Woodburn Independent | Local News | County judge under investigation

County judge under investigation

Details, nature of investigation not released

Published: 2/1/2010 1:40:38 PM

Marion County Circuit Court Judge Lynn E. Ashcroft is under investigation and not currently serving on the bench, the Statesman Journal reported last week.

County and state officials have not named the agency conducting the investigation or released any details about the nature of the allegations.

Ashcroft stopped working Wednesday afternoon, the Statesman Journal reported, and no information has been released about when he might return. A judge from another county will handle his caseload in the meantime.

Ashcroft, 60, was appointed to the judgeship in June 2008 after the retirement of Judge Terry Leggert. He was then elected to the position, with a term set to expire Jan. 7, 2013.
r /> The Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability, which investigates allegations that judges violated ethics rules, is not conducting the investigation, the Statesman Journal reported, and the Department of Justice has declined to comment whether it is investigating criminal allegations against the judge. There are no criminal charges against Ashcroft.

Ashcroft graduated from University of the Pacific in 1979 with a law degree and worked in private practice for about 20 years before becoming a pro-tem judge. He has been a member of the Oregon State Bar since 1979. A member of the military, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and commanding general for the Oregon State Defense Force in 2004. He is also owner of a custom motorcycle design and fabrication shop, Ashcroft Motorcycles, in Salem.

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