By Bill Bishop
The Register-Guard [Portland OR]
April 24, 2007
http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/04/24/e1.cr.velure.0424.p1.php?section=cityregion
In the wake of his success helping to settle the most public and most complex litigation in state history - the lawsuits of hundreds of sexual abuse victims that triggered bankruptcy for the Archdiocese of Portland - Lane County Circuit Judge Lyle Velure announced Monday that he is retiring July 1.
Velure, 67, is nationally recognized as a mediator whose work has saved legal fees, delays and frustrations for parties involved in complex lawsuits. His work also has spared public courts the enormous expense of months or years of legal wrangling in complex cases, U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan said Monday.
"I consider him Exhibit A on why state judges in Oregon should have a salary increase," Hogan added. State judges make $95,800 annually.
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| Judge Lyle Velure (left) shakes hands with Archbishop John Vlazny after the settlement of the abuse lawsuit against the Portland Archdiocese. Photo by Kevin Clark/The Register-Guard |
Hogan said a prominent lawyer involved in the archdiocese settlement described Velure as "the absolute magician of mediation."
Ten years ago, Velure settled more than 300 lawsuits by Oregon women injured by failed breast implants.
In 1999, he and U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken mediated a $30 million lawsuit involving dozens of homeowners whose property was threatened by the erosion of a huge oceanfront sand dune at The Capes in Tillamook County.
In the same year, he and U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan settled $300 million in claims by 70 parties in 37 lawsuits over cost overruns in the $1.4 billion construction of the Hyundai computer chip plant in Eugene.
But the high point of his judicial career came in the past nine months, when he and Hogan negotiated settlements in at least 175 sexual abuse lawsuits against the archdiocese, resolved complex disputes among the archdiocese and 10 insurance companies, and brought a complete resolution of all the issues through a bankruptcy reorganization plan for the church.
Participants said the quagmire could have bogged down in the legal system for a decade had it not been negotiated to a close. The judges did it without compensation beyond their regular judicial salaries.
"It is an unparalleled achievement, truly," Lane County Presiding Judge Mary Ann Bearden said Monday. "He is not replaceable. He does the impossible on a routine basis."
Velure achieves settlements with the broad knowledge of insurance and business he gained in private practice, a huge measure of common sense, tireless energy and an eye for finding common ground among warring parties, Bearden said.
Velure also handled many of the community's highest profile criminal case - including a death penalty trial of Jesse Caleb Compton and the arson case of Jeffrey Michael Luers. An appeals court earlier this year overturned Velure's sentence of Luers.
Behind the scenes, Velure mentors many young lawyers and is generous in helping people in need, Oregon Court of Appeals Chief Judge David Brewer said.
"That process of mentoring has been overlooked by so many in the profession. It passes the torch. He has helped so many young people find their place in the profession, their first job," Brewer said.
Velure said Monday he has no specific plans for retirement.
As he has so many times when speaking from the bench, Velure lamented the state's downward slide in funding education - particularly for athletics, art, music and other subjects that keep children in school and away from drugs.
Repeating another familiar refrain, he urged lawmakers to increase funding for courts, as well as for drug abuse prevention and treatment.
"The public is not aware of the massive problem that substance abuse is," he said.
Looking back, Velure said he found his settlement work to be the most rewarding of his career.
"All of them had different sets of emotion. All of them were difficult," he said. "It's certainly been interesting."
Velure also handled some of the area's most notorious criminal cases.
A jury sent Compton to death row in 1998 for the torture-murder of 3-year-old Tesslynn O'Cull - a case described by Springfield police investigators as the worst child abuse they'd ever seen. It sparked a public outpouring of concern and a surge in child abuse reporting.
advertisement The Luers case continues to draw the attention of environmental activists who consider Luers a "political prisoner" after Velure sentenced him to more than 22 years in prison in 2001 for setting fire to three SUVs at the former Romania Truck Center and an attempted arson at Tyee Oil Company in Eugene.
The state court of appeals this year upheld all 10 of Luers' felony convictions, but ruled that Velure incorrectly sentenced Luers to back-to-back prison terms. The appeals court ruling was based on changes in the law since Velure sentenced Luers. The ruling leaves Luers facing a total sentence of at least 11 years and up to 13 years.
A Coos Bay native, Velure was in private law practice from 1966 until Gov. Barbara Roberts appointed him to the Lane County bench in 1994. He graduated at the top of his class from the University of Oregon School of Law.
Velure first decided to retire hours before an election filing deadline last year, but reversed course after the move raised criticism for possibly violating judicial ethics. Velure had alerted his long time friend, Eugene lawyer Rohn Roberts, of his retirement plan - clearing the way for Roberts to file at the last minute for an unopposed election to the bench. Roberts withdrew from the election and Velure ran unopposed for another six-year term.
With Velure's early retirement, the governor will appoint his replacement.
But Velure's retirement probably is not going to be the end of his career as a mediator, said Eugene lawyer Bill Honsowetz, a longtime friend and golf partner of Velure's.
"He is not the type of guy to sit by the fire and read a book," Honsowetz said. "It was a labor of love for Lyle. I think he's going to miss it."
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