Forms part of the United States District Court Oral History Project.
Collection is open for research.
Gift of the U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society, July 2018 (Lib. Acc. 29310).
Dennis James Hubel was born in Manhattan, New York, in 1947. The family briefly lived in New Jersey, and then when he was three years old, his family relocated to Portland, Oregon. In 1969, he earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1969 to 1972, and went on to study nuclear engineering at the University of Washington. In 1976, he earned a law degree from the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College. That same year, he began working as a lawyer in Portland at the Mitchell, Lang & Smith law firm. In 1983, he and Marcia Maring were married; they later had two children. In 1987, he became a partner at Karnopp, Petersen, Noteboom, Hubel, et al. In 1995, he was appointed as a magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court of Oregon, and served in that role until 2016. He died in 2019.
Forms part of the United States District Court Oral History Project.
An incomplete transcript (328 pages) is available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Oral history interview with Dennis Hubel, by Michael O'Rourke, SR 11219, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
This oral history interview with Dennis J. Hubel was conducted by Michael O'Rourke in Portland, Oregon, from February 12, 2015, to September 20, 2016, as part of the United States District Court Oral History Project. The interview was conducted in ten sessions; audio recordings were made of sessions 1 through 5, and video recordings were made of sessions 6 through 10.
In this interview, Hubel discusses his family background and early life; his experiences in the U.S. Navy in the nuclear submarine program from 1969 to 1972; and practicing law in Portland and Bend. He speaks at length about a case he worked on regarding skiing on Mt. Bachelor, about cases he worked on for the Warm Springs Tribe, and about many other cases. He talks about his service as a part-time magistrate judge in Bend and a full-time judge in Portland for the U.S. District Court of Oregon. He speaks at length about cases he heard regarding the Bureau of Land Management and regarding search warrants for email; discusses his involvement in the International Prisoner Exchange Program; and describes the case of Nancy Kissel, the "milkshake murderer." He also talks about other civil cases he heard.
Joint copyright is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society. Use of this interview is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted:
In the first interview session, conducted on February 12, 2015, Hubel discusses his family background and the first three years of his life in New York and New Jersey. He then talks about his early life Portland, Oregon, including the jobs his parents held. He speaks at length about his elementary and high school education in Portland, including his social life and influential teachers. He shares his reasons for studying electrical engineering at Cornell University, and talks about his college experience during the 1960s. He shares his thoughts about protests against the Vietnam War, and talks about experiences in the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps.
In the second interview session, conducted on March 27, 2015, Hubel discusses his experiences in the U.S. Navy nuclear submarine program from 1969 to 1972. He describes the program's interview process, speaks at length about his training, and shares his experiences serving on submarines. He talks about his reasons for leaving the field of nuclear engineering and pursuing a career as a lawyer.
In the third interview session, conducted on April 1, 2015, Hubel discusses working at the Fast Flux Test Facility at the Hanford nuclear site in Washington while serving in the U.S. Navy. He revisits the topics of leaving nuclear engineering to become a lawyer and his experiences serving on submarines. He then talks about studying at the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, including his professors and his classmates. He discusses working as a law student with Sid Lezak in the U.S. Attorney's office. He speaks about practicing law in a firm with Thomas E. Wolf and C. Anderson Griffith, including cases he worked on, doing trial work, and his reasons for leaving the firm in 1981. He describes the firm's legal troubles. He then talks about practicing with the Mitchell, Lang & Smith law firm.
In the fourth interview session, conducted on April 9, 2015, Hubel continues to discuss practicing law with the Mitchell, Lang & Smith law firm. He talks about the growth of the firm, including lawyers he worked with; about cases he worked on, particularly regarding toxic chemical exposure; and about judges he argued before, including Shirley Field. He also talks about how the use of computers in the 1980s and the Internet in the 1990s changed the way he practiced law. He briefly speaks about his marriage to Marcia Maring, and then discusses practicing law in Bend as a partner with Karnopp, Petersen, Noteboom, Hubel, et al. He speaks at length about a case he worked on regarding skiing on Mt. Bachelor.
In the fifth interview session, conducted on April 30, 2015, Hubel continues to discuss practicing law in Bend as a partner with Karnopp, Petersen, Noteboom, Hubel, et al. He talks about cases he worked on, including a case regarding software patents, and about jury selection. He also describes a case he worked on while practicing with the Mitchell, Lang & Smith law firm, regarding timber losses after a fire.
In the sixth interview session, conducted on July 8, 2015, Hubel continues to discuss practicing law in Bend as a partner with Karnopp, Petersen, Noteboom, Hubel, et al. He talks about how his experiences as a lawyer differed between Portland and Bend. He speaks at length about cases he worked on for the Warm Springs tribe and also describes the procedures of the Tribal Court. He then speaks at length about insurance claim cases he worked on, and shares some of his trial experiences. He also discusses his involvement in the Oregon Bar.
In the seventh interview session, conducted on September 2, 2015, Hubel continues to discuss practicing law in Bend as a partner with Karnopp, Petersen, Noteboom, Hubel, et al. He continues to talk about cases he worked on regarding medical malpractice, manufacturer liability, and will disputes, and to share some of his trial experiences. He also discusses the professionalism of Oregon lawyers. He talks about his service as a part-time magistrate judge in Bend for the U.S. District Court of Oregon. He discusses his fellow judges on the court, talks about being trained as a judge, and describes the unique role of magistrate judges in Oregon. He discusses some of the cases he heard, talks about the relationship between the court and Native tribes, and describes the differences between the court and the tribal courts. He speaks about the courtroom facilities available in Bend, about the transition to being a full-time magistrate judge in Portland, and about cases he heard in the Portland court, including one regarding patent infringement.
In the eighth interview session, conducted on January 20, 2016, Hubel continues to discuss serving as a magistrate judge in Portland. He talks about serving on committees and commissions for the court, about the professionalism of Oregon lawyers, and about cases he heard, including one involving extradition to Australia. He also shares anecdotes about his relationship with the judges on the U.S. District Court of Oregon. He speaks at length about cases he heard regarding the Bureau of Land Management, and how some of them related to the 2016 occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge by far-right extremists.
In the ninth interview session, conducted on January 27, 2016, Hubel continues to discuss serving as a magistrate judge in Portland. He speaks further about a case he heard regarding the Bureau of Land Management that related to the 2016 occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge by far-right extremists. He speaks about seeking an appointment as a U.S. District Court judge. He describes a case he heard regarding search warrants for email, and talks about how the result of that case changed his procedure for signing search warrants. He discusses his involvement in the International Prisoner Exchange Program, and describes the case of Nancy Kissel, the "milkshake murderer." He talks about other civil cases he heard, discusses wages for judges, and speaks about his retirement activities, particularly his work with judges in Egypt. He talks about the people who influenced and supported him throughout his career.
In the tenth and final interview session, conducted on September 20, 2016, Hubel speaks further about a case he worked on as a lawyer in Bend that he previously discussed in session 4.