The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest
state court in 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 ...
of
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 ...
. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
.
[An Introduction to the Courts of Oregon.]
Oregon Judicial Department. Retrieved on June 11, 2008. The OSC holds court at the
Oregon Supreme Court Building in
Salem, Oregon
Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...
, near the
capitol
A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity.
Specific capitols include:
* United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
* Numerous ...
building on State Street. The building was finished in 1914 and also houses the state's law library, while the courtroom is also used by the
Oregon Court of Appeals
The Oregon Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court in the US state of Oregon. Part of the Oregon Judicial Department, it has thirteen judges and is located in Salem. Except for death penalty cases, which are reserved to the O ...
.
Tracing its heritage to 1841 when Oregon pioneers selected a Supreme Judge with probate powers, the court has grown from a single judge to its current make up of seven justices. Justices of the court serve six-year terms upon election, however vacancies are filled by appointments of the
Governor of Oregon
The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...
until the next
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
when any qualified candidate may run for the position, including the appointee. These seven justices then select one member to serve a six-year term as
Chief Justice. The court's Chief Justice is not only responsible for assigning cases to the other justices to write the court's opinions, but is also the chief executive of the
Oregon Judicial Department.
Primarily an appeals court, the Oregon Supreme Court is also the court of last resort in Oregon. Although most
oral arguments
Oral arguments are spoken presentations to a judge or appellate court by a lawyer (or parties when representing themselves) of the legal reasons why they should prevail. Oral argument at the appellate level accompanies written briefs, which also ad ...
before the court are held in the Oregon Supreme Court Building, the court does travel around the state holding sessions in various schools. All cases are heard
en banc
In law, an en banc session (; French for "in bench"; also known as ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank'') is a session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court (before the entire bench) rather than by one judge or a smaller ...
by the court. It receives appeals from the
Oregon Tax Court, the Oregon Court of Appeals, and some select cases such as
death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
appeals. Decisions of the court are published in the ''Oregon Reporter'' published by the Oregon Judicial Department. The Territorial Supreme Court was created in 1848 when the
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Ori ...
was formed out of the old
Oregon Country
Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been created by the Treaty of 1818, co ...
region, followed by the creation of the State Supreme Court in 1859 when Oregon was admitted to the Union on February 14.
Selection
The court is composed of seven elected
justices
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
, each of whom serves a six-year term after winning a
nonpartisan
Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party.
While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...
election.
Justices, like other Oregon state court judges, must be
United States citizen
Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...
s, Oregon
residents for at least three years, and lawyers
admitted to practice in the state of Oregon.
The newest justice receives the smallest office (nicknamed "the broom closet") and is responsible for opening the door when a conference is interrupted.
[Suo, Steve. Oregon Supreme Court is robed in tradition-bound world of its own. ''The Oregonian'', December 3, 1995.] When a state court judge retires, resigns, or dies before completing a term, the Governor may appoint another qualified person to the position.
To retain that position, the appointed person must run for election for a full six-year term at the next
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
.
On occasion, a judge will leave office at the end of a term, in which case a general election determines their replacement.
If the Supreme Court needs an additional judge on a temporary basis due to illness, an unfilled position, or a justice is disqualified from sitting on a case due to a conflict of interest, the court can appoint a senior judge to serve as a judge pro tempore.
[ Senior judges are all former, qualified judges (a minimum of 12 years on the bench) that have retired from a state court.][Appendix C: The Oregon Supreme Court.]
The Oregon Map. Retrieved on October 16, 2007. Only former Supreme Court justices, elected Oregon circuit court judges, or elected Oregon Court of Appeals
The Oregon Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court in the US state of Oregon. Part of the Oregon Judicial Department, it has thirteen judges and is located in Salem. Except for death penalty cases, which are reserved to the O ...
judges can be assigned to temporary service on the Supreme Court.[
]
Administrative
The court can appoint retired judges, lawyers, and other judges to serve temporarily as judges at any level in Oregon. They can also appoint senior judges to serve on any state court at or below the highest level of court that judge had served on before retirement or resignation.[ The state supreme court is responsible for admitting new lawyers to practice in Oregon, disciplining attorneys, and appointing members to the Board of Bar Examiners.] This board of a minimum of fourteen members is responsible for administering the bar exam and screening prospective lawyers before admitting applicants to practice law in Oregon.[ Oversight of state judges is also in the hands of the Supreme Court.][ The Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability investigates all reports of abuses and makes recommendations to the Supreme Court on any actions that may need to occur.][ The Supreme Court can then suspend judges, censure them, remove them from office, or take no action.][
]
Chief justice
One justice of the court is elected by the court to serve a six-year term as chief justice.[ The chief justice is then responsible for all administration of the Supreme Court.][ Under a law enacted in 1981, the chief justice is not only the titular head of the Supreme Court but also the chief executive officer of the Oregon Judicial Department.][ In that role, the chief justice supervises all of the Oregon courts, appoints the chief judge of the ]Oregon Court of Appeals
The Oregon Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court in the US state of Oregon. Part of the Oregon Judicial Department, it has thirteen judges and is located in Salem. Except for death penalty cases, which are reserved to the O ...
