Misplaced Pages

Robert Edward Jones (born July 5, 1927) is an American politician and judge in Oregon. He serves as a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon in Portland. A Portland native, he previously served as the 84th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court and as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives.

Jones was nominated by President George H. W. Bush on February 20, 1990, to a seat vacated by Judge James M. Burns. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 27, 1990, and received commission on April 30, 1990. Assumed senior status on May 1, 2000.

Early life

Jones was born in 1927 in Portland, Oregon. There he attended Grant High School. After high school Jones joined the United States Naval Reserve and attended the University of Hawaiʻi where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949. He then enrolled at the Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland where he graduated in 1953 with a Bachelor of Laws. While in the Naval Reserve he served in the Judge Advocate General Corps from 1949 to 1987.

Legal career

After law school Jones entered private legal practice in Portland where he remained until 1963. In 1963 he entered politics when he served in the Oregon House of Representatives as a Republican representing Portland. He resigned, however, before the special session held later that year. Jones resigned in order to become a circuit judge in Multnomah County, where he remained until 1982.

Judicial career

State judicial service

On December 16, 1982, Jones was appointed by Oregon Governor Victor G. Atiyeh to the Oregon Supreme Court. He replaced Jacob Tanzer who had resigned. One of the most notable cases Jones authored the opinion in was State v. Henry, which declared unconstitutional all Oregon obscenity laws then binding. Jones served on Oregon's highest court until April 30, 1990, when he resigned.

Federal judicial service

On February 20, 1990, Jones was nominated to become a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon by nominated by President George H. W. Bush to replace Judge James M. Burns. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 27 and then received his federal commission on April 30, 1990. Jones took senior status on May 1, 2000.

Notable cases

As a federal judge he upheld Oregon's Assisted Suicide law against a federal challenge in April 2002. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft had challenged the law based on federal laws concerning controlled substances. In 2003 to 2004 he was the presiding judge of the case involving Mike Hawash of the Portland Seven in which Hawash received a seven-year sentence for conspiring to fight in Afghanistan for the Taliban against United States forces. Then in 2005 he ruled against the Bush administration in their efforts to reduce protection of gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act.

Other service

Jones is a former president of the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, an adjunct member of the Lewis & Clark Law School faculty, part of the National Judicial College, and a faculty member of the American Academy of Judicial Education.

References

1. Baun, Carolyn (1993). The First duty: a history of the U.S. District Court for Oregon. U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society. p. 285. ISBN 0963515608.
2. ^ Robert E. Jones at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
3. Bernstein, Maxine (3 October 2022). "Federal Judge Robert E. Jones ends his courtroom career at age 95 after 59 years on the bench". The Oregonian/OregonLive. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
4. Oregon Legislature: 1963 Regular Session. Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on January 25, 2008.
5. Oregon Legislature: 1963 Special Session. Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on January 25, 2008.
6. Oregon State Archives: Oregon Governor's Records Guides. Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on January 25, 2008.
7. ^ Oregon Blue Book: Earliest Authorities in Oregon - Supreme Court Justices of Oregon. Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on January 25, 2008.
8. ^ Federal judge upholds Oregon assisted-suicide law. CNN.com. April 17, 2002. Retrieved on February 1, 2008.
9. Oregon resident Maher Hawash charged in 'Portland Six' conspiracy. U.S. Dept. of Justice. Retrieved on February 1, 2008.
10. Ben Jacklet and Janine Robben. Hawash regrets 'worst decision'. Portland Tribune, April 10, 2004. Retrieved on February 1, 2008.
11. Mulford, Tanya. Wolves Win: Federal Judge Upholds Endangered Species Act Protections. Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine The Humane Society of the United States. Retrieved on February 1, 2008.
12. Federal Civil Trials and Evidence. Archived 2007-03-10 at the Wayback Machine The Rutter Group. Retrieved on February 1, 2008.

External links

• Robert E. Jones at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• OHSU Scientist Makes Recommendations To Improve Expert Testimony In The Courtroom
• Mass tort litigation and inquisitorial justice
• Portland Tribune: Terror judge: Bring on the big questions

• 1927 births
• Living people
• 20th-century American judges
• 21st-century American judges
• Grant High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni
• Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon
• Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court
• Lawyers from Portland, Oregon
• Lewis & Clark Law School alumni
• Members of the Oregon House of Representatives
• Oregon state court judges
• United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush
• United States Navy officers
• University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni
• United States Navy reservists
• United States Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps