Circuit Judge Joanna Marikos presides over the 6th Judicial District Treatment Court on Sept. 6, 2024, at the Umatilla County Courthouse in Pendleton. Marikos is running against John Ballard to keep her seat on the court.

Two candidates are vying in the November general election in the only contested race for a seat on the 6th Judicial District Court.

Judges on the circuit court decide cases in Umatilla and Morrow counties. Whoever wins the election will serve a six-year term. Gov. Tina Kotek in February appointed Joanna Marikos to the fifth position on the court, and John Ballard is challenging her for the seat.

Marikos, a Willamette University College of Law graduate who worked in private practice before becoming a public defender, most recently was a treatment court and pro tem judge before moving up to the circuit court. She has been a member of the Oregon State Bar since 2000.

Ballard, a private family law, divorce and criminal defense attorney, graduated from the University of North Dakota School of Law and has been a member of the Oregon State Bar since 1997. During a circuit court judge candidate forum in Pendleton earlier this year, Ballard said from his private practice, he is “used to a fast pace (and) a heavy caseload.”

During the forum, Marikos said her most meaningful experience as a lawyer has been giving people a voice and facilitating what they want. Ballard said his was the day-in, day-out work of giving people guidance and helping them through trauma.

Areas of difference

At the candidate forum in April, however, there were moments distinguishing the two.

Speaking to their roles as judges, Marikos and Ballard told the public what personality trait they believe would best serve them on the bench. Marikos focused on compassion while Ballard focused on work ethic.

“I feel like compassion plays in both ways, whether I’m finding for a person, but almost more particularly when I’m having to find against someone,” she said. “To be able to do it compassionately is extremely important to me, so I think that serves me best.”

Ballard, on the other hand, said he believes in time efficiency.

“I spend a lot of time researching things, analyzing what this may cause downstream,” he said. “Court time is extremely valuable and very scarce at this point, and I think that I am pretty good at ferreting out and using my time and the time of other people effectively.”

The two also differed in the way they think about considering cultural diversity when deciding cases. For Marikos, who said her father was an immigrant, the focus was on keeping cultural differences in mind, while Ballard centered his answer on consistency.

“It just really is part of the fabric of people when they come from a different culture,” Marikos said. “I think it’s absolutely critical to pay attention to people. I think if we can be really mindful of trying to meet people where they are so that we understand, then it allows us as judges to be much more effective in bringing their voice to their issues, to the court, and I think it’s just a matter of respecting each individual that’s in front of the court.”

Everyone has implicit biases, Ballard said, so the important thing as a judge is offering uniformity, at least for criminal cases. With family law cases, he said, there’s more room for individuality since each family looks different. Overall, however, Ballard said consistency is important so that everyone is “treated relatively equal, with small adjustments made here and there as need be.”

Addiction approaches

To a question about drug addiction cases, Marikos said resources are a major challenge — many treatment programs simply do not have enough beds or support staff, she said — but in her experience with the treatment court, she has seen that “everyone is working really hard to be as creative as they can be,” and that she is “really hopeful” for the program.

After acknowledging that treatment is important, Ballard said there must be “a deterrent,” and talked about a friend of his who only found sobriety after serving jail time.

“A lot of these people,” he said, “we can’t get them into a situation where they’re going to sober up so they can actually have that thinking process that’s appropriate for the situation they’re in.”

Ballard indicated his support of jailing as a deterrent plus the use of the treatment court to help people maintain their sobriety.

This is not Ballard’s first attempt at serving on the circuit court. In 2016, he also ran for a seat on the court. At that time, he had to defend a 2014 trial panel review that was investigating whether he’d violated state law. In a 2-1 decision, he was acquitted, despite the panel’s unanimous disavowal of Ballard’s actions.

During the May primary election, Marikos and Ballard beat two other candidates for Position 5. For other circuit court positions, Eva Temple ran unopposed to continue serving in Position 4, while Rob Collins beat Thomas Creasing with almost 71% of the vote to hold on to his role in Position 1.

The election is Nov. 5. More information on local races and ballot measures can be found at county websites. Voters can check their registration online through the Oregon Secretary of State, and must register by Oct. 15 to receive a ballot.