Over the past several weeks, the Washington County DA's Office has reached out to various community groups to emphasize the importance of access to justice for all members of the community.

On February 1, 2017 District Attorney Bob Hermann and Chief Deputy DA Kevin Barton attended a forum entitled "Understanding Justice and Equality For All Through the Strength of Law and Compassion." The event occurred at the Muslim Educational Trust in Tigard and approximately 1,200 members of the public attended. Speakers included community and elected leaders, including District Attorney Bob Hermann. Mr. Hermann emphasized the role of the DA's Office in ensuring the community remains a safe place to live and work for all people regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, religion or any other protected status.

The following week, on February 6, 2017, District Attorney Bob Hermann and Chief Deputy DA Kevin Barton attended a community meeting at Centro Cultural in Cornelius sponsored by the Vision Action Network. Fellow attendees included representatives from service organizations, non-profits, health and education providers, city and county government and law enforcement. The focus of the meeting was to coordinate with local leaders to provide support for vulnerable immigrant families and individuals in Washington County. Mr. Hermann stressed the importance of working with community partners to ensure that all members of the public have full and unrestricted access to justice in order to promote community safety.

The Washington County DA's Office regularly engages in community outreach on a broad range of issues and is committed to ensuring equal access to justice for all members of the community. The following link is a previously released statement regarding recent federal immigration developments: Statement regarding recent news on immigration laws.