Robert Y. Thornton (January 28, 1910 – November 29, 2003) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist 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 ...

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 ...

. Reproduced in ''Biography Resource Center''. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he was the second-longest serving

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 ...

in the state's history, holding that office from 1953 to 1969. His 16-year tenure was second only to

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 ...

Isaac Homer Van Winkle, who bested him by seven years, serving from 1920 to 1943. Thornton was the Democratic nominee for Oregon Governor in 1962, losing in the general election to incumbent

Mark 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 ...

.Balmer, Donald G
“The 1962 Election in Oregon”
''The Western Political Quarterly'', Vol. 16, No. 2, A Symposium: The 1962 Elections in the West (Jun., 1963), Western Political Science Association. pp. 453-459. His ultimate defeat by Republican

Lee Johnson Lee Johnson may refer to: Sportspeople * Lee Johnson (wide receiver) (born 1944), American football wide receiver *Lee Johnson (punter) (born 1961), American football punter *Lee Johnson (basketball) (born 1957), American basketball player * Lee Jo ...

, who garnered some 80,000 more votes than Thornton in the 1968 general election, became a matter for the courts. Thornton challenged the outcome by bringing a suit charging that Johnson had violated campaign spending limits and falsified a report by signing the blank form. Johnson admitted he had done so in anticipation of being out of the country when the report was to be filed. A three-judge panel in Marion County ruled in favor of Thornton, invalidating the election results and awarding Thornton an additional term. The Oregon Supreme Court overturned that decision and awarded the office to Johnson, on the grounds that neither violation was deliberate and that both had occurred after the election.

Education

* AB,

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, 1932 *Postgraduate study,

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

, 1933–35 * JD,

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

, 1937

Career

* 1971-1983 - Judge, Oregon Court of Appeals * 1953-1969 - Oregon Attorney General * 1951-1953 - Oregon State Representative * 1946-1953 - Private practice of law ( Tillamook, Oregon) * 1941-1946 - U.S. Army, World War II, Japan, attaining rank of Lieutenant Colonel * 1939-1941 - Private practice of law (Tillamook) * 1938-1939 - Assistant Solicitor,

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

* 1937-1938 - Law Clerk,

District of Columbia Court of Appeals The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the highest court of the District of Columbia, in the United States. Established in 1970, it is equivalent to a state supreme court, except that its authority is derived from the United States Congr ...

Publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Robert Y. 1910 births 2003 deaths Oregon Attorneys General George Washington University Law School alumni Members of the Oregon House of Representatives Stanford University alumni People from Tillamook, Oregon Oregon Court of Appeals judges 20th-century American judges 20th-century Oregon politicians