Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Oregon since May 19, 2014, when Judge Michael J. McShane of the U.S. District Court for the District Court of Oregon ruled in Geiger v. Kitzhaber that Oregon's 2004 state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. A campaign that was then under way to win voter approval of a constitutional amendment legalizing same-sex marriage was suspended following the decision. In July 2015, Governor Kate Brown signed legislation codifying same-sex marriage in various Oregon statutes. The law change went into effect on January 1, 2016.
Oregon v. Guzek, 546 U.S. 517 (2006), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, which ruled that the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution does not grant criminal defendants facing the death penalty the right to introduce new evidence of their innocence during sentencing that was not introduced during trial. Accordingly, states could constitutionally exclude such evidence from the sentencing phase of a capital trial.
Oregon's 2006 statewide election included a May 16 primary election and a November 7 general election.
Santiago Ventura Morales is a Mexican social worker in the state of Oregon. Born in Mexico, he was falsely convicted of murder in Oregon in 1986. The conviction drew national attention when some jurors worked to overturn the conviction, and he was released from prison in 1991. He later graduated from the University of Portland.
W. Michael Gillette is an American attorney and retired judge in the state of Oregon. He was a justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, where he served from 1986 until 2010. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he was previously a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals from 1977 to 1986.
Betty Cantrell Roberts was an American politician and judge from the U.S. state of Oregon. She was the 83rd justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. She was the first woman to serve on the Oregon Supreme Court, and had also been the first woman on the Oregon Court of Appeals. Roberts served from 1982 to 1986 on the high court and from 1977 to 1982 on the Court of Appeals.
Jacob B. Tanzer was an American attorney in the state of Oregon. Prior to private practice Tanzer served as the 81st justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. He also served on the Oregon Court of Appeals, was a deputy district attorney for Multnomah County, Oregon, and worked for the United States Department of Justice.
George Albert Van Hoomissen is an American attorney in the state of Oregon. He previously served as the 87th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court and previously served as a judge of the Oregon Court of Appeals. The Portland, Oregon native was also the district attorney for Multnomah County, Oregon, and served as a Democrat in the Oregon Legislative Assembly.
Terrence Doyle Schrunk was an American politician who served as the mayor for the city of Portland, Oregon, 1957–1973, a length tying with George Luis Baker, who also served 16 years (1917–1933).
Brad Peter Avakian is an American politician who served as a Democrat in the Oregon House, the Oregon Senate, and as the state's nonpartisan elected Labor Commissioner.
Jason Dwight Lee was an American politician and judge in the state of Oregon. A controversial lawyer, he served on the Oregon Court of Appeals and made an unsuccessful attempt at joining the Oregon Supreme Court and was the defendant in several cases that made their way to the state's highest court. His attorney records were the subject of a lawsuit that opened lawyer discipline records up for public scrutiny.
The Oregon State Bar Association (OSBA) is a public corporation and instrumentality of the Oregon Judicial Department in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded in 1890 as the private Oregon Bar Association, it became a public entity in 1935 that regulates the legal profession. The public corporation is part of the Oregon Judicial Department.
Michael J. McShane is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. He previously served as a state court judge on the Oregon Multnomah County Circuit Court from 2001 to 2013.
Geiger v. Kitzhaber is a decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon that requires Oregon to allow same-sex couples to marry and to recognize same-sex marriages established in other jurisdictions. The decision arose from two consolidated cases that alleged that Oregon's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, Article 15, § 5, and all related marriage statutes, violate the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Among the several defendants, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum filed appearances in the case to defend Oregon's position, but declined to defend the constitutionality of the bans and ordered state agencies to recognize the validity of same-sex marriages established elsewhere.
Alfred Hoyt Corbett was an American attorney, businessman, and politician in the state of Oregon. Born into one of the wealthiest and most influential families in Oregon, he attended Harvard University and then Yale Law School. He served twelve years in the Oregon Legislative Assembly, representing Multnomah County in the Oregon House of Representatives and then the Oregon State Senate.
Michael D. Schrunk was an American attorney who served as district attorney of Multnomah County, Oregon, United States from 1981 until 2012. He is believed to have been the longest-serving district attorney in the state of Oregon.
Michael Schmidt is an American attorney and prosecutor. He has served as the Multnomah County District Attorney since August 2020. Originally set to begin his term on January 1, 2021, Governor Kate Brown appointed him to the job early, in August of 2020, to replace Rod Underhill, who retired in July.
The Multnomah Bar Association (MBA) is a voluntary bar association located in Portland, Oregon. The organization is also sometimes referred to as the Multnomah County Bar Association. Although named after Multnomah County membership in the association is open to all lawyers in the State of Oregon. The present MBA was founded in 1906. There was an earlier group of attorneys, also called the Multnomah Bar Association, which appears to have dissolved some time in the early 1900s.
Frank Lonergan was a Republican politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. A longtime member of the Oregon House of Representatives, he served as speaker for the 1931 regular session of the state legislature. He became a judge in Multnomah County in 1945 He notably oversaw the conviction of district attorney William Langley for failure to prosecute gambling, and ordered him removed from office.
Lotus L. Langley was a Democratic politician and lawyer in the U.S. state of Oregon in the early 20th century. He served one term as district attorney of Multnomah County, after defeating rival Stanley Myers by the largest majority of any previous occupant of the office.
