Berkeley "Bud" Lent (September 22, 1921 – November 11, 2007) was an American politician and jurist in 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 ...
. He was the 38th 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.judge
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 ...
. Lent also served as a mediator and senior judge in
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 ...
.
Early life
On September 22, 1921, Lent was born in
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. Raised in the Lents neighborhood of southeast Portland, Berkeley earned his primary education there, graduating from Franklin High School.Green, Ashbel S. Berkeley Lent: lawyer, legislator, judge. ''
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 ...
'', November 14, 2007. After high school he moved to
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, where he attended
Occidental College
Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...
from 1944 to 1945. Also in 1944, he married Dorothy Welch. Lent joined the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
that year. Lent then returned to Portland where he attended
Reed College
Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor-Gothic style architecture, and a forested canyon nature preserve at ...
, graduating in 1948.
He then went on to
law school
A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction.
Law degrees Argentina
In Argentina, ...
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 ...
where he graduated with his
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 1950 and was president of his class his final year. After law school Lent moved to
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, and worked for Bancroft-Whitney Law Publishing Company as an editor. He then returned to Portland and worked for the
Bonneville Power Administration
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is an American federal agency operating in the Pacific Northwest. BPA was created by an act of Congress in 1937 to market electric power from the Bonneville Dam located on the Columbia River and to constr ...
as a staff attorney. After practicing law in
Coos Bay, Oregon
Coos Bay ( Coos language: Atsixiis) is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one en ...
, Lent returned again to Portland and began working at the law firm of Peterson & Pozzi beginning in 1953.
Political career
Berkeley Lent began his political life in the
state house
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
as a Democrat from Portland, serving at the 1957 session. He remained in the House through 1965, and that year serving as the Minority Whip. He then served in the state senate from 1967 to 1971. During the 1971 legislative session Lent was selected as the Senate Majority Leader after losing the Senate Presidency when a rural conservative Democrat, himself a former Senate President, joined Republicans to deny Lent the Senate Presidency. The defection caused a 15-15 deadlock that lasted for 12 days and through 54 ballots before being broken.''Oregon Appellate Almanac'', 2008. Later that year Lent was appointed as a county circuit court judge in
Multnomah County
Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Thou ...
remaining at that post until 1977.
Lent was elected to 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. Justice Lent was then re-elected to another six-year term in 1982. On the court his fellow justices elected him as chief justice in July 1982, serving until resigning the position in August 1983. Justice Lent then resigned from the bench on September 30, 1988.
George Van Hoomissen
George Albert Van Hoomissen (born March 7, 1930) is an American attorney in the state of Oregon. He previously served as the 87th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court and previously served as a judge of the Oregon Court of Appeals. The Portland, ...
was elected in May of that year to replace Lent.
Later life and family
After leaving the court and political office, Lent worked in
alternative dispute resolution
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...
as an arbitrator and mediator, as well as a senior judge for the state of Oregon. He divorced his first wife Dorothy in 1961 and remarried in 1968 to Joan Burnett, with the family moving to
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, after Lent's retirement. He had two sons, Eric and Scott, and four daughters, Terry, Deirdre, Suzanne, and Patricia. Berkeley Lent died of a heart attack in Las Vegas on November 11, 2007.