This document, written by Joe K. Stephens, documents the history of Oregon laws before statehood.
All documents on this page are presented through the links below in Portable Document Format (PDF) and can be viewed using free Adobe Reader software.
Below is a link to the 1848 Federal "Act to Establish the Territorial Government of Oregon," also known as the "Organic Act."
Below are PDFs of the Revised Statutes of the Territory of Oregon.
This paper is the first in a two-part series on the history of the Oregon Judicial Department. The first part discusses the history of Oregon's courts prior to statehood in 1859, and includes the adoption of the Oregon Constitution. The second part of the history, written by Stephen P. Armitage, Staff Attorney, Oregon Supreme Court, begins just after statehood, and continues through today.
Part Two: History Post-Statehood
By Joe K. Stephens
Law Librarian
This paper is the second in a two-part series on the history of the Oregon Judicial Department. The first part, written by Joe K. Stephens, Law Librarian, State of Oregon Law Library, discussed the history of Oregon's courts prior to statehood in 1859 and includes the adoption of the Oregon Constitution. This, the second part of the history, begins just after statehood and continues through today.
By Stephen P. Armitage
Staff Attorney, Oregon Supreme Court1
Table of Contents
1862--Supreme Court Expanded to Five Justices, and Fifth Judicial District Created.
1878--Supreme Court Justices Separated from Circuit Court Judges, and Supreme Court Reduced to Three Justices.
1907 -- Legislature Created Office of Commissioner to the Supreme Court.
1909 -- Office of Commissioner Ended; Supreme Court Again Expanded to Five Justices.
1910 -- Adoption of Amended Article VII to Oregon Constitution.
1913 -- Legislature Created District Court, First New Court under Authority of Article VII (Amended).
1913 -- Supreme Court Expanded to Seven Justices.
1914 -- Examinations for Admission to Oregon Bar No Longer Administered by Supreme Court.
1914 -- Interlude on Judicial Elections: Justice Charles McNary Loses Nomination by One Vote.
1929 -- End of "At Large" Elections to Supreme Court.
1931 -- End of Partisan Judicial Elections for All Courts.
1961 -- Creation of Oregon Tax Court.
1969 -- Creation of Oregon Court of Appeals.
1981 -- Unification of Judicial Department.
1998 -- Consolidation of Circuit Courts and District Courts.
2009 -- The Oregon Judicial Department Today.
Footnotes:
FN1. The author wishes to thank a number of people for their gracious assistance with research, ideas, and suggestions, great and small. In alphabetical order:
2012 marked the 150th anniversary of the Oregon Reports and this important series has grown to 350 volumes, supplemented by 248 volumes of the Court of Appeals reports and 18 volumes of the Tax Court reports. These collections of judicial opinions are an important resource, documenting the social history of the Territory and the State of Oregon. In their pages one can trace the development of Oregon's political and economic institutions; its family structures, murders, and real estate deals; acts of discrimination, as well as acts of redress and remedy.
Please join us in celebration of these remarkable documents of social history by reading the story of how they came to be. Chief Justice Thomas A. Balmer has graciously provided the Law Library with his two-part essay on the history of the Oregon Reports. Part one, The Oregon Reports, 1862-1900: A Brief History (2006), discusses the beginnings of the Oregon Reports, including the work of John G. Wilson and the controversial switch to state control over printing the Reports beginning in 1889. A Brief History of the Oregon Reports (Part 2 of 2) (2008), provides an examination of the Oregon Reports from 1900 forward. This second part focuses on competing publications in the early 20th Century, Bancroft-Whitney's 18-year tenure as publisher of the Oregon Reports, and the how control over publication of the Reports has evolved to present day.
Chief Justice Balmer's essays on the history of the Oregon Reports are provided by following the links below. These essays were originally published in 1 Oregon Appellate Almanac 157 (2006) and 3 Oregon Appellate Almanac 163 (2008).
The material assembled in these two volumes represents a brief history of the Oregon judiciary for the past, century.
Biographical sketches and photographs of all judges, past and present, who have served upon the Supreme Court of Oregon from the days of the provisional government are included, with one exception. We were unable to locate a picture of Osborne Russell, who served as Judge of the Supreme Court from November 1843 to May 14, 1844, and presided at the first trial recorded in the journal of the Court, however, there is a short and interesting biography.
The biographical material has been compiled from a variety of sources and in some instances it has taken much time and effort locating copy that was informative and adapted to the purpose of preparing short biographies. Photographs have also been a difficult problem, especially with regard to some of the judges of pioneer days. Many pictures loaned to us had to be rephotographed, and some were copies from daguerreotypes, books and group pictures. We are indebted to the Oregon Historical Society for the use of many old and valuable photographs; also to Dr. Arthus S. Beardsley, Law Librarian, University of Washington, Seattle, who favored us with several copies of rare old photographs.
To Miss Dorothy L. Cornelius credit is given for efficient work in compiling the historical and biographical material, also in supervising the necessary photographic copying.
During the past one hundred years many outstanding men have served with distinction upon the Oregon Supreme Court, and they have helped guide the destinies of its people through the maze and wilderness of modern life and a fast developing country. As time goes on perhaps this record of judicial careers may be continued and prove useful for reference purposes.
Nov. 7, 1945
Arthur F. Benson
Clerk, Supreme Court of Oregon.
Arthur F. Benson's Foreword Document
Supreme Judges
First session of 1915 Term, Monday, Jan. 4th
Henry L Benson, Thomas A. McBride, George H. Burnett, Frank A. Moore, Robert Eakin, Lawrence T. Harris and P.H. Raymond, Bailiff
Lawrence T. Harris, George H. Burnett, Frank A. Moore, Wallace McCamant, Henry L. Benson, Thomas A. McBride and Henry J. Bean
Percy R. Kelly, John L. Rand, George M. Brown, Harry H. Belt, Henry J. Bean, Oliver P. Coshow and George Rossman
Hall S. Lusk, Percy R. Kelly, Harry H. Belt, John O. Bailey, John L. Rand, Henry J. Bean and George Rossman
Hall S. Lusk, Percy R. Kelly, Harry H. Belt, John O. Bailey, John L. Rand and James T. Brand
James T. Brand, Percy R. Kelly, Harry H. belt, John O. Bailet, George Rossman, Hall S. Lusk and Arthur D. Hay
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