, assigns presiding judges for the trial level state courts, makes court rules, and is in charge of the department's budget.[ As administrator the chief justice is also the recipient of many reports from the court system including non-legal employees of the department.] The first chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court was William P. Bryant
William P. Bryant (August 3, 1806 – October 10, 1860) was an American jurist from Kentucky. He served as the first chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court in the Oregon Territory. United States President James K. Polk appointed Bryant, of Indi ...
, while the longest serving chief was Wallace P. Carson, Jr. who held the position for 15 years.
Oregon Reports
Beginning in 1853, the official court reporter for the publication of all Supreme Court decisions was the Oregon Reports, abbreviated ''Or.'' or ''Ore.'' in case citation
Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case decisions, either in series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a neutral style that identifies a decision regardless of where it is reported. Case ci ...
s.[Appellate Court Opinions.]
Oregon Judicial Department. Retrieved on October 16, 2007. These bound editions are published under the authority of the Oregon Supreme Court as authorized by state law.[
Joseph G. Wilson started in 1853 as the clerk for the court and was responsible for the Oregon Reports until 1870, though he also served as a justice of the court from 1862 to 1870.] Later federal judge Charles B. Bellinger
Charles Byron Bellinger (November 21, 1839 – May 12, 1905) was a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon in Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon. A native of Illinois ...
then took over editing the reports, and served as clerk until 1880. He was followed by T. B. Odeneal, J. A. Stratton, and W. H. Holmes, until 1889 when a law was passed that included a provision that the chief justice take over this responsibility. This arrangement only lasted a few years, as in 1891 a new law allowed the court to hire an official reporter, with later chief justice George H. Burnett serving as the first official reporter.
The first reported opinion in the Oregon Reports was ''Thompson v. Backenstos'', involving a case about trespass
Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land.
Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding ...
ing.[''Thompson v. Backenstos'', 1 Or. 17, 1853 WL 469, 1853 Ore. LEXIS 1 (1853).] In the case, Justice George Henry Williams
George Henry Williams (March 26, 1823April 4, 1910) was an American judge and politician. He served as chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, was the 32nd Attorney General of the United States, and was elected Oregon's U.S. senator, and serv ...
wrote the opinion, Justice Thomas Nelson had served as the judge at the trial level due to circuit riding, while future justice Reuben P. Boise
Reuben Patrick Boise (June 9, 1819 – April 10, 1907) was an American attorney, judge and politician in the Oregon Territory and the early years of the state of Oregon. A native of Massachusetts, he immigrated to Oregon in 1850, where he woul ...
served as counsel for the defense, and fellow future justice Aaron E. Waite
Aaron E. Waite (December 26, 1813 – December 12, 1898) was an American judge and politician. He was the 4th Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court serving from 1859 to 1862. He was the first chief justice after Oregon became a state on ...
provided counsel for the plaintiff.[
]
Powers and jurisdiction
The powers of the OSC derive from the Oregon Constitution's Article VII. Like other supreme courts in the United States, the Oregon Supreme Court acts primarily as a court of appeals. They choose cases that are of legal significance or to unify lower court decisions. In this aspect the court has discretionary review over many of the cases appealed to the high court. Discretionary review allows the court to choose which cases it will hear on appeal. With those cases that are denied an appeal to the Supreme Court, the decision of the lower court becomes final and binding. As of 1995, the court only accepted one in eight appeals that were discretionary.[ The justices meet once per week in a formal conference in which only the justices are involved to determine rulings.][ Once a case is accepted, the court hears the case ]en banc
In law, an en banc session (; French for "in bench"; also known as ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank'') is a session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court (before the entire bench) rather than by one judge or a smaller ...
. That is the court is not divided into panels, and instead all justices participate in all the cases, unless a justice recuses themselves due to a conflict of interest or other concern.
