Honoring U.S. District Judge James Milton Burns
By Hon. Stacie F. Beckerman Visitors to the Hatfield Courthouse may now view a historical display honoring the late U.S. District Judge James Milton Burns. The U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society and the Federal Bar Association (FBA), with funding from the Attorney Admissions Fund and in cooperation with Judge Burns’ family, have placed in the Jury Assembly Room a reproduction of Judge Burns’ portrait (the original of which hangs in Courtroom 14A), a short biography, and plaques honoring the annual recipients of the Judge James M. Burns Federal Practice Award since its inception in 2002. The display also includes Judge Burns’ judicial robe, first presented by the…
Pandemic Reflections: Looking Beyond Our Courtrooms
By Hon. Stacie F. Beckerman, U.S. Magistrate Judge In December 2019, I informed a pregnant defendant (“G”) at her arraignment that I was detaining her pending trial. She fainted. The deputy U.S. Marshal called 911, and G was rushed to the hospital. She was treated and released, and at the continued hearing, I stood my ground. However, a few months later, her baby was born suffering from complications, and I released G from custody to nurse her daughter to health while housed in a structured program. Soon G had demonstrated that she was not going to run, and I allowed her to return home to her family, but with…
Department of Follow-Through: “Digitizing the Oregon Story”
By Adair Law In late spring 2019, the USDCHS was delighted to learn of the Oregon Historical Society’s receipt of a generous Library Services and Technology Act grant, funded through the State Library of Oregon’s Library Support and Development Services. The full title of the grant request “Digitizing the Oregon Story: Creating Access to Significant Legal and Political Oral Histories” gives the broad brushstrokes of what they wanted to accomplish. Starting on July 1 2019, OHS set to the task of digitizing 1825 hours of now obsolescent recording format to preserve information from 215 oral history interviews. Of those oral histories, over 60 came from the USDCHS Oral History…
Malcolm F. Marsh: A Judicial Philosophy of Kindness–Lifetime Service Award 2020
By Kelly A. Zusman The U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society is pleased to honor Judge Malcolm F. Marsh with its 2020 Lifetime Service Award. This article is based on his 2005 oral history and many conversations with Judge Marsh. He was the “baby” judge in 1987. It had been seven years since President Jimmy Carter had appointed the trio: Judges Owen Panner, Helen J. Frye, and James A. Redden. Judge Robert Belloni and Jim Burns were the senior judges, and the district of Oregon had just three U.S. Magistrate Judges at that time: William Dale, George Juba, and Michael Hogan. Judge Malcolm Marsh had been appointed just…
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020)
We note with sadness and respect the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We direct your attention to pages 3 and 7 of our Fall 2008 Oregon Benchmarks. In September 2008, Oregon enjoyed visits from Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Anthony Kennedy.