Forest Grove attorney, a former North Plains judge, arrested in elder abuse case

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Forest Grove attorney, a former North Plains judge, arrested in elder abuse case


Published: Friday, September 09, 2011, 4:34 PM Updated: Friday, September 09, 2011, 4:55 PM
By Rebecca Woolington, The Oregonian The Oregonian


A former North Plains Municipal Court judge and longtime Forest Grove attorney has been arrested in connection with an elder abuse case involving his mother-in-law, the Forest Grove Police Department reported.

A Washington County grand jury indicted Robert A. Browning, 66, on seven counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment, a felony, said Capt. Mike Herb, a Forest Grove police spokesman. The case, Herb said, will be prosecuted by the state's Department of Justice because Browning's served as an attorney in Washington County so long.

When Browning resigned as judge from North Plains in January, he alluded to a possible investigation in his letter to the city. The investigation by police, the justice department, the state adult protective services program and the Oregon State Bar began in July 2010,

Browning announced his resignation from his position as the North Plains municipal court judge on Jan. 7, and it was immediately effective. He was hired as judge after former Municipal Court Judge Steven Leskin resigned last September.

In his letter to the city, Browning attributed his resignation "in part to medical issues" that he said also led to his need to resign from the Oregon State Bar. Browning wrote that the city's charter doesn't require the judge to be a member of the state bar, but he believed having an "actively practicing attorney" as judge was best for the city.

Browning also said that a family member had accused him of financial elder abuse against a relative.

"While I anticipate being absolved of the complaint," he wrote, "I believe my defense of the same would be a distraction to the public and to city officials such as to make my continued service as judge inadvisable."

Browning practiced business and real estate law with Browning Law Offices LLC, a Forest Grove firm that is registered to him, according to police and state records. The Oregon State Bar shows Browning as an active member, who's had membership since 1979. Browning has no disciplinary sanctions, according to the bar. Herb said that Browning also served as Gaston's municipal court judge.

Amy Jeanine Moore, 40, a secretary at Browning's law firm, was also arrested Friday on charges of identity theft and fraudulent use of a credit card. Authorities learned of Moore's alleged criminal activity during their investigation of Browning, Herb said.

Moore's charges stem from her use of a credit card that belonged to a deceased client of the law firm, police said. Transactions using the credit card occurred in June and July 2010, police said, about a year after the client had died.

Browning and Moore both turned themselves into detectives at the Washington County jail Friday, Herb said. They will be arraigned Sept. 20.

– Rebecca Woolington; Twitter @rwoolington

Please read complete article at link below:

http://www.oregonlive.com/forest-grove/index.ssf/2011/09/forest_grove_attorney_a_former_north_plains_judge_arrested_in_elder_abuse_case.html

Editor's note: I don't believe even the scumbag judges in the Probate Court of Cook County would stoop to abusing their own relatives...or would they? Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com