Owen Panner: an Oral History
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Owen Panner: An Oral History i ii Owen Panner An Oral History FOREWORD BY JUDGE OWEN PANNER US District Court of Oregon Historical Society Oral History Project Portland, Oregon iii Copyright © 2011 United States District Court of Oregon Historical Society Printed in the United States of America PROJECT STAFF Janice Dilg, Editor & Oral History Liaison Adair Law, Page layout Michael O’Rourke, Interviewer iv CONTENTS Foreword......................................................................................................................................x Introduction...............................................................................................................................xi Tape One, November 23, 1994.................................................................................................1 Side 1—Family History Side 2—Golf & Youth Activities Tape Two, November 29, 1994...............................................................................................15 Side 1—Early School Experiences Side 2—College & Army Experiences Tape Three, November 30, 1994............................................................................................28 Side 1—Basic Training, Officer Training School,, Courtship &Marriage Side 2—Law School Tape Four, November 30, 1994 ..............................................................................................44 Side 1—Early Law Career, Duncan McKay Side 2—Blank Tape Five, December 2, 1994..................................................................................................51 Side 1— Colorful Characters Side 2— Memorable Bend Citizens, Early Cases Tape Six, December 2, 1994....................................................................................................66 Side 1—Mitchell Flood, A Murder Case Side 2—Blank Tape Seven, December 19, 1994.............................................................................................74 Side 1—Judge McCulloch Memories, Judge John Kilkenny, Condemnation Cases, Counsel for Warm Springs Side 2—Warm Springs Tribal Council Tape 8, December 27, 1994......................................................................................................90 Side 1—Recovering Kah-Nee-Ta Side 2—McQuinn Strip, Pelton & Round Butte Dam Tape 9, December 27, 1994....................................................................................................106 Side 1— Timber Development Side 2— A Potential Job Tape 10, December 27, 1994..................................................................................................121 Side 1 —Internal Disputes, Native Fishing Rights Side 2—Celilo Falls & The Dalles Dam v Tape 11, January 13, 1995.......................................................................................................131 Side 1—Tribal Termination Side 2—Life in Bend Tape 12, January 13, 1995.......................................................................................................145 Side 1— Expanding Contacts in Oregon, Range of Cases Side 2—Blank Tape 13, February 9, 1995......................................................................................................152 Side 1— Legacy of the Sixties, Honesty of Oregonians Side 2— Divorce Cases Tape 14, February 9, 1995......................................................................................................166 Side 1—Judicial Appointment, Nomination Process Side 2— Nomination Process (cont.) Tape 15, August 5, 1998..........................................................................................................176 Side 1—Serving on the Bench, Relations with Appellate Courts, Attorney Relations Side 2—Magistrate Judges, Important Cases Tape 16, September 30, 1998.................................................................................................190 Side 1—Far West Federal Savings & Loan, WPPSS Litigation Side 2— Tonya Harding, Judicial Activism Tape 17, September 30, 1998.................................................................................................206 Side 1—Sentencing Guidelines Side 2— Blank Tape 18, October 9, 1998........................................................................................................208 Side 1—Media Coverage of Trials, Drug-Related Cases Side 2—Sentencing Hearings Tape 19, October 14, 1998......................................................................................................223 Side 1— Size of the Ninth Circuit Court, Possible Ninth Circuit Appointment Side 2— Possible Ninth Circuit Appointment (cont.) Tape 20, April 13, 2000...........................................................................................................233 Side 1—Judicial Complaints, Memorable Judges & Attorneys Side 2— Life Outside the Court Tape 21, April 13, 2000...........................................................................................................248 Side 1—Life Outside the Court (cont.) Side 2—May 15, 2000 Video-taped Session, December 19, 2005..........................................................................252 Side 1- Mandatory Sentences, Civil Liberties, Moving to Medford, Federal Court Practices, District Court Historical Society Side 2 - Caring for Land and Animals Endnotes..................................................................................................................................263 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 Owen Panner was born on July 28, 1924 in Chicago. His parents Elmer Panner and Irene Murphy Panner took their new baby boy home to Whizbang, Oklahoma where Elmer worked as an engineer in the oil fields. Two years later the family moved to Shawnee, Oklahoma. They lost their savings in the 1929 stock market crash, but fared better than most due to Elmer’s steady employment. Living at the boundary of East and West, North and South, Panner heard stories of race riots from his Detroit cousins and witnessed first-hand violent racism during a summer spent in Arkansas. In Shawnee, blacks literally lived on the other side of the railroad tracks in a separate community with separate schools. “That was how things were