Judge interfered with murder investigation to help wife of victim, faces censure for violating standards of conduct

Deschutes County Circuit Court Judge Bethany Powers Flint

Circuit Court Judge Bethany Powers Flint (Deschutes County).

An Oregon judge is facing a public censure from the state Supreme Court after she stopped cops from interviewing the wife of a murder victim who was also her friend, documents say.

Deschutes County Circuit Court Judge Bethany Powers Flint agreed that she violated the state’s Code of Judicial Conduct when she interfered in the murder investigation and, in a separate incident, criticized the judge who handled another friend’s restraining order petition hearing.

The Oregon Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability recently issued a stipulation that described Flint’s offenses. According to the report posted by Central Oregon Daily News, Flint received a call about a murder investigation involving a friend on Oct. 9, 2022. Bend NBC affiliate KTVZ reported that Flint is friends with the wife of murder victim Leonard Peverieri.

Flint went to the home to find police detectives interviewing the wife. The judge “intervened in the conversation with law enforcement more than once,” the statement of facts in the report stated. She also asked if the wife wanted an attorney to which she responded “yes.” Flint then told the detectives that the wife needed a lawyer with her and “ended the questioning,” the document said. Flint also advised the wife and children of the victim not to speak to cops without a lawyer present.

She spoke with the count’s presiding judge, Wells B. Ashby, about the incident the next day. Flint then self-reported the matter to the commission. Ashby decided to move any future hearings in the murder investigation to a different circuit court.

“As presiding judge, I am responsible for the court and for maintaining the public’s trust and confidence in the court and the judicial system,” Ashby wrote in a memo obtained by KTVZ. “Preserving both the fact and appearance of impartiality and independence is essential to preserving confidence in our court system. The decision to have this matter handled by a judge from another circuit court was made in support of those values and consistent with the duties of a presiding judge.”

There have been no arrests in the murder. Peverieri, 70, was a well-known real estate developer in the area who was found shot to death in his driveway.

The other incident that landed Flint in hot water involved a different friend who was seeking a Family Abuse Prevention Act restraining order in September 2020, according to the commission. Flint informed her friend of the process to filing the petition and receive a hearing. After the hearing, the friend contacted Flint to tell her she felt she had been “treated poorly” by the issuing judge, the report said. The judge later spoke with Flint and inquired into how to generally handle restraining orders in which the petitioners that “appear to lack credibility.”

Realizing she was talking about her friend, Flint complained about the judge’s “tone” during the hearing. Flint also wrote an “opinion letter” about the judge to set aside another restraining order case, the commission noted.

According to the commission, Flint’s actions failed to meet the high standards of judicial conduct and reflected poorly on her character. She also violated to rules that state judges should not use their position to gain favor for herself or others.

The state supreme court must approve or deny the public censure punishment. Then-Gov. Kate Brown appointed Flint to the bench in 2016. Before the appointment she had served as a family law attorney in Deschutes County since 2003.

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Judge interfered with murder investigation to help wife of victim, faces censure for violating standards of conduct

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Judge interfered with murder investigation to help wife of victim, faces censure for violating standards of conduct

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