Meagan Flynn has won the nonpartisan race for a judgeship on the Oregon Supreme Court over challenger Van Pounds.

Flynn, 50, who was appointed to the state’s highest court last year, will have a six-year term on the court. She served as an Oregon Court of Appeals judge from 2014 to 2017.

A former attorney in private practice for two decades, Flynn has advocated for access to justice across the state. She has supported programs that provide people access to lawyers and legal documents.

She is actively involved in the We the People program, a national program that teaches high school students about the legal system and the U.S. Constitution. Flynn works with high school seniors in Portland.

Pounds, 63, a senior policy analyst at the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, viewed his candidacy as giving voters a choice on the ballot and making the judicial selection process more transparent. Pounds is against how several Oregon judges are selected. Judges are often appointed, and then they run unopposed as incumbents for elections.

Flynn was last on the ballot in 2016 for a position on the Oregon Court of Appeals but was originally appointed to the court by former Gov. John Kitzhaber in 2014.

She was again appointed in March 2017 by Gov. Kate Brown to the Oregon Supreme Court.

The seven-member Supreme Court receives about 900 cases a year and takes on about 60 to 70 of those cases, according to Flynn.

— Reporter: 541-617-7820, kspurr@bendbulletin.com