Judge Who Had Two Wives Wants To Keep Job

PORTLAND - A Multnomah County judge who admits he was married to two women at the same time hopes he has convinced the state Judicial Fitness Commission that he should keep his job.

``I have admitted to the public, to this commission, to the district attorney's office and everyone that I made a mistake,'' District Judge Robert Kirkman said Friday. ``The fact that I made some mistakes I would hope doesn't mean that we just cast everything else aside.

``I believe I can still do a good job, do justice, and not have the public concerned about whether I'm doing justice or not.''

The bizarre facts surrounding Kirkman's tangled personal life unfolded in a daylong commission hearing. The commission will recommend what disciplinary action should be taken against the 47-year-old judge. The possibilities include censure, suspension or removal from the bench.

The Oregon Supreme Court will make the final decision.

Kirkman does not dispute that he showed his second wife a forged document in 1984 showing falsely that he had divorced his first wife. He also admitted he lied when he wrote on a marriage license application in March 1987 that he was divorced.

And he conceded that when he married Jane Kingsbury on April 4, 1987, with his boss, Multnomah County Circuit Judge Donald Londer, presiding, he knew he still was married to his first wife, Sue.

``It was not very smart going through the ceremony, and it was not very smart to ask Judge Londer to perform the ceremony,'' Kirkman said.

In the highly unusual hearing Friday, Kirkman talked about his childhood, his life as a Marine officer and his stormy marriages.

His psychologist, Gregg Reiter, testified that Kirkman wasn't adept in his dealings with women but now understands that.

``I think he's gained an understanding that he doesn't have the best common sense when it comes to domestic interpersonal relationships,'' Reiter said. ``As he's gone through life, he's needed perhaps more nurturing than others.''

Kirkman said he bounced back and forth between relationships with his longtime wife, Sue, and Kingsbury for several years. He has four children by his first wife. He and Kingsbury also have a daughter, born in 1984.

He is now divorced from both women.