The court also reviews death penalty cases, state tax court appeals, and items regarding legal discipline on direct review.[ Direct review means that the Supreme Court hears cases directly upon appeal without the case first going to the Court of Appeals.][ Other direct review items include state agency decisions such as the placement of prisons, placement of energy production facilities, locations of sites for solid waste disposal, and some labor law injunctions.][ Additionally, the court has original jurisdiction in, writs of ]mandamus
(; ) is a judicial remedy in the form of an order from a court to any government, subordinate court, corporation, or public authority, to do (or forbear from doing) some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do (or refrain from ...
, writs quo warranto
In law, especially English and American common law, ''quo warranto'' (Medieval Latin for "by what warrant?") is a prerogative writ requiring the person to whom it is directed to show what authority they have for exercising some right, power, or ...
, writs of habeas corpus
''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
, reapportionment of state legislative districts, and challenges to ballot measure
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
s such as their titles, the fiscal impact statement, and the explanatory statement as listed in the Voter's Pamphlet.[
]
Oregon's state courts are courts of general jurisdiction, unlike federal courts.[Rowe, Thomas D., Suzanna Sherry, and Jay Tidmarsh. ''Civil Procedure''. Foundation Press, NY: 2004.] That is, the state courts can hear all cases regardless of whether the dispute is based on state law, federal law, or a combination of both, with a few exceptions.[ Thus the Oregon Supreme Court can hear appeals for cases based on both federal and state law.][ Although the U.S. Supreme Court is the only court that can overturn decisions of the Oregon court, Oregon Supreme Court decisions as to federal law are only binding on other Oregon state level courts.][ Federal courts are not required to follow the decisions of the Oregon Supreme Court for decisions based on federal law, regardless as to if the federal court is located within the state.][ However, federal courts are bound to follow Oregon law and decisions of the Oregon Supreme Court for cases that involve disputes based on Oregon law, even when those federal courts are not based in Oregon, per the ]Erie Doctrine
The ''Erie'' doctrine is a fundamental legal doctrine of civil procedure in the United States which mandates that a federal court called upon to resolve a dispute not directly implicating a federal question (most commonly when sitting in dive ...
developed by the U.S. Supreme Court.[ For this reason federal courts, and courts from other states, can certify questions about Oregon law to the Oregon Supreme Court in order to clarify what the law in Oregon is in regards to the specific fact pattern that the federal court has before it in their case (see ORS 28.200 to 28.255 and ORAP 12.20).][
Although only the United States Supreme Court can overturn the decisions of the Oregon Supreme Court, they cannot overturn decisions exclusively based on the Oregon law, though other mechanisms exist that effectively overturn decisions of the Oregon Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court can only accept cases from the Oregon Supreme Court if the decision involves issues of federal law and interpretation of federal law might change the outcome of the case.][ The Oregon Supreme Court is the final authority on Oregon law, and absent extraordinary circumstances the U.S. Supreme Court cannot overrule its interpretation of Oregon law (see ]adequate and independent state ground
The adequate and independent state ground doctrine is a doctrine of United States law governing the power of the U.S. Supreme Court to review judgments entered by state courts.
Introduction
It is part of the basic framework of the American l ...
). Although only the U.S. Supreme Court can reverse or overturn decisions of the Oregon Supreme Court, decisions of the court can be effectively overturned by changing the law.[ Thus later outcomes of the court can be affected by legislation passed by the ]Oregon Legislative Assembly
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...
or through the initiative and referendum process.[Oregon State Constitution.]
Justia.com. Retrieved on October 16, 2007. Also, in most criminal decisions Oregon's Governor or the President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
may issue a pardon (some crimes require the Oregon Legislature to concur).[
]
History
Following the journey of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...
in 1805, the region known as Oregon Country
Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been created by the Treaty of 1818, co ...
experienced increased activity and exploration by Europeans and Americans. Beginning with the fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
, settlement by Euro-Americans began as early as 1811 with the founding of Fort Astoria
Fort Astoria (also named Fort George) was the primary fur trading post of John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company (PFC). A maritime contingent of PFC staff was sent on board the ''Tonquin (1807 ship), Tonquin'', while another party traveled overl ...
and slowly increased until the 1830s. In the 1830s additional settlement occurred, agricultural production increased, and missionaries started religious missions in the region. In 1835, the first trial in the region was held with John Kirk Townsend
John Kirk Townsend (August 10, 1809 – February 6, 1851) was an American naturalist, ornithologist and collector.
