Clarity from Supreme Court on Wasco DA to bring ‘smooth transition’

By Tom Peterson

Matthew Ellis, incoming Wasco County District Attorney, said it was good the Oregon Supreme Court clarified Eric Nisley’s Position as current DA for the county.

Incoming Wasco County District Attorney Matthew Ellis said the recent Oregon Supreme Court decision that puts District Attorney Eric Nisley back in office is welcome news.

“It’s good for the supreme court to give us some clarity, “Ellis said. “While the litigation has been pending, it’s been up in the air… It’s a good thing. There has been too much unknown since the election about who is going to be in charge…

It’s clear now. Nisley will hold the office until Ellis takes the reins on January 1. 

Nisley and Ellis squared off in the District Attorney’s race last spring, with Ellis getting the nod from voters with 70 percent of the ballot.

Ellis said he and Nisley spoke in July, and they had agreed to work together to transition the office.

Nisley was being prevented from holding the office after his law license  was suspended for 60 days for lying to state bar investigators about an investigation he pursued into a loan made by a county finance director.

The state attorney general’s office has been staffing the DA’s seat since February. 

Eric Nisley is finishing his term as Wasco County District Attorney.

On Sept. 24, The Oregon Supreme Court ruled Nisley did not lose his office following a 60-day suspension from the Oregon Bar Association.

Ellis could not exactly state how the transition would occur in weeks or months to come. Likely, information and documents will be shared between he and Nisley.

Nisley has pledged to make the transition as smooth as possible.

“This is how our country’s democracy works,” Ellis Said. “Somebody wins and somebody loses, and we want to be professional about it as I might be on the other side of it  one of these days.” 

Ellis in Preparation

He is currently working at the Multnomah District Attorney's Office, getting as much experience as he possibly can before starting work in Wasco County. 

“After the election, I found myself unemployed because I could not work in public defense and be the attorney elect,” Ellis said, noting the conflict of interest. 

“The Multnomah office is large enough that they can train a lot of district attorneys. They have been able to take me on for a temporary stint, and I am learning to be a prosecutor, and I get a paycheck and insurance too.”

He is commuting from his home in Hood River most days.

He said he is working with police, doing intake on domestic violence cases, making charging decisions and attending settlement conferences.  He has attended an autopsy in a homicide case and been trained by the state’s leading bias crime prosecutor, he said. In addition, he is taking felony cases before grand juries.