Oral history interview with Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain, 2008 June 20-2010 April 10

In the first interview session, conducted on June 20, 2008, O'Scannlain discusses his family background, including his father's involvement in the Irish Republican Army and his Irish heritage. He talks about his early life in New York City, including his education; about his experiences at St. John's University and Harvard Law School; and about his early involvement in Republican politics.

In the second interview session, conducted on July 3, 2008, O'Scannlain continues to discuss his early involvement in Republican politics, particularly his work with the Second Atlantic Conference of Young Political Leaders and the World Assembly of Youth. He also continues to discuss his experiences at St. John's University and Harvard Law School, including some of his professors and classmates. He talks about his marriage to Maura Nolan, about working as a tax lawyer for Standard Oil, and about his service in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1955 to 1978.

In the third interview session, conducted on August 28, 2008, O'Scannlain discusses working as a lawyer for the firm that later became Stoel Rives in Portland, including his fellow lawyers, and some of the cases he worked on. He talks about his service as Oregon deputy attorney general under Lee Johnson, as Oregon public utility commissioner, as director of the Department of Environmental Quality, and about his 1974 campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives. He also shares his thoughts about the Watergate scandal.

In the fourth interview session, conducted on September 30, 2008, O'Scannlain discusses his return to private law practice in 1975, and talks about some of the cases he worked on, particularly one regarding Alumax and the Bonneville Power Administration. He speaks further about his involvement in Republican politics, talks about his role on President Ronald Reagan's transition team, and discusses Reagan's energy policy.

In the fifth interview session, conducted on October 31, 2008, O'Scannlain continues to discuss his involvement in Republican politics, and talks about serving as Oregon Republican Party chair from 1983 to 1986, about the rise of the religious right, and about his experience as a member of President Ronald Reagan's transition team.

In the sixth interview session, conducted on November 17, 2008, O'Scannlain continues to discuss his involvement in Republican politics, and talks about his experience as a member of President Ronald Reagan's transition team, and about serving as Oregon Republican Party chair from 1983 to 1986. He speaks about his appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1986. He then talks about his children, their families, and their careers.

In the seventh interview session, conducted on May 14, 2009, O'Scannlain speaks further about his appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1986, and talks about the concept of judicial activism. He speaks about his service on the bench, including cases he heard, and his fellow judges. He shares his judicial philosophy, and talks about his acquaintance with U.S. Supreme Court justices.

In the eighth interview session, conducted on June 9, 2009, O'Scannlain continues to discuss his service as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1986 to the time of the interview. He talks about cases he heard, including several regarding the Establishment Clause, and speaks further about his judicial philosophy. He also discusses the possibility that he might be nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court; his views regarding splitting the Ninth Circuit; and the landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases Roe v. Wade and Bush v. Gore.