Townsend was a Quaker born in Philadelphia, the son of Charles Townsend and Priscilla Kirk. He attended Westtown School in ...
presiding as magistrate over a murder charge. Pioneer settlers continued to immigrate to the region, with larger wagon trains crossing the Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...
in the 1840s bringing more immigrants and a need for courts.[
]
Pre-statehood
The Oregon Supreme Court traces its roots back to the early settlement period of Oregon Country
Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been created by the Treaty of 1818, co ...
. In 1841, pioneer Ewing Young
Ewing Young (1799-February 9, 1841) was an American fur trapper and trader from Tennessee who traveled in what was then the northern Mexico frontier territories of Santa Fe de Nuevo México and Alta California before settling in the Oregon Country. ...
died without an heir or will in the unorganized lands of what are now the states of Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
, Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, and Oregon. In February of that year, settlers met at Champoeg
Champoeg ( , historically Horner, John B. (1919). ''Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature''. The J.K. Gill Co.: Portland. p. 398.) is a former town in the U.S. state of Oregon. Now a ghost town, it was an important settlement in the W ...
to discuss the creation of a government, including a judiciary to deal with the execution of Young's estate. Although the overall government plans fell through, the group of pioneers and mountain men
A mountain man is an explorer who lives in the wilderness. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s (with a peak population in the early 1840s). They were instrumental in opening up ...
did elect a Supreme Judge to exercise probate
Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...
powers. The first judge was Dr. Ira L. Babcock
Doctor Ira Leonard Babcock (c. 1808 – March 21, 1888) was an American pioneer and doctor in the Oregon Country. A native of New York, he was selected as the first Supreme Judge with probate powers in February 1841 in what would become the stat ...
, serving from February 18, 1841, to May 1, 1843.
In 1843, a later set of meetings at Champoeg created the Provisional Government of Oregon
The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected settler government created in the Oregon Country, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Its formation had been advanced at the Champoeg Meetings since February 17, 1841, ...
with a judiciary consisting of a Supreme Judge and two justices of the peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
for trial level courts.[Gray, William H. ''A History of Oregon, 1792–1849, Drawn from Personal Observation and Authentic Information''. Harris & Holman: Portland, OR. 1870.] Albert E. Wilson was the first judge chosen as the Supreme Judge under this new government, but never served. Other judges were appointed or elected during this pre-territory period over the next six years. Until 1846 with the settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute
The Oregon boundary dispute or the Oregon Question was a 19th-century territorial dispute over the political division of the Pacific Northwest of North America between several nations that had competing territorial and commercial aspirations in ...
, the region was not under the jurisdiction of any foreign power. With the resolution of the boundary issue, Britain retained the territory north of the 49th degree of latitude, with the United States taking the land south to the border of Mexican control California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.[
In 1848, when the ]Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Ori ...
was created by the United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
, William P. Bryant
William P. Bryant (August 3, 1806 – October 10, 1860) was an American jurist from Kentucky. He served as the first chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court in the Oregon Territory. United States President James K. Polk appointed Bryant, of Indi ...
was appointed as the first judge of the Oregon Supreme Court. Justices in the territorial period were appointed by the President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
. In those early days of the court, the justices would " ride circuit" in addition to their appellate court functions. Riding circuit involved acting as appeals court judges around the state in addition to the supreme court functions of ultimate appeal, a common practice in early American courts.
Oregon State Supreme Court
Beginning with statehood in 1859, the court had just four justices, one for each judicial district in the state. The constitution created by the Oregon Constitutional Convention
The Oregon Constitutional Convention in 1857 drafted the Oregon Constitution in preparation for the Oregon Territory to become a U.S. state. Held from mid-August through September, 60 men met in Salem, Oregon, and created the foundation for Orego ...
in 1857 called for these justices to serve as both circuit court judges and supreme court justices. This was set to remain until the population of the state reached 100,000 people. Each justice was assigned one district, and then all justices would gather at set intervals to confer on appeals, which would occur at least once per year and were authorized to meet more frequently if needed. On appeals, the justice who presided over the lower court case would not participate in the proceedings.
