Occupation: Circuit Court Judge for Jackson County.
Occupational Background: Attorney, 1983-1997. Legislative
Advisor to Senator Mark Hatfield. Worked in the Oregon woods as a logger.
Educational Background: University of Oregon School
of Law, JD (Associate Editor, Oregon Law Review). Brigham Young University,
BS.
Prior Governmental Experience: Circuit Court Judge
for Jackson County, 1997 to present. Court-appointed arbitrator, 1988-1997.
State Council on Court Procedures, 1997 to present. State Bench/Bar Commission
on Professionalism, 1999 to present (Chair, 2004). Ashland School Board, 1997.
Ashland Planning Commission, 1988-1992. Legislative Advisor to Senator Mark
Hatfield, 1976-1978.
JUDGE HARRIS IS COMMITTED TO
FAMILY, CHILDREN AND COMMUNITY
As a parent: Little league manager and coach, 1991-2003. YMCA basketball coach, 1994-2002. Boy Scout leader, 1994 to present. 4-H advisor, 1994-99.
As a judge: Organizer and host of the TV program “The People’s Law Forum,” 1991 to present. National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, 1998 to present. American Judges Association, 2000 to present. Instructor at the “New Judges School,” 2001 to present.
JUDGE HARRIS IS A LEADER AND AN INNOVATOR
IN THE LEGAL COMMUNITY
Jury innovations: Through the Council on Court Procedures, Judge Harris has been successful in changing court rules in Oregon to (1) allow jurors to ask questions of witnesses, (2) require judges to put jury instructions in writing and (3) streamline and improve the process of conducting a jury trial.
(This information furnished by Dan Harris.)