A Clackamas County judge last week quashed a subpoena filed by a defense lawyer who wanted the sheriff, district attorney and chair of the board of commissioners to testify about police personnel records in a felony drug case.

Presiding Circuit Judge Kathie Steele handed down the decision during a brief court hearing last week, ruling that testimony and records sought by attorney John Henry Hingson aren't relevant to the case.

Hingson declined to comment on the ruling Tuesday.

Hingson represents a man charged in a drug crime and accused the Sheriff's Office of failing to turn over personnel information for the deputy who investigated the case.

In a series of recent motions, Hingson argued that the prosecutor's office has a history of ignoring state and federal discovery statutes, a basic concept in criminal law.

John Foote, the Clackamas County District Attorney, denied the allegations, saying they had no basis in fact.

Craig Johnson, a lawyer for the Oregon Attorney General's Office, represented Foote and argued that ordering the district attorney to testify is "unnecessary, redundant and irrelevant" because the district attorney "is not personally involved in the prosecution of this case, and there has been no suggestion or indication that he has any personal knowledge regarding any of the subjects that are at issue."

Likewise, Stephen Madkour, a lawyer for the county, argued said some of what Hingson has asked for is available through a public records request.

Madkour said Hingson's motions were intended to exploit controversies that have swirled around the Sheriff's Office since last year when a veteran detective was convicted of official misconduct for mishandling criminal cases.

"This court should not further the defendant's efforts to harass and embarrass public officials by forcing them to come to court and testify in a criminal prosecution wherein they were not personally involved nor do they have any relevant or material information to offer the court about this defendant," Madkour wrote in a court filing.

-- Noelle Crombie

503-276-7184

@noellecrombie