Then in 1862 the court was expanded to five justices with the addition of a fifth judicial district. Also that year the Court hired its first clerk after the legislature authorized that position. In 1878, the legislature passed an act to separate the circuit and supreme courts after the population reached 100,000. With the creation of a separate Circuit Court and Supreme Court, riding circuit was abandoned and the Supreme Court was reduced to three members, with members of each court elected separately. Governor Thayer Thayer may refer to:
Places
;United States
* Thayer, Illinois
* Thayer, Indiana
* Thayer, Iowa
* Thayer, Kansas
* Thayer, Michigan
* Thayer, Missouri
* Thayer, Nebraska
*Thayer, West Virginia
* Thayer County, Nebraska
* Thayer Street, Providence, ...
then appointed James K. Kelly, Reuben P. Boise
Reuben Patrick Boise (June 9, 1819 – April 10, 1907) was an American attorney, judge and politician in the Oregon Territory and the early years of the state of Oregon. A native of Massachusetts, he immigrated to Oregon in 1850, where he woul ...
, and Paine Page Prim
Paine (Payne) Page Prim (May 2, 1822 – August 8, 1899) was an American attorney and judge in the state of Oregon. He was the 6th Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court serving in that role from three times between 1864 and 1878. Prim served o ...
to the court as temporary justices until elections could be held. During these early years of the court the selection of the Chief Justice was governed by the Oregon Constitution, with the senior justice or the justice with their term was next to expire was designated as the Chief Justice. This meant that a new chief would be selected at least every two years, and in general meant someone elected would serve their first four years on the bench as an associate justice and the last two years as the Chief Justice.
Mary Leonard
Mary Leonard (c. 1845–October 24, 1912) was an American attorney and accused murderer in the state of Oregon. A native of France, she was acquitted for the murder of her husband that many believed she had committed. After her trial, she s ...
became the first woman admitted to the state bar on April 13, 1886, when the court admitted her after a year-long battle that included the state legislature passing a new law to allow women to be admitted.[Abrams, Kerry]
Folk Hero, Hell Raiser, Mad Woman, Lady Lawyer: What is the Truth about Mary Leonard?
Women's Legal History Biography Project. Stanford Law School. Retrieved on May 7, 2008. In 1906, the Oregon court upheld a maximum hour law for women in ''State v. Muller'', 48 Or. 252, 85 P. 855 (1906). Due partly to a brief
Brief, briefs, or briefing may refer to:
Documents
* A letter
* A briefing note
* Papal brief, a papal letter less formal than a bull, sealed with the pope's signet ring or stamped with the device borne on this ring
* Design brief, a type of ed ...
by future U.S. Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis
Louis Dembitz Brandeis (; November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an American lawyer and associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939.
Starting in 1890, he helped develop the "right to privacy" concept ...
, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Oregon law in '' Muller v. Oregon'', 208 U.S. 412 (1908) despite ruling in 1905 in ''Lochner v. New York
''Lochner v. New York'', 198 U.S. 45 (1905), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that a New York state law setting maximum working hours for bakers violated the bakers' right to freedom of contract under t ...
'' that a maximum hour law for bakers was unconstitutional. Then in 1910, the state legislature expanded the court back to five justices, and lastly, in 1913 the court expanded to the current seven justices.
The next important case came in 1935 when the state's top court ruled in ''State v. De Jonge'', 152 Or. 315, 51 P.2d 674 (1935) that the 14th Amendment did not protect Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
organizers from prosecution under Oregon's criminal syndicate law. However, the U.S. Supreme Court would overturn this decision in '' De Jonge v. Oregon'', 299 U.S. 353 (1937). Another important case came in 1960 as the Oregon court ruled against the United States government in ''State Land Board v. United States'', 222 Or. 40, 352 P.2d 539 (1960). In that case the court ruled that state estate laws trumped a federal statute concerning the property of U.S. Veterans who died at Veterans Administration
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...
hospitals without a valid will. The U.S. Supreme Court then overturned the Oregon Supreme Court's decision in '' United States v. Oregon'', 366 U. S. 643 (1961).
On the administrative end of the court, the Oregon Court of Appeals
The Oregon Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court in the US state of Oregon. Part of the Oregon Judicial Department, it has thirteen judges and is located in Salem. Except for death penalty cases, which are reserved to the O ...
was created in 1969 as an intermediate appellate court in Oregon. With this change, the Supreme Court now generally does not hear appeals directly from the trial level courts of the state, with some exceptions such as death penalty cases. Other changes came in 1981 when the Oregon Legislature
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the ...
and justice Arno Denecke reformed the chief justice position from a simple head of the court in title only, to the administrative head of the entire Oregon judicial system.[Wong, Peter. Chief justice is retiring. '']Statesman Journal
The ''Statesman Journal'' is the major daily newspaper published in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1851 as the ''Oregon Statesman'', it later merged with the ''Capital Journal'' to form the current newspaper, the second-oldest in Orego ...
