Thomas Ancil Balmer (born January 31, 1952) is a former justice and chief justice of the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.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 on ...

, he was appointed to the court in 2001 as a justice, later serving as chief justice from 2012 to 2018. He retired on December 31, 2022.

Early life

Balmer was born on January 31, 1952, in Longview, Washington. He graduated from the now-closed Jackson High School in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. Balmer graduated from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

in Oberlin, Ohio in 1974, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree with High Honors. Balmer graduated from the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dist ...

in 1977.

Legal career

Balmer began his legal career with the Boston law firm of Choate, Hall & Stewart in 1977. He served in the Antitrust Division of the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

from 1979 to 1980. He returned to private practice, joining the Washington, D.C. law firm of Wald, Harkrader & Ross in 1980. Returning to Oregon in 1982, Balmer worked at Lindsay, Hart, Neil & Weigler, becoming a partner in 1986. Balmer taught at

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 Asso ...

from 1983 to 1984, and again from 1990 to 1992 as an adjunct professor. He also was an adjunct professor of antitrust law at

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 e ...

in 2018–19. From 1986 to 1987 he was the chairperson of the

Oregon State Bar The Oregon State Bar Association (OSBA) is a public corporation and instrumentality of the Oregon Judicial Department in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded in 1890 as the private Oregon Bar Association, it became a public entity in 1935 that regulat ...

antitrust law section, and in 1992 to 1993 he was chairperson of the Multnomah County Legal Aid Service’s Board of Directors. Later he served as a deputy attorney general for the state 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 ...

from 1993 to 1997. While there he worked for the

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 ...

, Ted Kulongoski.The Honorable Thomas A. Balmer.
Oregon Judicial Department. Retrieved on November 26, 2007. Balmer is a former partner of Ater Wynne LLP, focusing on antitrust law, government regulations, and commercial litigation. In 1997, he became a member of the board of directors for

Classroom Law Project A classroom or schoolroom is a learning space Learning space or learning setting refers to a physical setting for a learning environment, a place in which teaching and learning occur. The term is commonly used as a more definitive alter ...

, and from 2000 to 2001, he served as an adjunct professor of

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at Lewis & Clark College, 2000–2001. On September 20, 2001 Balmer was appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court. Governor

John Kitzhaber John Albert Kitzhaber (born March 5, 1947) is an American former politician who served as the 35th governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003, and as the 37th governor of Oregon from 2011 until his resignation in 2015. A member of the Democratic Party ...

appointed Balmer to replace Ted Kulongoski after Kulongoski resigned to campaign for governor. (Kulongoski later won the election to replace Kitzhaber.) Balmer was then elected to a full six-year term in 2002 and re-elected to new terms in 2008, 2014, and 2020. In January 2012 it was announced that Balmer's fellow justices had selected him to become the new chief justice of the court, from May 1, 2012, replacing

Paul De Muniz Paul J. De Muniz (born June 8, 1947) is a retired American judge in the state of Oregon. He is the first Hispanic Chief Justice in the history of the Oregon Supreme Court. He was elected to the court in 2000, and elected as chief justice in 2006. ...

Martha Lee Walters Martha Lee Walters (born October 23, 1950) is an American labor attorney and who served as the 43rd chief justice of Oregon from 2018 to 2022; she was a member of the court from 2006 to 2022. She became the first female justice on the state's hig ...

succeeded Balmer as chief justice on July 1, 2018, although Balmer has continued to serve as a justice. In October 2022, Balmer announced his retirement from the Supreme Court at the end of the year.

Select publications

*"Recombinant DNA: Legal Responses to a New Biohazard." ''

Environmental Law Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental legal principles, focus on the manage ...

'', vol. 7, no. 2, 1977, pp. 293–313. *Co-author of ''

Antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

Review of Proposed Administrative Actions'', 61 B.U. L. Rev. 90, (1981). *Co-author of ''Conflicts Between State Law and the

Sherman Act The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, its principal author. Th ...

'', 44 U. Pitt. L. Rev. 1 (1982). *"Of Energy, Antitrust, and Institutional Competence: A Note on ''Alabama Power Co. v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission''.” ''Environmental Law'', vol. 14, no. 2, 1984, pp. 257–76. *"Holmes on Law as a Business and a Profession.” ''

Journal of Legal Education The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), formed in 1900, is a non-profit organization of 176 law schools in the United States. An additional 19 schools pay a fee to receive services but are not members. AALS incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non ...

'', vol. 42, no. 4, 1992, pp. 591–93. *"'Present Appreciation and Future Advantage:' A Note on the Influence of Hobbes on Holmes." ''

American Journal of Legal History The ''American Journal of Legal History'' is a peer reviewed, peer edited legal periodical. It has appeared quarterly since 1957. It was the first English-language periodical devoted solely to legal history. Since 2016 it has been published by ...

'', vol. 47, no. 4, 2005, pp. 412–34. *"''Does Oregon's Constitution Need a Due Process Clause?" Thought on Due Process and Other Limitations on State Action'', from ''State Constitutional Law Symposium in Honor of Justice Robert F. Utter'', organized by Hugh D. Spitzer, 91 Wash. L. Rev. Online 157-76 (2016).

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Balmer, Thomas A. 1952 births Living people 21st-century American judges Chief Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court Lewis & Clark College faculty Oberlin College alumni People from Longview, Washington United States Department of Justice lawyers University of Chicago Law School alumni