THE U.S. DIstRICT COURT OF OREGON HIstORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLEttER President’s Message Graffiti in the Time of Protests By Julie Engbloom, USDCHS President The quote, etched in granite on the front of Continue on page 7 www.usdchs.org Spring/Summer 2020 1 The Investiture of U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut By U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman O 2 U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society By U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman enter the courtroom and sit behind The hardest part of my job dur- On Liberty, During a Pandemic the bench in silence, without the ing this pandemic has been telling I ceremonial “all rise.” Instead of an individual, as we sit face-to-face, greeting the defendant, defense law- that I cannot sign his release order. yer, prosecutor, and a small crowd of No one could have predicted that a onlookers in the gallery, I sit alone video hearing could create a more inti- and turn on my computer. On the mate connection between judge and monitor, the split-screen captures defendant, compared to the antiseptic video feeds from all over the state: courtroom where the defendant usu- an individual in custody in federal ally sits far from the judge. In our new prison, a defense lawyer sitting at his virtual courtroom, I cannot escape kitchen table, the prosecutor sitting in what I see in the eyes in front of me. her home office, a court reporter, an But still I must tell many of them no. interpreter, and me, seated and robed I also see the eyes of those to whom at my courtroom bench, positioned in I am able to give liberty. Some have front of our federal court seal. Court sat in prison for months, and now a is in session. virus has given them the chance to Thanks to our prescient Chief Judge prove that they deserved the chance. Marco Hernández, all live federal Their quick smiles and quiet “thank courthouse proceedings in the district yous” give me hope, but I also hold of Oregon were shut down on March in custody. To deny release would be my breath as I hope that my release 13, 2020. But the law requires that a “death sentence.” In mid-March, calculus was correct. newly arrested individuals be brought the motions suggested the possibility I keep my judicial “mask” on dur- before a judge without unnecessary of COVID-19 exposure in the Bureau ing these hearings, but I must remove delay, and so the show must go on. I of Prisons. By mid-April, the motions it for a moment to breathe. Deciding was the magistrate judge on duty for cited the hundreds of already infected liberty during a pandemic is a heavy all criminal matters in the Portland BOP inmates and staff. weight, made even heavier because courthouse for the month of March, With every new request for release, of the close connection I feel to the and covering for a colleague in early I struggled. In federal court, we human beings sitting in front of me. April, and was therefore tasked with imprison those charged with a crime I meet them where they are, in their virtualizing our daily criminal cal- only if they present a serious risk of prison block. I am close enough to endar. For the first few days of video danger to the community or risk of read their eyes, and I feel their human- court proceedings, it was business as flight. As a result, most individuals ity. They are scared, and I am scared usual (aside from the frequent “Can in federal custody pending trial are you hear me?”). Then the floodgates not first-time or non-violent offend- opened. ers. Most are charged with serious Motions from pre-trial detainees crimes or have lengthy criminal his- requesting release from prison in tories. On one hand, arguments for response to the pandemic began to wide-scale release resonated. On trickle in. More motions followed, the other, I found myself signing an reading less like legal filings and alarming number of new bank rob- more like medical charts, detailing bery complaints, noting an uptick each defendant’s underlying medical in local shots fired, and concerned conditions and comorbidities: asthma, about the increase in calls to domestic diabetes, high blood pressure, obe- violence hotlines. On a case-by-case sity, heart failure. The tone of the basis, I was charged with balancing release requests changed as the virus the serious health risks of keeping an spread, citing the court’s ethical and individual in custody with the serious moral duty to release all individuals risk to the community if released. www.usdchs.org Spring/Summer 2020 3 Open for Business, Waiting for the Flood By Stephen Raher hile the COVID-19 pan- demic took most people by Wsurprise, Oregon’s bank- ruptcy court was actually well-pre- pared for the disruptions. “We have been working on our emergency pre- paredness plans for years,” says Clerk of Court Charlene Hiss. “While these contingency plans are usually imple- mented for weather-related disrup- tions, they have worked just as well during the current health-related lockdown.” According to Chief Bankruptcy Judge Trish Brown, “The court focused on three goals when we revised our operations and proce- dures: complying with public health guidelines, remaining open for all people and businesses who need our services, and protecting our staff and customers.” Complying with stay-at-home orders and social distancing guide- lines has meant having nearly all staff work remotely. The court’s Portland office remains open but is staffed only by a handful of on-site employ- ees; the Eugene office is temporarily 4 U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society COPING IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 In These Unprecedented Times? Pandemic and a Private Practitioner By Joseph Carlisle ’ve heard the phrase “in these more time with my family is a silver unprecedented times” used in lining (at least for me, you’d have to Ivirtually every type of communi- ask them how they feel about it). cation – from business calls to adver- Professionally, I tried an admin- tisements over the past months. Its use istrative case by telephone over two has grown tired and I’m not sure it is days, I had three telephone hear- entirely accurate. I write this missive ings, and I’ve stated to reschedule from a desk that belonged to my great depositions – by video of course. Bankruptcy Clerk of Court grandfather, who practiced law in New I’ve also filed various motions and Charlene Hiss keeps things moving York City in the late 1800s and early responses, as well as complaints and working from her home office. 1900s. About a month into my cur- answers, negotiated leases and busi- has meant conducting most hearings rent work-from-home stint, I realized ness divorces, and handled a variety by phone. Although the bankruptcy that I am working at the desk that my of other matters; all from the my court already relied heavily on phone forbears worked from during the 1918 home office. I have become more hearings for minor matters, all hear- Influenza Pandemic. This gives me skilled at video calls, such as control- ings and mediations during the past confidence that, one way or another, ling my background and learning to two months have been via phone. we will make it through our current mute myself. But I have found that In the early days of Oregon’s stay- health crisis as those before us did. everything seems to take longer, and at-home order, courtroom deputy This is not to say that my life has video calls are not only a poor sub- clerks were needed in the courtroom not changed dramatically, both per- stitute for in-person meetings, they to record proceedings, but staff mem- sonally and professionally. March are also exhausting. bers from different offices focused 13, 2020 was the last day I spent any Finally, the monotony of work- on methods for remote recording, appreciable time at my firm, Buckley ing from home and the stress from and now all courtroom deputies are Law. Since then, I’ve gone in four the health and financial uncertainty performing their duties seamlessly times, each time after hours, only to can be, at times, unbearable. It is in from home. pick up office supplies. Every time has those moments that I remind myself Modifying court operations has been eerie. My morning commute has that I am fortunate to have work and taken extra time and effort, but the been replaced by throwing the ball to be able to do it from home. I also project has been aided by a sharp for my three dogs and working in remind myself that those who came drop in bankruptcy filings in recent my quarantine garden. My evening before us found a way to survive (even months. “We all know that the eco- commute has been replaced by shoot- without the internet and Zoom), and nomic downturn will result in a flood ing hoops and throwing the ball for thus I will too. of filings soon—we just don’t know my dogs (my outside when the floodgates will open,” says jump shot has come a Judge Brown. In the meantime, the long way). I take (i.e., bankruptcy court is open for business. compel) my kids on long walks to see some- thing outside of the con- Check out our official fines of our yard during Twitter feed @ my former coffee and USDCHS for “new” historical lunch breaks.