A Festive Celebration of the USDCHS Oral History Program

 

By Brady Yamin

The U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society (USDCHS) hosted a celebration of its Oral History Program on June 25, 2026, at the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse to honor Senior Judge Susan Graber of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Senior U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown. Judges Graber and Brown read excerpts from and shared stories about their USDCHS oral histories, reflecting on their personal journeys, family histories, and challenges faced and overcome over several decades.

USDCHS President Douglas Pahl of Ashurst Perkins Coie welcomed a packed Courtroom 9A, a historic courtroom for Judge Brown, who recalled presiding over two trials in the Malheur Wildlife Refuge occupation cases there in 2016-17. The courtroom was reconfigured at that time to accommodate 26 criminal defendants, their counsel, paralegals, and prosecutors.

Oregon Historical Society (OHS) Library Director Brian Stauffer, Ph.D., opened with remarks on the importance of preserving oral histories. McKinzie Millard, a second-year law student at Lewis & Clark Law School—Judge Brown’s alma mater—moderated the conversation with Judges Graber and Brown. Both judges first reflected on USDCHS’s request that they share their oral histories. Judge Brown recalled feeling hesitant, wondering how her story would compare with those of titans of the federal bench such as U.S. District Judges James Burns and Owen Panner. Judge Graber said that she had similar initial feelings of discomfort because she was more accustomed to living her experiences than narrating them.

Despite their initial hesitation, both judges described the process as deeply meaningful. Their oral-history interviews were extensive, taking place over several two-hour sessions. Both credited oral historian Janice Dilg for her interviewing skills and ability to make the interviews feel conversational and allowing long-forgotten stories to resurface.

The program’s most moving stories came from the judges’ discussion of their family histories. Judge Brown’s father served in World War II, after which her family became refugees. The family waited years before being allowed entry into the United States. In 1952, with the help of their church group and the American Red Cross, the family boarded a ship from Hamburg, Germany to Ellis Island and then traveled to Oregon by train. Following her parents’ deaths years later, Judge Brown’s family discovered a box of materials her parents had used to study for their U.S. citizenship exams. Her mother had handwritten answers to an extensive list of questions “every American should know.” Although many pages had been torn out, the page on top asked how federal judges receive their authority and how long they serve.

Now a senior federal judge, Judge Brown continues to preside over naturalization ceremonies, sharing her family’s story and explaining how she relates to the struggles new citizens face. She reminds new citizens that their children may be the greatest beneficiaries of that moment, as she was.

Judge Graber shared a similar story of her family’s journey to U.S. citizenship. Her mother was born in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in a town that is now part of modern-day Ukraine, and grew up speaking Hungarian, German, and Yiddish. Her mother immigrated to the United States as a young child before World War I. Judge Graber keeps her mother’s naturalization certificate in her chambers as a reminder of her roots and how the law shaped her family’s history.

The conversation shifted from family history to each judge’s path to the law. Judge Graber, who graduated from Wellesley College (1969), described it as an environment in which many women were beginning to imagine legal careers and lives beyond the traditional expectations of women at the time. Many of her female classmates took the LSAT, and that atmosphere reinforced her own interest in the law.

Judge Brown’s path was less direct. She entered college while helping to care for her mother with intentions to become a high school chemistry teacher. A work-study job at the Lake Oswego Police Department exposed her to law and public service and she later worked as one of Portland’s 911 operators. Judge Brown graduated from Portland State University in 1975 with a degree in Administration of Justice with the help of a law-enforcement education funding program.

Her transition to law school was somewhat unorthodox. A coworker’s bet that he could outscore her on the LSAT  inspired her to take the exam. Judge Brown lost the bet, but after paying $50 to take the test, she figured she might as well apply to law school. She was accepted to and enrolled in the night program at Lewis & Clark Law School.

Both judges highlighted the importance of mentors early in their careers. Judge Graber told the story of a Stoel Rives client who was adamant about not being represented by a female lawyer. A senior lawyer at her law firm, Barnes Ellis, refused to remove her from the case. Even after an early success in the matter, the client continued to insist that he wanted a male lawyer. Ellis again stood by Judge Graber, and she won the case.

Judge Brown shared a story about losing an important oral argument early in her career at the Bullivant law firm in Portland. She later overheard her senior partner speaking with the client. Rather than blaming her for the loss, he fully defended her work, telling the client that she had done the best job anyone could have and that he could not have argued it better himself. This early support from mentors impacted both judges’ confidence and career trajectories.

The judges shared their respective paths to the federal bench. Judge Brown sought appointment to the state bench after private practice pulled her away from the courtroom work she loved and valued. Governor Barbara Roberts appointed her to the Oregon District Court and later to the Oregon Circuit Court as part of a broader effort to make the state bench more representative. Judge Graber recalled being sworn in to the Oregon Supreme Court during the same week she learned that she was pregnant. She later gave birth while serving on the court, a milestone that then-Chief Justice Edwin Peterson believed made her the first woman in the nation to give birth while serving as a state supreme court justice.

Both judges later moved from Oregon’s state courts to the federal bench: Judge Graber to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1998, after Judge Edward Leavy took senior status, and Judge Brown to the U.S. District Court in 1999, after Judge Malcolm Marsh took senior status. President Bill Clinton appointed both judges. Judge Graber attended Wellesley College and Yale Law School with the Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton.

In closing, Judges Graber and Brown reflected on the early days of the USDCHS in the 1980s and their connections to its early founders: Judges Burns, Leavy, and Panner. Judge Panner inspired Judge Brown to serve on the USDCHS board to help ensure the organization’s continued success and she continued to serve on the board for many years.

USDCHS board member U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie Beckerman closed the event by emphasizing that it was a special gift to hear Judges Graber and Brown read directly from their oral histories. Many law students and young lawyers attended, and the event provided a meaningful way to share the court’s history with its next generation. Judge Brown summed up the day best by observing that, without oral histories, judges and lawyers can too easily become “just a name and a face on a portrait.” As the courtroom emptied, courthouse student interns served Salt & Straw ice cream to attendees in the 9th floor lobby and outdoor sculpture garden.

The oral history program dates to 1988, when USDCHS began preserving interviews with judges, lawyers, and others connected to Oregon’s federal courts. With substantial support from the district court’s Attorney Admissions Fund, the USDCHS oral history collection now includes over 180 oral histories of individuals and law firms. The histories are available in both original audio recordings and transcribed interviews at OHS’s Davies Family Research Library and on the USDCHS website.

The author interned for U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie Beckerman during summer 2026, is a rising sophomore studying business economics at UCLA, and is a 2025 graduate of Central Catholic High School in Portland. USDCHS thanks board member Elisabeth Rennick Farewell for organizing a successful event and the terrific crew of courthouse student interns for their event support.