Oregon Supreme Court

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Oregon Supreme Court
Court information
Justices:	7
Judicial selection
Method:	Non-partisan election of judges
Term:	6 years
Active justices
Thomas Balmer  •  Martha Walters  •  Robert Durham  •  Paul DeMuniz  •  Rives Kistler  •  Virginia Linder  •  Jack Landau  •
Former justices

The Oregon Supreme Court is the highest court in Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the United States Supreme Court.^[1]

Justices

Chief justice

Thomas Balmer was sworn in on May 1, 2012 when former Chief Justice Paul De Muniz stepped down. Before serving as chief justice Balmer was an associate justice (holding Position 1) of the Supreme Court, a position to which he was initially appointed on September 20, 2001 by then-Gov. John Kitzhaber, a Democrat. ^[1][2][3] The Supreme Court is responsible for choosing the Chief Justice, who serves six year terms. The responsibilities of the position include taking care of administrative responsibilities as well as the financial responsibilities of the state Judicial Department.^[4]

2012 Election

See also: Oregon judicial elections, 2012

Candidate	Incumbency	Branch	Primary Vote	Election Vote
SercombeTimothy Sercombe	Yes	Position 3	26.08%
BaldwinRichard C. Baldwin	No	Position 3	33.42%a
CookNena Cook	No	Position 3	40.05%a
LinderVirginia Linder	Yes	Position 6	99.25%a
BrewerDavid V. Brewer	No	Position 2	99.34%a

Jurisdiction

"The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over the following matters:

• Direct review of circuit court decisions in death penalty cases certain labor law injunctions
• Direct review from decisions of the Oregon Tax Court
• Discretionary review of Court of Appeals decisions and certified questions from the Court of Appeals
• Direct review of certain agency proceedings, including prison siting decisions, energy Facility Siting Council decisions, and certain solid waste disposal site selection decisions
• Direct but discretionary review of certified questions of law from a federal court or court of another state
• Original proceedings (court has discretion whether to hear a particular case), including mandamus; habeas corpus; quo warranto; challenges to ballot titles, explanatory statements, and statements of fiscal impact; and, reapportionment review (every ten years)
• Practice of law proceedings—admissions to the practice of law, and disciplinary proceedings to reprimand, suspend, or disbar attorneys after trial by the Disciplinary Board
• Judicial fitness and disability—disciplinary proceedings to censure, suspend, or remove of a judge after investigation and recommendation of the Commission on Judicial Fitness and disability"^[1]

Judicial selection

State court judges serve six-year terms and run for nonpartisan election. In the case of a vacancy, the Governor may fill the seat with an appointment. To keep that position, the appointed person must run for election for a full six-year term at the next general election.

Judicial selection measures fail

In November 2002, voters in Oregon were presented with two measures on the selection of judges to increase accountability. The first measure "would have given voters a "none of the above" option when voting for judges and would have required mid-term judicial appointees to run for election at the next available election, rather than at the next general election." The second measure would have had appellate judges elected from geographic districts.^[2]

Qualifications

Justices on the Oregon Supreme Court serve in terms of six years.^[3] The mandatory retirement age in Oregon is 75. To be a qualified candidate to the court, he must be a United States citizen, a resident of Oregon at least three years before the election or appointment, and must be admitted to practice law in the Oregon Supreme Court.^[4]

Removal of justices

A judge may be removed if he is convicted of a felony or a "crime involving moral turpitude," misconduct in office, a failure to perform the duties of the bench, is incompetent to perform those duties, has violated a rule of judicial conduct, or is consistently drunk or uses drugs.

Salaries

The Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court earns $128,556 annually, while associate justices earn $125,688, as of January 2010.^[5][6]

Notable decisions

History of the court

The Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, Oregon

Oregon has four types of courts, which include the trial and appellate courts, the municipal courts, federal courts, and the tribal courts.^[7] In addition to the different types of courts, the state is divided into 36 counties and 27 judicial districts.^[8]

Notable firsts

See also

• News: New chief justice on the Oregon Supreme Court, May 6, 2012
• News: Oregon Supreme Court Primary draws nearer, March 28, 2012
• News: Attorney argues conflict of interest in two Oregon Supreme Court decisions, December 14, 2011
• News: Oregon Supreme Court rule against free speech in stalking case, September 12, 2011
• News: Oregon Supreme Court reverses 2006 aggravated murder conviction, August 29, 2011
• News: Opponents of death penalty appeal to Oregon Supreme court to reverse ruling, June 13, 2011
• News: Supreme Court rules on gun permit for medical marijuana users, May 31, 2011

External links

• Oregon Judicial Department Official Site
• The Oregonian, "Two more file for Oregon Supreme Court seat held by Robert Durham," December 15, 2011

References

v • d • e Oregon Supreme Court
Current	Thomas Balmer  •  Martha Walters  •  Robert Durham  •  Paul DeMuniz  •  Rives Kistler  •  Virginia Linder  •  Jack Landau  •
Former	Michael Gillette  •  Betty C. Roberts  •