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, June 2007 (Lib. Acc. 26282).
Robert E. Jones was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1927. During World War II, he worked in the Portland shipyards. In 1945, he joined the U.S. Navy Reserve. In 1948, he and Pearl Jensen were married; they later had two children. In 1949, he earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Hawaii. In 1953, he earned a law degree from the Northwestern School of Law, now known as the Lewis & Clark Law School. He was a lawyer in private practice until 1963, when he became a judge on the Multnomah County Circuit Court. In 1983, he became an Oregon Supreme Court justice, and in 1990, he began serving as a judge on the U.S. District Court of Oregon. He also represented Washington County as a Republican in the Oregon House of Representatives during the 1963 legislative session.
Forms part of the United States District Court Oral History Project.
Oral history interview with Robert E. Jones, by Clark Hansen, SR 11128, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
This oral history interview with Robert E. Jones was conducted by Clark Hansen at the U.S. District Courthouse in Portland, Oregon, from September 12 to October 14, 2005, as part of the United States District Court Oral History Project. The interview was conducted in five sessions. The first four interview sessions were recorded on audiocassette; the final session was recorded on videocassette. The transcript includes a foreword by Owen Panner and an introduction by Donna Sinclair, as well as several autobiographical addendums by Robert E. Jones.
In this interview, Jones discusses his family background and early life in Portland, including his service in the U.S. Navy Reserve, and his college experiences at the University of Hawaii and at the Northwestern School of Law in Portland. He talks about practicing law from 1953 to 1963, about serving as a judge on the Multnomah County Circuit Court, and about representing Washington County in the Oregon House during the 1963 legislative session. He discusses serving as a justice on the Oregon Supreme Court, and as a judge on the U.S. District Court of Oregon.
Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society. Use of the interview is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted,
In the first interview session, conducted on September 12, 2005, Jones discusses his family background and early life in Portland, including his experiences during the Great Depression, his social life, and working in the shipyards during World War II. He describes his service in the U.S. Navy Reserve at the end of the war and talks about how those experiences inform his worldview.
In the second interview session, conducted on September 19, 2005, Jones continues to discuss his service in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He talks about his marriage to Pearl Jensen and attending the University of Hawaii. He then discusses studying at the Northwestern School of Law and talks about practicing law from 1953 to 1963, including lawyers he worked with, cases he worked on, and judges he argued before. He talks about serving as a judge on the Multnomah County Circuit Court, including judges he served with and cases he heard. He also discusses representing Washington County in the Oregon House of Representatives during the 1963 legislative session and talks about legislation that came up during his term.
In the third interview session, conducted on September 22, 2005, Jones discusses serving on the Oregon Commission for Prison Term and Parole Standards and talks about criminal justice. He talks about teaching courses on evidence. He revisits the topic of his service as a judge on the Multnomah County Circuit Court and speaks about cases he presided over, talks about his staff, and describes how the circuit court differed from the U.S. District Court. He then briefly talks about serving as a justice on the Oregon Supreme Court.
In the fourth interview session, conducted on September 29, 2005, Jones continues to discuss serving as a justice on the Oregon Supreme Court. He talks about cases he heard, justices he served with, and some of the decisions he authored. He then discusses serving as a judge on the U.S. District Court of Oregon; talks about the political process of nominating judges; and describes some of the cases he heard. He also speaks about the jury selection process.
In the fifth and final interview session, conducted on October 14, 2005, Jones continues to discuss serving as a judge on the U.S. District Court of Oregon. He speaks further about cases he heard, and talks about technology used in the courtroom. He discusses a 1998 trip to Russia and talks about the Russian legal system. He closes the interview by talking about the most difficult aspects of being a judge.