Bynum blasts judge for disrespectful ruling about prison doctor February 03 2021
Lawmaker links substandard care ruling to structural racism; Chief Justice says courts are working on improvements.
Rep. Janelle Bynum has written to the Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court saying an Oregon judge should apologize for a ruling last week that criticized Oregon s top prison doctor, who is Black.
Chief Justice Martha Walters declined. But Bynum told the Portland Tribune she believes the lawmaker s concern about system racism found a receptive audience.
In a Jan. 27 ruling, Marion Circuit Judge Claudia M. Burton questioned the competence and credibility of Dr. Warren Roberts, the Chief Medical Officer for the Oregon Department of Corrections. The judge said Burton was evasive and unconvincing while defending unacceptable medical care for Richard F. Weaver, a Native American inmate who contracted COVID-19 last October.