Wallace P. Carson Jr. (born June 10, 1934) is an American attorney and politician from
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 ...
. He has spent time in both of Oregon's legislative branches and served on 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.
Early life
Wallace P. Carson Jr. was born June 10, 1934, and raised in
Salem
Salem may refer to: Places
Canada
Ontario
* Bruce County
** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie
** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce
* Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...
where his grandfather had started a law firm in 1889.Leeson, Fred. Colleagues elect Carson as Supreme Court Chief Justice. ''
The Oregonian
''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...
'', July 25, 1991. He graduated from Salem High School (now North Salem High School) in 1952. Wallace graduated from
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 ...
in
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto (; Spanish language, Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree kno ...
with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in 1956 where he was a brother of
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
in 1962.
After graduation, he spent three years on active duty in the Air Force. Overall Carson Jr. was in the armed forces for 34 years, many with the Air Force Reserve and Oregon Air National Guard. While serving in the military he rose to the rank of
brigadier general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
while serving as a
Judge Advocate General's Corps
The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judg ...
(JAG) officer, ground control intercept officer, and jet pilot. This service took him to places such as
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
and
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. Wallace P. Carson Jr. was in private legal practice from 1962 to 1977.
Political career
While still serving in the military and working in private practice, Wallace Carson was invited by Oregon Republican politician
Bob Packwood
Robert William Packwood (born September 11, 1932) is an American retired lawyer and politician from Oregon and a member of the Republican Party. He resigned from the United States Senate, under threat of expulsion, in 1995 after allegations of s ...
to run for a seat in the
Oregon House of Representatives
The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...
in 1966. There he served two terms, including one as majority leader. Then he was elected in 1970 to the
Oregon State Senate
The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...
, and re-elected in 1974. He served as minority floor leader during his second term.
Judicial service
Carson began his career in the judicial branch of government following his years in the legislature with an appointment to the Marion County Circuit Court by Governor
Robert W. Straub
Robert William Straub (May 6, 1920 – November 27, 2002) was an American politician and businessman from the state of Oregon. A native of San Francisco, California, he settled in Eugene, Oregon, where he entered politics. A Democratic politici ...
in 1977. Governor
Vic Atiyeh
Victor George Atiyeh (; February 20, 1923 – July 20, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 32nd Governor of Oregon from 1979 to 1987. He was also the first elected governor of Middle Eastern descent and of Syrian descent in the Un ...
appointed him to replace Justice Denecke on the Oregon Supreme Court in July 1982, he was elected to a full six-year term in November of that year, and he was re-elected in 1988, 1994, and 2000. He was chairman of the Oregon Appellate Judges Association from 1989 to 1991.
Carson's fellow justices chose him to serve as chief justice from 1991 to 2005. He was the longest serving Chief Justice in Oregon's history, and about 94% of the decisions issued by the court under his tenure were unanimous decisions. While on the court he served as chairperson of the Commission on Appellate Court Performance Standards for the National Center for State Courts. Carson did not seek re-election in 2006.
Virginia Linder
Virginia Lynn Linder (born 1953) is an American judge from Oregon who served as the 99th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court from January 2007 until January 2016. She served on the Oregon Court of Appeals from 1997 until her election to the state' ...
was elected to the position he vacated.
Personal life
Since 1970 Carson has served on the Board of Trustees of Willamette University. He is currently a senior judge for the state, subject to temporary assignment as a judge on any court in the
Oregon Judicial Department
The Oregon Judicial Department (OJD) is the judicial branch of government of the state of Oregon in the United States. The chief executive of the branch is the Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. Oregon’s judiciary consists primarily of ...
. He has been married to his wife, the former Gloria Stalk, for over 50 years. She was a year behind him in high school, and they met at a local pool, where he was swimming and she had been playing tennis.