Charles Sewell Crookham (March 17, 1923 – October 7, 2004), a native and lifelong resident of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, was a lawyer, a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician, jurist, and military historian."Charles Sewell Crookham." (HTML

''Marquis Who's Who'' Marquis Who's Who, 2006. Reproduced in ''Biography Resource Center.'' Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale, 2006, as Document Number: K2016431682. Retrieved: December 8, 2006. He was briefly

Oregon Attorney General The Oregon Attorney General is a statutory office within the executive branch of the state of Oregon, and serves as the chief legal officer of the state, heading its Department of Justice with its six operating divisions. The attorney general is ch ...

, appointed to serve out David Frohnmayer's uncompleted term, but most of his professional career was spent in the private practice of law and as a judge.

Early life

Crookham was born on St. Patrick's Day in 1923 in Portland, Oregon. He was the son of Kenneth Crookham, who worked for an automobile dealership at the time, and who later went into the business himself. He grew up in the family home on Northeast 38th Street, attending neighborhood schools.''Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930.'' (Microfilm record) United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, Portland, Multnomah, Oregon; roll 1953; page 4A; E.D. 397; image: 71.0. He had already decided on a career in law at the age of eight, at the urging of an uncle. He earned his high school diploma at Grant High School, then attended

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

, Loyola College of Los Angeles, and

Multnomah College Multnomah College, was a two-year, private college located in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. Established in 1897 as the Educational Department of the YMCA in downtown Portland, the school was the oldest fully accredited two-year college in ...

, before graduating

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with a BA, and earning a JD from Northwestern School of Law (now a part of

Lewis & Clark College Lewis & Clark College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Originally chartered in 1867 as the Albany Collegiate Institute in Albany, Oregon, the college was relocated to Portland in 1938 and in 1942 adopted the name Lewis & Cl ...

). While in college, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor prompted his enlistment in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, and during his

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service he saw combat in

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earning a Bronze Star. He remained active in the

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after the war's conclusion, rising to the rank of

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Career

State court judge

Crookham's early career was as a trial attorney, earning a reputation as a premier appellate lawyer. He was first appointed to the bench by Oregon Governor

Mark O. Hatfield Mark Odom Hatfield (July 12, 1922 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and educator from the state of Oregon. A Republican, he served for 30 years as a United States senator from Oregon, and also as chairman of the Senate Appropr ...

in 1962, serving as a judge from 1963 to 1988, and as presiding judge between 1978 and 1985. As presiding judge, he was often seen carrying case files, insisting on reading each one in its entirety before assignment to a trial judge. Known for being serious about the law and his work, but not about himself, he also had a lighter side. He once held a mock funeral service at the courthouse for

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, retiring them from use in state

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. "He loved lawyers, and he loved practicing the law, and it showed every day," recalled

Clackamas County, Oregon Clackamas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the Native ...

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John Foote to a journalist. Foote had been a young clerk for Crookham as presiding judge. "He taught me how to be a lawyer," Foote is quoted as saying. Appearances in Crookham's court were "short and sweet," according to a quotation in the press by Timothy Wood of the

Oregon Department of Justice The Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ), headed by the Oregon Attorney General (currently Ellen Rosenblum), is the main legal branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The DOJ is part of Oregon's executive branch, and most of its empl ...

, who had argued at trial before the judge. Crookham didn't cut the lawyers' arguments short out of impatience or rudeness, but because he had already studied the issues so thoroughly. "He told one lawyer, 'Keep on talking, and you'll still lose this,' " Wood said.

Attorney General

In January, 1992, Crookham became

, appointed by the Governor,

Barbara Roberts Barbara Kay Roberts (née Hughey; born December 21, 1936) is an American politician from the state of Oregon. A native of the state, she served as the List of Governors of Oregon, 34th Governor of Oregon from 1991 to 1995. She was the first List ...

to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of David B. Frohnmayer who left to become University of Oregon's law school

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. Within the month, he announced that he would not seek election to retain the post beyond the unexpired term of his appointment. His decision left the field wide open for candidates, and a hotly contested race resulted in both the

and

Democratic Party of Oregon The Democratic Party of Oregon is the Oregon affiliate of the Democratic Party. The State Central Committee, made up of two delegates elected from each of Oregon's 36 counties and one additional delegate for every 15,000 registered Democrats, is ...

primaries Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

that year. Craig Berkman, Oregon Republican chairman at the time, was reported to be disappointed at Crookham's decision not to run. "Frankly, this makes it very difficult for the Republican Party," Berkman is quoted as saying. "I think he would have made an excellent candidate, but I can hardly blame him for not wanting to commit to an office that he would be in until at least age 73."

Personal

Crookham, who generally sported a bow tie, was also a master chef with a flair for barbecue, longtime friend U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones said in an interview shortly after Crookham's death, adding that he insisted on being called Charles and was never "Charlie" or "Chuck." "He had a regal aura about him," Jones said, "without being pretentious. He was also an avid reader throughout his life. Even in the last days of his life, when macular degeneration had ravaged his vision, he devoured books with the help of his brother, Robert. "In the last couple of years, they read over 40 novels," his son, Whitney, told a reporter. "If my dad was at the beach for the weekend, my uncle would call and read to him over the phone." Crookham's son, Berkeley Fitzcharles Crookham was convicted in 1995 at age 36 "on a felony charge in the beating of his -week-oldinfant daughter" and booked into jail on June 28, 1995, in Multnomah County, Oregon in a case covered extensively in the Oregon press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crookham, Charles 1923 births 2004 deaths Lewis & Clark Law School alumni Oregon Attorneys General Oregon State University alumni Stanford University alumni Oregon state court judges Deans of law schools in the United States Portland, Oregon Republicans Grant High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni 20th-century American judges Military personnel from Portland, Oregon 20th-century American academics