Former Oregon Attorney Joel Mathew DeVore Skips Court Appearances

Warrant Issued

Disbarred in 2020 and indicted in Multnomah County Circuit Court last spring, former Portland attorney Joel Mathew DeVore missed a scheduled appearance in the criminal case filed against him, for four counts of identity theft and simulation of legal process — all class C felonies.

Given a second chance to appear three days later, on February 18, he skipped that court conference as well.

Judge Judith Matarazzo ordered a bench warrant for DeVore, and set a security amount of $5,000 for DeVore’s failure to appear.

DeVore, who apparently now resides in California, had previously appeared remotely for his court dates, including his arraignment in June 2021, and five status conferences since then.

At the arraignment — at which time DeVore pleaded not guilty — former Supreme Court Justice Richard Baldwin rescinded the previous warrant for DeVore’s arrest, and did not order that bail be paid in the case, despite the seriousness of the charges. DeVore is accused of creating a fraudulent court order “signed” by Multnomah Judge Patricia McGuire.

Neither DeVore nor his public defender Gabrielle Karl would respond to requests for comment or information.