'', December 30, 2006. The following year, 1982, the court received its first female member when Governor Vic Atiyeh appointed Betty Roberts
Betty Cantrell Roberts (February 5, 1923 – June 25, 2011) was an American politician and judge from the U.S. state of Oregon. She was the 83rd justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. She was the first woman to serve on the Oregon Supreme Co ...
as an associate justice. Then from 1991 to 2005 Wallace P. Carson, Jr. served as chief justice of the court for a record 14 years.[
The next landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court involving the Oregon Supreme Court was '' Dolan v. City of Tigard'', 512 U.S. 374 (1994). In that ]land use
Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long h ...
case the Oregon court found the requirements placed on the business owner as conditions to approve an expansion were not a taking under the United States Constitution's takings clause. However, the U.S. Supreme Court disagreed and overturned the Oregon court. Then the Oregon court ruled in February 2006 that Oregon's land use law, Measure 37, was constitutional. '' Macpherson v. Department of Administrative Services'', 340 Or. 117, 130 P.3d 308 (2006) allowed people to make claims against the government forcing the government to either pay compensation when land use regulations reduced the value of a property owners land or waive the regulation.
Location
In the early years of the Supreme Court, business was conducted at a variety of locations in downtown Salem. The first public building to house the court was the Territorial Capitol Building in Salem that was built between 1854 and 1855.[First State House. Oregon State Capitol, R HMC-1111 (Salem Public Library)] In that building the courtroom
A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...
was in a chamber measuring 20 feet by 27 feet on the first floor.[ On December 29, 1855, after the building was partially occupied, it burned to the ground.] In 1876, the state finished construction on a second capitol building where the court was located on the third floor.[''The Oregonian'', January 15, 1893.] This courtroom measured 54 feet by 46 feet, while the state law library was 75 feet by 70 feet.[ A separate building was built by the state in 1914 to house the Supreme Court, and this is now the oldest building on the Capitol Mall after the second capitol building burned down on April 25, 1935.][2nd Capitol Fire. ''Oregon Journal'', April 26, 1935.]
In addition to holding court in the Supreme Court Building's third floor courtroom, the court also travels around the state to hold sessions.[ This includes sessions at colleges, high schools, and the state's three law schools.][ These three law schools, ]Willamette University College of Law
Willamette University College of Law is the law school of Willamette University. Located in Salem, Oregon, and founded in 1883, Willamette is the oldest law school in the Pacific Northwest. It has approximately 24 full-time law professors and ...
, University of Oregon Law School
The University of Oregon School of Law is a public law school in the U.S. state of Oregon. Housed in the Knight Law Center, it is Oregon's only state funded law school. The school, founded in 1884, is located on the University of Oregon campus in ...
, and Lewis & Clark Law School
The Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College (also known as Lewis & Clark Law School), is an American Bar Association-approved private law school in Portland, Oregon.
The law school received ABA approval in 1970 and joined the As ...
, use the visits as educational tools.
Current justices
The court has had a total of 106 individuals serve on the court since its creation during the territorial period. This has ranged from a membership of three justices to seven justices. Since 1913, the number of positions on the bench has been seven. Of the current membership, four are women and three are men. Overall, the court has had nine women compared to ninety-seven men serve on the court. Additionally, there is one African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
justice.
Thomas A. Balmer is the most senior of the seven justices, starting service in 2001. The newest member of the court is Roger DeHoog, who joined in 2022. All of the seven current justices first joined the court as appointees of the Governor of Oregon
The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...
to fill mid-term vacancies.
Vacancies and pending nominations
Notable Supreme Court cases
Over the course of its history the Oregon Supreme Court has made a number of decisions as the highest court in Oregon. These cases cover a wide range of topics from the constitutionality of various ballot measure
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
s to contract law to torts and even to the location of the capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
when Oregon was still a territory. Although small in comparison to the total number of cases the court has decided, some cases have been appealed to the United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
. Below are some of the cases that have had scholarly discussion, some of which were later decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
See also
*'' Holmes v. Ford''
*United States District Court for the District of Oregon
The United States District Court for the District of Oregon (in case citations, D. Ore. or D. Or.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Oregon. It was created in 1859 when the state was admitted to the Union ...
References
External links
Supreme Court Slip Opinions
Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure
Oregon Rules of Appellate Procedure
Revised Oregon Code of Judicial Conduct
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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 ...
1841 establishments in Oregon
Courts and tribunals established in 1841