James A. Redden
- This article is about the U.S. District Judge in Oregon. His son, Jim Redden, was the publisher of PDXS and is a reporter for the Portland Tribune.
James A. Redden | |
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| |
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon | |
Assumed office March 13, 1995 | |
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon | |
In office 1990–1995 | |
Preceded by | Owen M. Panner |
Succeeded by | Michael Robert Hogan |
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon | |
In office February 20, 1980 – March 13, 1995 | |
Appointed by | Jimmy Carter |
Preceded by | Seat established by 92 Stat. 1629 |
Succeeded by | Ann Aiken |
10th Oregon Attorney General | |
In office January 3, 1977 – March 24, 1980 | |
Preceded by | Lee Johnson |
Succeeded by | James M. Brown |
Oregon State Treasurer | |
In office January 1, 1973 – January 3, 1977 | |
Preceded by | Robert W. Straub |
Succeeded by | H. Clay Myers Jr. |
Personal details | |
Born |
James Anthony Redden Jr. March 13, 1929 Springfield, Massachusetts |
Political party | Democratic |
Residence | Beaverton, Oregon |
Education | Boston College Law School (LL.B.) |
James Anthony "Jim" Redden Jr. (born March 13, 1929) is an American judge and politician from Oregon. He is currently a Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.[1] Before appointment to the bench, he was a trial attorney, and a career Democratic politician, serving as a legislator and in two of the state's constitutional offices, Treasurer[2] and Attorney General.[3]
Early life and education
Redden was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, the third child of James A. Redden Sr., a dentist, and his wife, Alma. He spent his early childhood in their home on Bronson Terrace at the eastern edge of Forest Park, where for a time his father also maintained his dental office[4] During what he would later describe as a "mediocre" high school career,[5] Redden enlisted in the United States Army in 1946,[6] serving two years as a PFC in occupied Japan.[1] He was assigned as a hospital medic and witnessed the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima firsthand.[1] He married Joan Johnson in 1951[1] and took several low-end jobs, including working coding survey sheets for the Gillette Razor Company,[5] and managed not only to earn a belated high school diploma, but went on to Boston College and Boston College Law School, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws in 1954, and was admitted to the Massachusetts bar the same year.[1]
Legal career
After engaging in the private practice of law in Massachusetts for only a year, the Redden moved to Portland, Oregon in 1955 to take the Oregon State Bar exam and a position with a title insurance company. His work as a title examiner lasted only one year, followed by an equally brief tenure as a claims adjuster for Allstate Insurance Company.[6] Neither position satisfied what he would later describe as a growing passion for the law, particularly as it plays out in the courtroom.[1] Redden lived for the next seventeen years in Medford, Oregon, where he built a law practice. He became immersed in politics, quickly becoming regarded as one of the Democratic Party's "rising stars."[1]
Political career
It was as a favor to a friend seeking a challenger to the incumbent Republican for the 19th District in the Oregon House of Representatives that Redden entered his first political race in 1962.[7] He won the race and served for six years in the House, becoming the party Minority Leader in 1967.[8] As a legislator, Redden was a key figure in some of Oregon's most groundbreaking legislative initiatives, including brokering the deal which brought passage of the state's 1967 public beach access law.[1] In 1969 Redden moved to the executive branch, becoming chairman of the Public Employee Relations Board until 1972. From 1973 to 1976 he was the state treasurer, and from 1977 to 1980 he was the attorney general of Oregon.[9]
Federal judicial career
Redden was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on December 3, 1979, to a new seat on the United States District Court for the District of Oregon created by 92 Stat. 1629. He was confirmed by the United States Senate and received his commission on February 20, 1980. He served as Chief Judge from 1990 to 1995, and then assumed senior status on March 13, 1995.[9]
Notable cases
Redden dismissed 1975 guns and ammunition charges against American Indian Movement leader Dennis Banks.[10]
Since 2003, Redden has emerged as a central figure in the tension between industry and environmental concerns about the hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River. He has rejected two management plans advanced by the federal government of the United States, on the grounds that they fail to protect various species of salmon, as required by the Endangered Species Act, and has suggested that if the Bush administration failed to adequately address the salmon issue, management of the dams could fall to the courts.[11] In November 2011 he announced he would remove himself from the case prior to a new plan from the government would be presenting in 2014.[12][13][14][7]
Honor
The federal courthouse in Medford, Oregon, where Redden practiced law for 17 years,[1] was renamed by an Act of Congress in his honor.[15]
Personal
Redden and his wife, Joan, make their home in Beaverton, Oregon, and have two adult sons: Jim, a reporter for the Portland Tribune, and Bill, a public defender.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rojas-Burke, Joe (July 11, 2005). "James A. Redden: An amiable Judge, A hard line on salmon". The Oregonian. pp. A1.
- ↑ "Treasurers of Oregon". Oregon Blue Book. Oregon Secretary of State. 2006.
- ↑ "Attorneys General of Oregon". Oregon Blue Book. Oregon Secretary of State. 2006.
- ↑ United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts; Roll 911; p. 5A; E.D. 83; Image 191.0.
- 1 2 Painter Jr., John (April 7, 1990). "3 judges take overdue break to note decade together on federal bench". The Oregonian. pp. B4.
- 1 2 "James Anthony Redden." Marquis Who's WhoTM. Marquis Who's Who, 2006. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2006. Retrieved: 2006-12-07
- 1 2 Barnard, Jeff (February 19, 2006). "Judge: "Follow the Law, Save the Salmon"". The Columbian. (UPI) Vancouver, WA: Columbian Publishing Co. pp. A1.
- ↑ Van Meter, Heather (Fall 2005). "Judges Helen Frye, Owen Panner and James Redden" (PDF). Oregon Benchmarks. The U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
- 1 2 James Anthony Redden at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ↑ "Dismissal of charge against Indian leader upheld". New York Times. UPI. September 2, 1984. pp. A28.
- ↑ Milstein, Michael (December 11, 2007). "Judge rips latest plan to help salmon". The Oregonian.
- ↑ Learn, Scott (November 23, 2011). "Judge James Redden to step down after a decade on the Northwest's biggest salmon lawsuit". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
- ↑ Milstein, Michael (November 25, 2005). "U.S. offers new fish tactics for Columbia basin". The Oregonian. pp. B1.
- ↑ Harden, Blaine (November 25, 2005). "Bush Policy Irks Judges in West; Rulings Criticize Agencies for Not Protecting the Environment". Washington Post. pp. A1.
- ↑ First introduced as S.1875 and enacted as amendment to Pub.L. 104–208
External links
- James Anthony Redden at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
Political offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Robert W. Straub |
Oregon State Treasurer 1973–1976 |
Succeeded by H. Clay Myers Jr. |
Legal offices | ||
Preceded by Lee Johnson |
Oregon Attorney General 1977–1980 |
Succeeded by James M. Brown |
Preceded by Seat established by 92 Stat. 1629 |
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon 1980–1995 |
Succeeded by Ann Aiken |
Preceded by Owen M. Panner |
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon 1990–1995 |
Succeeded by Michael Robert Hogan |