In an Oregon State Bar poll, Deschutes County attorneys overwhelmingly voted for local attorney Andy Balyeat for a seat on the Deschutes County Circuit Court.

Balyeat earned 47 percent of votes in the poll, with Beth Bagley, a prosecutor with the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office, coming in second with 24 percent. Attorney Thomas M. Spear Jr. earned 17 percent, and Crook County Chief Deputy District Attorney Aaron Brenneman received 12 percent.

A total of 144 votes were cast. The Oregon State Bar polls by county. Lawyers may vote only in their judicial district and in statewide races, according to bar spokeswoman Kateri Walsh. Deschutes County has 392 active state bar members, about 37 percent of whom voted in the poll.

Balyeat, who has been an attorney for more than 26 years, believes it was his broad experience that fellow lawyers responded to when casting their votes.

“I am the only candidate that has 10 years practicing family law and has been a criminal prosecutor,” he said. “I’m the only candidate that handles complex civil litigation, the only candidate with an appellate practice, the only candidate with a federal court practice, the only candidate who has tried cases all over the state.”

Balyeat said the poll results were encouraging. He said his range of experience would contribute to a more balanced bench.

Statewide, about 15 percent of the state’s attorneys participated in the poll.

In the statewide race for a seat on the Oregon Supreme Court, Oregon Court of Appeals Judge Timothy J. Sercombe received 46 percent of the 1,610 votes cast. Sercombe has served on the appeals court since 2007. Before that, he was an attorney for about 30 years, focusing on land use, administrative and municipal law for cities, counties, utilities and other local governments throughout the state.

His opponents, Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Richard Baldwin and Portland attorney Nena Cook, received 31 percent and 23 percent of the votes, respectively.

In the statewide race for an opening on the Oregon Court of Appeals, Portland attorney Timothy Volpert received nearly 50 percent of the 1,389 votes. Volpert, a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, has focused on appellate law for more than 20 years. He appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1995, where he successfully argued that the Vernonia School District should be allowed to require random drug testing.

Volpert’s opponents, Linn County Circuit Court Judge James Egan and Allan Arlow, an administrative law judge for the Oregon Public Utility Commission and Oregon Board of Maritime Pilots, received 41 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively.

Oregon’s primary election will take place on May 15.

Oregon State Bar Judicial Preference Poll Results

Circuit Court Judge, 11th District, Position 2

Andrew C. Balyeat 68 votes

Beth Bagley 34 votes

Thomas M. Spear Jr. 25 votes

Aaron Brenneman 17 votes

Judge of the Supreme Court, Position 3

Timothy J. Sercombe 748 votes

Richard C. Baldwin 494 votes

Nena Cook 368 votes

Judge of the Court of Appeals, Position 6

Timothy R. Volpert 688 votes

James C. “Jim” Egan 569 votes

Allan J. Arlow 132 votes

For more information or to view the Oregon State Bar’s judicial candidates voting guide, go to www.osbar.org.