Oregon Governor Kate Brown has announced that she will appoint Steve Hoddle and Robert Johnson to the Douglas County Circuit Court. Hoddle will fill Position 2, replacing Judge William Marshall, and Johnson will fill Position 4, replacing Judge Frances Burge.

Brown congratulated Judge Marshall and Judge Burge on their planned retirements, and thanked them for their service. Hoddle and Johnson’s appointments are effective immediately.

Last month, Hoddle and Johnson each won a majority of votes in their judicial elections in Douglas County. The Governor’s appointments will allow both to begin their judicial service before the start of their elected terms on the Douglas County bench.

“Steve Hoddle and Robert Johnson have earned the support of Douglas County voters to become the newest judges on the trial court bench,” said Governor Brown. “I look forward to seeing how both of these skilled lawyers use their experience to serve the people of Douglas County, while continuing to build on the strength of our justice system.”

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Hoddle has been a prosecutor with the Douglas County District Attorney’s office since 2008 and, for 15 months before that, was a deputy district attorney for the Coos County District Attorney’s office. He grew up in Sherwood and is a graduate of Oregon State University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 2002, and Willamette University College of Law, where he obtained his law degree in 2006.

Johnson was raised in Oregon and, after attending Umpqua Community College, graduated from Portland State University with his bachelor’s degree in 2011. He obtained his law degree from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2014. After law school, Johnson served as a law clerk with the Douglas County Circuit Court before starting as an attorney at Douglas County Law in Roseburg in 2016. Since 2018, he has been an attorney at the law firm of Dole Coalwell, where he is currently a partner. Johnson is also a board member of the Umpqua Community College Foundation, the Douglas County Parks Advisory Board, and CASA of Douglas County, and a member of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission.


--Bruce Armstrong

Post Date: 2022-06-07 18:26:32

Last Update: 2022-06-07 18:35:33