Jump to content

W. Michael Gillette

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Aboutmovies (talk | contribs) at 06:36, 29 May 2009 (copy edit, expand). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

W. Michael Gillette
Gillette in 2009
86th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
Assumed office
1986
Appointed byVictor G. Atiyeh
Preceded byBetty Roberts
Judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals
In office
1977–1986
Appointed byRobert W. Straub
Preceded bynew position
Succeeded byMary J. Deits

W. Michael Gillette (born c. 1942) is an American attorney and judge in the state of Oregon. As of 2008 he is an associate justice on the Oregon Supreme Court, with his service beginning in 1986. He is currently the justice with the most seniority on the bench. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he was previously a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals from 1977 to 1986.

Early life

Gillette was born about 1942 and grew up in the Eastern Oregon city of Milton-Freewater.[1] In 1963, Gillette graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in arts from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. He then went on to Harvard Law School where he graduated with a bachelor of law degree in 1966.[2]

Gillette passed the Oregon State Bar in 1966 and joined the Portland, Oregon law firm of Rives and Rogers. The next year he moved on to become a Deputy District Attorney for Multnomah County, staying until 1969. Following this he was an Assistant Attorney General in American Samoa and Oregon for two years. Gillette joined the Consumer Protection Division as chief counsel, serving until 1973 when he became Chief Trial Counsel for the Oregon Department of Justice. That same year he then became Solicitor General for the state of Oregon, a position he held until 1977.[3]

In 1977, Gillette joined the Oregon Court of Appeals and served on that court until 1986.[3] He served as a presiding judge on that court from 1980 until the end of his tenure.[3] In 1980, he began serving on the board of directors for the Oregon Law-Related Education Project, remaining until 1988.[3] Gillette left the Court of Appeals after appointment to the Oregon Supreme Court in 1986 by then Republican Governor Vic Atiyeh.[3] Atiyeh appointed Gillette to fill the vacancy created when Justice Betty Roberts left the bench. Gillette was then elected to a full six-year term in 1986 and re-elected in 1992, 1998, and 2004.[4] Gillette is a faculty member of National Judicial College.[2]

Later years

In the past he served as a faculty member of Willamette University, and as an instructor at Portland State University.[3] Gillette served on the Board of Trustees from 1977 to 1980 for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.[3] He worked on the Advisory Committee of Scholars for the Constitution Project starting in 1984, and in 1991 was named Classroom Law Project's Legal Citizen of the Year.[3] The following year Gillette received an honorary LL.D. degree from Whitman College.[2] In 2006, he was awarded the V. Robert Payant Award in 2006 for teaching excellence from the National Judicial College,[2] and named one of the 500 Leading Judges in America in 2006 by Lawdragon.[5] A basketball player in high school, he serves as a referee for high school games.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Gillette". The Oregonian. June 27, 1993. pp. B1.
  2. ^ a b c d "Hon. W. Michael Gillette". Legalspan.com. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "The Honorable W. Michael Gillette". Supreme Court. Oregon Judicial Department. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  4. ^ "Oregon Supreme Court Justices". Oregon Blue Book. Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  5. ^ Justice Michael Gillette '63 Named to Lawdragon's Best 500 Judges in America. Whitman College. Retrieved November 26 2007.
  6. ^ Steves, David (March 20, 2000). "Oregon Justice's Interest in Law Came Early". The Register-Guard. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)