Former Wasco County DA Eric Nisley Sues Wasco County, Oregon Attorney General
Wasco County Courthouse
Former Wasco County DA Eric J. Nisley is suing Wasco County, Oregon’s Attorney General and Attorney Deputy over his removal from the Wasco County DA’s office following the temporary suspension of his license to practice law by the Oregon State Bar, after he was found to be lying to investigators.
From the lawsuit.
Nisley called the Attorney General's interpretation of state law “strained, unfounded, and incorrect" alleged that the actions which were taken by the Attorney General and Deputy General “stigmatized him, tarnished his reputation, and limited his ability to pursue his chosen profession.” Nisley noted that he had been offered a temporary position as Hood River County DA but that the offer had been rescinded. He has now been offered a temporary job as a Deputy District Attorney in Jefferson County.
Nisley is seeking $1 million in economic damages including lost wages and benefits, and $2 million in punitive damages.
Nisley temporarily lost his license to practice law after the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that Nisley had violated the Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct when he lied to investigators six times about having launched a retaliatory covert investigation into loans given by the county finance director after she rejected Nisley’s sexual advances.
An affadavit signed by former Wasco County Finance Director, Monica Morris.
The finance director, said she was shocked, appalled, and emphatically refused Nisely’s advances. Following that event, she later filed a complaint saying that Nisley had begun engaging in non-sexual but intimidating behavior towards her. Nisley subpoenaed Morris’s emails as a part of his investigation into the loans and then lied about his investigation to the Oregon State Bar, leading to his suspension.
Following the ruling by the Oregon Supreme Court, which temporarily suspended Nisley’s license for 60 days, the Attorney General advised Oregon Gov. Kate Brown that the Office of the Wasco County DA was considered to be ‘vacated’ as a result of Nisley ‘ceasing to possess qualifications (an active law license) required for election or appointment to such office’ and that Nisley was considered to have ‘vacated office’.
In the civil suit brought forth against the Oregon State Attorney General, Deputy, and Wasco County by Nisley and his lawyer, Nisley alleged the state gave him no notice before they ended his health insurance coverage and stopped paying him on February 10th, 2020. He also alleged that he was denied his due process rights and claimed that officials had acted without authority to overturn the will of Wasco County voters who had elected him and wrongfully deprived him of his livelihood by not allowing him to complete his term once his suspension ended on April 15th, 2020.
The state later reappointed him to office in October of 2020 following the Oregon Supreme Court Ruling in September that found Nisley to be the lawful holder of office despite his temporary 60-day suspension from practicing law.
Nisley then returned to the office of the Wasco County DA and finished his term. Nisley, who had been a controversial figure in the community, served as Wasco County DA for 5 terms but lost his reelection campaign to criminal defense lawyer Matt Ellis. OPB called Ellis’s win a result of a demand for changes to the Criminal Justice System.
Matt Ellis was elected to the DA’s office in a landslide victory, in which nearly 72% of voters voted for Ellis.
