Edward Leavy: an Oral History
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Edward Leavy: An Oral History i ii Edward Leavy An Oral History FOREWORD BY JUDGE OWEN PANNER US District Court of Oregon Historical Society Oral History Project Portland, Oregon iii Copyright © 2013 United States District Court of Oregon Historical Society Printed in the United States of America PROJECT STAFF Janice Dilg, Editor & Production Manager Clark Hansen, Interviewer Marie Bagwell, Transcriber Adair Law, Auditor iv CONTENTS Foreword..................................................................................................................vi Introduction..........................................................................................................viii Tape One, March 2, 2004........................................................................................1 Side 1 — Family History; Hop Farming; Elementary and High School Side 2 — Elementary and High School, cont.; University of Portland; Role of Religion in Law; Miranda Decision Tape Two, March 2, 2004......................................................................................15 Side 1 — Miranda Decision, cont.; Influential Professors & Courses; Moral- ity & the Legal System Side 2 — Sentencing Guidelines & Reform; Notre Dame Law School; Early Legal Career; Family’s Political Views Tape Three, March 9, 2004...................................................................................31 Side 1— Butteville Grade School; Parochial Schools; Judges and Controversy; District Judge Appointment; Qualities of Good Trial Lawyers Side 2— Public Understanding of Judicial Process; Punitive Damages; Judi- cial Activism; Campaigning for Judge Tape Four, March 9, 2004.....................................................................................46 Side 1— Campaigning for Judge, cont.; Bar Polls; Effective Trial Lawyers; Judge’s Role in Sentencing; Good Oral Arguments Side 2—Venn v. Reid Tape Five, March 9, 2004......................................................................................60 Side 1 — Venn v. Reid, cont.; Lane County Circuit Court Campaign; Orlando Hollis; Hans Linde; Varied Backgrounds of Judges Side 2 — Personal Backgrounds & Court Opinions; Pretrial Preparation; Jury Competency; Competency of Legal Counsel; National College of State Trial Judges; Federal Rulings in State Courts Tape Six, March 16, 2004......................................................................................75 Side 1 — Judicial Colleagues; Retired Judges as Mediators; Need for More Trials; Judges with Trial Experience; Otto Skopil & Court Reforms Side 2 — Oregon Magistrate System; Being Appointed Magistrate Judge Tape Seven, March 16, 2004.................................................................................91 Side 1 — First Interpleader Case; Capital Consultants’ Case; Capital Consul- tants’ Case Complications Side 2 — Capital Consultants’ Case Consortium; Judges in Capital Consul- tants’ Case; Magistrate & Article III Judges; Weekly District Court Meet- ings; Magistrate Judges in National Judiciary v Tape Eight, March 23, 2004........................................................................................106 Side 1 — Cochran v. Brooke Case; 1960s Criminal Cases; Annette Buchanan Case Side 2 — Journalist’s “Shield Law”; Personal Views versus the Law; Views on the Death Penalty; DNA Evidence; Magistrates Act Tape Nine, March 23, 2004.........................................................................................121 Side 1 — Years as a Magistrate Judge; Family Tragedies; Appointment as Article III Judge; Joining the Court of Appeals Side 2 — Justice Department Interview; Appeals Court Judicial Diversity; Being on the Court of Appeals; Various Paths to the Bench Tape Ten, March 30, 2004 (video recording)...............................................................136 Side 1 — Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh Era; Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in Court Side 2 — Rajneesh Guilty Plea; Trials of Rajneesh Followers; Media Attention to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh; Appeals Court Administrative Changes Tape Eleven, March 30, 2004 (video recording).........................................................151 Side 1 — Motions and Screening Panel; Ninth Circuit Judicial Council; Ninth Cir- cuit Case Assignment; Role of Chief Judge; Work of Appeals Court Side 2 — Cases Heard en banc; Exemplary Judges; Splitting the Ninth Circuit; Keeping Current on Decisions; Death Penalty Cases Tape Twelve, March 30, 2004.....................................................................................166 Side 1 — Review of Materials for Cases; Being Decisive on the Bench; Wen Ho Lee Case; Mediating Wen Ho Lee Case Side 2 — Mediating Wen Ho Lee Case, cont.; Mediated