He told it as a joke but there was some truth in it as well when Wallace Carson, the chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, told the audience at Monday's Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce Noon Forum his definition of an activist judge.

"An activist judge is one who rules against what I believe in," said Carson, who has served on Oregon's high court since 1982, speaking at the Holiday Inn Express in Roseburg.

Based on the public reaction to a recent decision in a case involving a Roseburg sex club, many Oregonians may well think Carson and his colleagues on the Supreme Court are all activist judges.

In a Sept. 29 decision, the court ruled 5-1 that a state law banning a display of sexual conduct was unconstitutional. At the same time, the court struck down a Nyssa ordinance regulating the conduct of nude dancers.

In the Roseburg case, Charles Ciancanelli, 34, was convicted in 1999 for promoting sexual conduct in a public show. Police arrested Ciancanelli after undercover police officers paid for a private show in which two women engaged in sexual conduct. The business was open only a short time and closed following Ciancanelli's arrest.

"I'm not expressing my own personal opinion in a case. My job as chief justice is to follow the law," Carson said. "People should not assume the way someone votes indicates how they feel about the case itself."

Carson, who in his position as chief justice also serves as the state's top court administrator, praised Oregon's court system for establishing a series of drug courts in the state. The specialized courts, including one in Douglas County administered by Circuit Judge Robert Millikan, try to help people arrested on drug charges deal with their addictions and become respectable citizens.

Likewise, domestic violence courts have done a good job of helping people work out their anger issues, Carson said. Douglas County also has one of those courts, overseen by Circuit Judge Joan Seitz.

Carson, who was selected chief justice by his colleagues in 1997, said he would like to also establish a system of business courts. That would allow cases involving business actions to be funneled into a specific court, allowing certain judges to specialize in business cases.

Answering a question on how the court decides to accept cases, Carson said that 40 percent of the Supreme Court's caseload involves cases the court is required by law to hear, such as death sentence appeals and cases dealing with titles of ballot measures. The other 60 percent are cases on appeal that the court itself votes to hear.

Carson's appearance was arranged by Jon Hill, superintendent of the Douglas Education Service District. Hill serves on the board of governors for the Oregon Bar Association.

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