Paul DeMuniz admitted he’s counting down the days until the November election.
But the candidate for the Oregon Supreme Court took time out of the last 40 days before ballots are cast to speak to students across campus about law and his political ideology Thursday.
DeMuniz, who was twice elected to the Oregon Court of Appeals, spoke to the Introduction to the Legal Profession class before a very small town hall session with four students at the Knight Library.
Dan Katz, a senior political science major who coordinated the event, said he was a little disappointed with the turnout but was glad the judge had a chance to meet and discuss his legal ideas with students.
DeMuniz gave a speech outlining his background and legal ideology and the students had a chance to ask a few questions.
First-year doctoral student Bill Calderhead asked about the individual rights of the disabled because he works with students in special education.
“I’m interested in the courts and how they work with special ed,” he said.
Calderhead added that he recently moved from Maryland and wanted to get more information on Oregon politics and the people involved.
DeMuniz is no stranger to Oregon politics. He’s spent all of his life, including high school, undergraduate and law school education, in Oregon. He completed a tour of duty in the Air Force in Vietnam, and said he didn’t think twice about returning to the state when he was done.
“You always have an identity,” he said of living in Oregon. “This is still a place where you can know who is in government.”
He added that he keeps coming back for the familiarity and closeness of having his family around.
Before his meeting at the library, he discussed some of the current cases that could affect University students. He said there aren’t any cases that specifically pertain to students now, but there are many that have repercussions on students as Oregon citizens.
For example, he said students should be concerned with a recent case that bars people from collecting petition signatures at public shopping centers.
“This has a profound effect on how our initiative process works,” he said.