Resolution Jeopardized Tape Thirteen, April 13, 2004....................................................................................180 Side 1 — Wen Ho Lee Case Resolution; Judicial Statements in Court; Wen Ho Lee Plea Agreement; Court Officials and Proceedings Side 2 — Finding Constitutional Issues in Cases; Foreign Intelligence Surveil- lance Court of Review Tape Fourteen, April 13, 2004....................................................................................194 Side 1 — Surveillance Court Legislative History; re: Sealed Case; Thoughts on Patriot Act Side 2 — Approach to Writing Opinions; Court of Appeals Caseload; Selecting Law Clerks; Court of Appeals Collegiality Tape Fifteen, April 13, 2004.......................................................................................208 Side 1 — Court of Appeals Changes; Changing Nature of Appeals’ Cases; Judicial Tenure Act Side 2 — Indeterminate Sentencing; Evolution of Judicial Philosophy; Visiting Other Circuit Courts; Rewards of Judicial Career; Retirement of Judges; Future of Judicial System; Defining Privacy Endnotes........................................................................................................................224 vi vii FOREWORD The Oral History Project of the District Court of Oregon Historical Society began in 1983. Through the efforts of Judge James Burns and his wife Helen, a gathering of lawyers, judges, and historians took place at the Society’s inception. The Honorable Robert F. Peckham, District Judge for the Northern District of California, discussed the Northern District Historical Society and the inspiration was born for Oregon’s District Court Historical Society, the second such organization in the country. The original Board of Directors of the Society was composed of twenty-one members with bylaws including the Presiding Judge of the Court, the Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, and the President and a representative of the Oregon State Bar. The original officers and directors included outstanding judges and lawyers – Judge John Kilkenny, Honorary Chair, Judge James Burns, Chairman, Randall Kester, President, Manley Strayer, Vice President, Elizabeth Buehler, Treasurer, Susan Graber, Corporate Secretary, and Robert M. Christ, Executive Secretary, along with many other top names in Oregon’s legal history. The Society decided to collect, study, preserve, analyze, and disseminate information concerning the history, development, character, operations, and accomplishments of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. It was therefore logical that the Oral History Project should be established to preserve the histories of the judges, law firms, and lawyers who actively practice in the Court. With the assistance of Rick Harmon and James Strassmaier, the Oregon Historical Society held seminars to educate volunteers in taking oral histories with a biographical and Court-oriented focus. The Oregon Historical Society has been most viii cooperative in agreeing to maintain these histories in their permanent collection for study by scholars and other interested parties. These oral history interviews have been taken by recording devices, and are either transcribed or transcription is underway. A transcript reproduces, as faithfully as possible, the original sound recording that reflects the special value of oral history, namely its free and personal expressiveness. Most of the transcripts in the District Court Collection have been lightly edited and reviewed for clarity and accuracy by the narrators. That process continues. It is through these wonderful oral histories that the story of the Court is told. We now have recorded nearly 120 individuals since the project began. The goal is to record the individual histories of all the judges of the Court, as well as those of participating lawyers. The Court has a rich tradition reflected in the activities of the judges and lawyers of the Court. The recording has been done not only by professional historians, but also by dedicated volunteers. As one such volunteer said, “The opportunity to interview someone that you always admired is truly an exciting experience.” The history of the Court is being created by the men and women who have participated in its collection and activities. The Society’s goals are to collect as much of that history as possible, because is it the history of the law and those who make it that constitutes the moral development of humanity. All of us who are students of the law venerate it. We are also interested in the people who make it. Judge Owen Panner February 28, 2006 ix INTRODUCTION During the spring of 2004, Judge Leavy recorded his oral history with oral historian Clark Hansen. Leavy’s interview covers his early life in Oregon, his decision to study law, and his legal career from law school to private