Six Alumni Appointed to the Bench 2017-18

Six Lewis & Clark Law School alumni were appointed as judges in late 2017 and early 2018. In addition, our Honorary Graduate Adrienne Nelson, ’11 was appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court.

“We are immensely proud of our alums and congratulate them. Their unique life experiences will enrich our judiciary,” noted Dean Jennifer Johnson.

Here is the list to date:

Jude Pate ’93

Serving on the Superior Court of Sitka Alaska. Pate was appointed by Alaska Governor Bill Walker.

Pate was born in Nuremberg, Germany, to a U.S. Army family, and he grew up in Kansas and Europe. He moved to Sitka in 1993 and worked as the legal counsel for the Sitka Tribe of Alaska until 1999, then switched to private practice for seven years. He has been an Assistant Public Defender in Sitka for the past 12 years.

In Oregon, Governor Kate Brown ’85 appointed 5 Lewis & Clark alums to the bench:

Ulanda Watkins, ’96

Serving in the Clackamas County District Court. She is the third African American female judge on the Oregon state bench, and the only judge of color on the bench in Clackamas County.

Xiomara Torres, ’02

Serving as family law judge on the Multnomah County Circuit Court. Once an illegal immigrant and foster child, her unusual path to the bench was featured in The Oregonian in October.

Patricia McGuire, ’95

Serving on the Multnomah County Circuit Court’s Family Department. Previously, McGuire was a private practice attorney with a long history of family law and complex civil litigation work.

Fay Stetz-Waters, ’05

Serving on the Linn County Circuit Court. Previously, Stetz-Waters was a civil rights investigator at Oregon State University and has worked at the Oregon Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision. She has also worked as an administrative law judge in the state’s Office of Administrative Hearings.

Raymond Crutchley ’99

Serving on the Deschutes County Circuit Court. He is the first African American to serve as a judge east of Oregon’s Cascade Mountains.