Title: In re Mendiguren
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: S54356
State: Oregon
Issuer: Oregon Supreme Court
Date: March 23, 2007

FILED: March 23, 2007
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON
Inquiry Concerning a Judge re:
THE HONORABLE PHILIP A. MENDIGUREN,
Accused.
(CJFD 05-112; SC S54356)
En Banc
On review of the Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability Stipulation of
Facts and Consent to Censure.
Submitted on the record January 17, 2007.
The Honorable Philip A. Mendiguren, pro se.
Michael B. Collins, Beaverton, attorney for Commission on Judicial Fitness and
Disability.
PER CURIAM
The accused is censured. 
PER CURIAM
This is a proceeding under ORS 1.420, (1) ORS 1.430, (2) and Article VII
(Amended), section 8, of the Oregon Constitution, to inquire into the conduct of a circuit
court judge.  The Oregon Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability (Commission)
and the accused, Honorable Philip A. Mendiguren, a judge of the Circuit Court of the
State of Oregon for Union and Wallowa counties, agreed to a Stipulation of Facts and
Consent to Censure (stipulation), in which the accused stipulated that he engaged in
conduct that violated the Oregon Code of Judicial Conduct JR 1-101(E) (prohibiting
family, social, or other relationships from influencing judicial conduct) and JR 1-102(A)
(providing party and lawyer right to be heard).
We set out the stipulation:
"STIPULATED FACTS
"1. At all materials times herein, Judge Philip Mendiguren was a Circuit
Court Judge for the State of Oregon.
"2. Judge Mendiguren is a Circuit Court Judge for Union and Wallowa
counties.  On February 24, 2004, Judge Mendiguren sat as a visiting judge in Malheur
Circuit Court Case No. 03-05-3811C, State of Oregon v. Jesse Lee Yager.  The trial was
held at the Malheur County Courthouse in Vale, Oregon. 
"3. Mr. Yager, the defendant in the case, was accused of spitting on a
prison guard, a felony (Assault III), at the Snake River Correctional Institution, where he
was incarcerated.
"4. Judge Mendiguren's brother was employed as a guard at the Snake
River Correctional Institution in Ontario, Oregon, as of the date of the trial.
"5. At the beginning of the trial, Mr. Yager put an oral waiver of a jury
trial on the record.  Judge Mendiguren accepted the waiver of a jury trial and then went
into chambers, prior to commencement of the trial, with Mr. Yager's defense attorney,
Manuel Perez, and the State's attorney, Lung Hung.
"6. During the meeting in chambers, which occurred off the record,
Judge Mendiguren informed both counsel that his brother worked at the Snake River
Correctional Institution.  Judge Mendiguren further requested that Mr. Yager not be
informed of that fact, because he was concerned that his brother would be subjected to
abuse by prison inmates if Mr. Yager learned this information.  Judge Mendiguren does
not recall making this request, but accepts the statements of Mr. Perez and Mr. Hung that
the request was made by him.
"7. As requested by Judge Mendiguren, neither attorney revealed to Mr.
Yager that Judge Mendiguren's brother was employed as a guard at Mr. Yager's prison.  
"8. At the conclusion of the case, Judge Mendiguren found Mr. Yager
guilty of the charge.
"9. Shortly after Mr. Yager was convicted, Mr. Perez decided he should
have advised his client that Judge Mendiguren's brother worked as a guard at the prison. 
After Mr. Yager was so informed by his attorney, he filed a formal petition for post-conviction relief, seeking to set aside his conviction on the grounds that he was not
informed of Judge Mendiguren's relationship with a prison guard, and had he been so
informed, he would have sought his recusal.
"10. On November 7, 2005, the State stipulated to the allowance of the
post-conviction petition, and Mr. Yager's conviction was set aside.
"CONSENT TO CENSURE
"1. Respondent agrees and stipulates that the behaviors described above
are violations of Sections JR 1-101(E) and JR 1-101(A) of the Oregon Code of Judicial
Conduct adopted by the Oregon Supreme Court.
"2. Respondent agrees and stipulates that based on such facts, the
Commission could find that respondent's conduct justifies censure and recommend the
censure to the Oregon Supreme Court.
"3. Respondent agrees to execute, and does hereby execute, this consent
to censure as authorized by the terms of ORS 1.420(c), et seq."
Pursuant to ORS 1.430(2), the court has reviewed the stipulation of facts
and the disciplinary action to which the accused has consented.  The court approves the
consent to censure.
The accused is censured.
1. ORS 1.420(1)(c) provides:
"The [Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability] may allow the judge to
execute a consent to censure * * *[.] If a consent is entered into under this
paragraph, the judge and the commission must enter into a written stipulation of
facts.  The consent and stipulation of facts shall be submitted by the commission
to the Supreme Court."
2. ORS 1.430(2) provides, in part:
"If the [Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability] has agreed to allow the
judge to submit a consent to censure, * * * the Supreme Court shall review the
stipulation of facts and the disciplinary action to which the judge has consented. 
If the Supreme Court approves the consent, the court shall censure the judge[.]"