaint was filed to the Oregon State Bar Disciplinary Board by Anne Morrison, an attorney formerly in practice in Union County, Oregon. The complaint against McDaniel was related to ethical violations that Morrison believed that McDaniel had committed. The original complaint from Morrison can be found attached below.
The Oregon State Bar Disciplinary Board has recently reviewed the case and concluded that there is no probable cause to believe that McDaniel committed misconduct in violation of the Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct as in ORS Chapter 9. Findings from the Oregon State Bar Disciplinary Board can be found attached below.
Elkhorn Media Group spoke with McDaniel and she said, “My actions were driven at all times by my statutory and constitutional obligations as District Attorney for Union County. My representations have been and will continue to be truthful and accurate. When I learn of additional information, I clarify. I am pleased that the Oregon State Bar Professional Responsibility Board saw it the same way and dismissed the complaint in its entirety. Being the District Attorney comes with having to make difficult decisions, but I always strive to do the right thing.”
Union County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Powers indicated, “Any Attorney, whether it’s a District Attorney or an Attorney in private practice, can file a motion to disqualify a Judge if an Attorney has a suitable good faith belief that the judge can’t be fair or impartial in a case, which is available to any Lawyer.”
A statement from Anne Morrison,
“I am Anne Morrison, the attorney who filed the bar complaint against Union County District Attorney Kelsie McDaniel in June 2020. I’ve read your summary and I’m concerned that it omits the most critical fact. Yes, the Bar did dismiss my complaint. But the Bar did not find that McDaniel’s statements were “truthful” or “accurate.” Instead, the Bar created the first-time exception to longstanding rules and law requiring an attorney to be honest when presenting facts to a court.
Now, whether a misleading statement is a misrepresentation prohibited by ethical rules depends on the reason why the attorney lied. Because Oregon law allows an attorney to remove a judge simply because the attorney believes that the judge is biased, the Bar decided that statements made by McDaniel could not be misrepresentations even if they were inaccurate or untrue. Instead, the Bar decided that discrepancies between McDaniel’s descriptions and the actual transcripts should be viewed as simply reflecting McDaniel’s “perspective.” Apparently, the new rule is that when disqualifying a judge, an attorney is allowed to present made-up facts, even if they are deceptive. Now, an attorney can present just those facts which support her position and ignore all other facts, even if selecting only some facts creates a misleading picture.
In dismissing my complaint, the Bar did not exonerate McDaniel. Instead, for the first time in its history, the Bar created an exception to the requirement that an attorney must be absolutely honest when presenting facts to a court. This is not exactly the kind of dismissal that McDaniel should be crowing about.”
Documents of the complaint:
McDaniel_(Morrison)_ABL_AppealSupport.pdf
McDaniel_(Morrison)_DCO_DSM_Lttr_June2021.pdf
McDaniel_(Morrison)_LetterSPRB-DSMSept2021.pdf
McDaniel_(Morrison)_OrigInquiry.pdf
