Oregon judge warms to allowing second-graders to serve as jurors in hit-and-run cases

An Oregon judge is facing heat for allowing second graders to serve as special jurors in a runaway trial that took place in April.

Clackamas County District Attorney John Wentworth is turning up the heat on Judge Ulanda Watkins. Earlier this month, Wentworth wrote a letter to a senior judge, Judge Michael Wetzel, raising alarms about Watkins' conduct.

Wentworth wrote in the letter that “a large group of second graders entered the courtroom, presumably as part of a field trip from a local elementary school,” during the hit-and-run trial, he reported . The Oregon one.

According to reports, the students were on a field trip from St. John the Apostle in Oregon City.

Watkins allegedly told the children they would help “decide what happened” in the case.

“The sophomores were allowed to sit in the jury box, a few feet away from the defendant, and were given notepads, just as a sworn juror would receive,” Wentworth wrote.

He added that Watkins even told the students they could interrupt the trial if they couldn't hear a witness.

“There was no inquiry by either party into whether they consented to this process or the consideration given to the victim, who was equally confused by what was happening,” Wentworth wrote.

In response to this story on social media, critics said the judge was out of his mind:

Wait, how is that a jury of peers? Unless the accused were primary school students.

— enlightenedNotwokeRN (@girlmichal515) June 19, 2024

pic.twitter.com/k5a785EqFj

— Brandon Webb (@WebbBh) June 19, 2024

But it gets worse. The judge had the certified law student who tried the case, Christa Doerbeck, share her opening statement and exhibits with the children.

Doerbeck later alerted the district attorney's office to the presence of children in the jury room.

“Two assistant district attorneys went to investigate and reported what they saw to Chief Assistant District Attorney Chris Owen. Owen also went into the courtroom “where he observed twelve young children in the jury room as the trial progressed. “, according to The Oregonian.

When Owen tried to bring the matter to Wetzel's attention, Wetzel interrupted his trial to intervene.

“We understand that you were subsequently alerted to the situation, took a break from your trial, and removed the second graders from Judge Watkins' courtroom,” Wentworth wrote.

Meanwhile, another prosecutor tried to talk to Watkins about the defendant and victim's concerns, but she “refused to address the issues,” Wentworth noted in his letter.

“The reality of the matter was that the issues had not been addressed at all,” he added.

Watkins ended up acquitting hit-and-run defendant Samuel Varvara, an outcome Wentworth believes was “probably a foregone conclusion in such unusual circumstances.”

“Varvara represented himself at trial,” according to The Oregonian.

He was reportedly facing a charge of failing to perform the proper duties of a driver following an accident.

“He had been accused of damaging the side mirror of a woman's car before driving off without exchanging insurance information,” the newspaper noted.

“We can say with almost 100 percent certainty that if the defendant had been found guilty, his conviction would have been overturned,” Wentworth wrote. “The victim, who is a school teacher, considered the whole procedure to be unprofessional and confusing; a conclusion with which we agree.”

Wentworth added that while he appreciates Watkins' attempt to “educate young people about our criminal justice system,” his decision to recruit the children for trial “injected a significant flaw into a proceeding that affect the rights of both parties”.

On the day of the trial, Wetzel reportedly emailed Watkins complaining about how he “was getting some concerns about how the trial went this morning,” according to emails revealed by The Oregonian.

In response, Watkins wrote that she is “always happy to chat” and then asked him to specify the concerns. It is unclear whether Wetzel ever responded.

The whole matter was later reviewed by Chief Justice Meagan Flynn, who told Wentworth that Watkins “takes seriously his relationship with the litigants who appear regularly in court and his reputation for fairness, as do all of us “.

“Flynn attached a transcript of the proceedings to his response, calling it a 'useful starting point for a productive conversation,'” notes The Oregonian. “He also said it's not uncommon for participants in a court proceeding” to have different perceptions of the same events.”

Watkins was appointed to her post in 2017 by former Gov. Kate Brown, a rabid leftist. He ran unopposed in the last primaries.

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