W. Michael Gillette
Encyclopedia
W. Michael Gillette is an American
attorney and retired judge in the state of Oregon
. He was an associate justice on the Oregon Supreme Court
, where he served from 1986 until 2010. A graduate of Harvard Law School
, he was previously a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals
from 1977 to 1986.
city of Milton-Freewater
. In 1963, Gillette graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in arts from Whitman College
in Walla Walla, Washington
. He then went on to Harvard Law School
where he graduated with a bachelor of law degree in 1966.
in 1966 and joined the Portland, Oregon
law firm of Rives and Rogers. The next year he moved on to become a Deputy District Attorney for Multnomah County, staying until 1969. Following this he was an Assistant Attorney General in American Samoa
and Oregon
for two years. Gillette joined the Consumer Protection Division as chief counsel, serving until 1973 when he became Chief Trial Counsel for the Oregon Department of Justice
. That same year he then became Solicitor General for the state of Oregon, a position he held until 1977.
In 1977, Gillette joined the Oregon Court of Appeals
and served on that court until 1986. He served as a presiding judge on that court from 1980 until the end of his tenure. In 1980, he began serving on the board of directors for the Oregon Law-Related Education Project, remaining until 1988. Gillette left the Court of Appeals after appointment to the Oregon Supreme Court
in 1986 by then Republican Governor Vic Atiyeh
. Atiyeh appointed Gillette to fill the vacancy created when Justice Betty Roberts
left the bench.
Gillette was then elected to a full six-year term in 1986 and re-elected in 1992, 1998, and 2004. Gillette is a faculty member of National Judicial College. On the bench he has authored many opinions, and was one of the leading opinion writers in the 1990s on the court. Gillette wrote the majority opinion in Lehman v. Bradbury that invalidated 1992's Measure 3 that had enacted term limits in Oregon
, and the majority decision in Li & Kennedy vs. State of Oregon that invalidated same-sex marriages approved by Multnomah County
in 2004. He also wrote the opinion of the unanimous court for the 2008 edition of Williams v. Philip Morris, Inc.
, a case that had already been to the United States Supreme Court twice. The opinion upheld the punitive damages award against the tobacco company. He declined to run for re-election in 2010 and his term ended on December 31, 2010.
, and as an instructor at Portland State University
. Gillette served on the Board of Trustees from 1977 to 1980 for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
. He worked on the Advisory Committee of Scholars for the Constitution Project starting in 1984, and in 1991 was named Classroom Law Project's Legal Citizen of the Year. The following year Gillette received an honorary LL.D. degree from Whitman College. In 2006, he was awarded the V. Robert Payant Award in 2006 for teaching excellence from the National Judicial College, and named one of the 500 Leading Judges in America in 2006 by Lawdragon. A basketball player in high school, he serves as a referee for high school games when away from court. The Wilsonville
resident returned to private practice after leaving the bench, joining Portland law firm of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt
in January 2011.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
attorney and retired judge in the state of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. He was an associate justice on the Oregon Supreme Court
Oregon Supreme Court
The Oregon Supreme Court is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. The OSC holds court at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, Oregon, near the capitol...
, where he served from 1986 until 2010. A graduate of Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, he was previously a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals
Oregon Court of Appeals
The Oregon Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court in the U.S. state of Oregon. Part of the Oregon Judicial Department, it has ten judges and is located in Salem...
from 1977 to 1986.
Early life
Gillette was born about 1942 and grew up in the Eastern OregonEastern Oregon
Eastern Oregon is the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity, thus the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost counties in the state; in other contexts, it includes...
city of Milton-Freewater
Milton-Freewater, Oregon
Milton-Freewater is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. The city received its current name in 1951 when the neighboring rival cities of Milton and Freewater voted to merge. The population was 6,470 at the 2000 census...
. In 1963, Gillette graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in arts from Whitman College
Whitman College
Whitman College is a private, co-educational, non-sectarian, residential undergraduate liberal arts college located in Walla Walla, Washington. Initially founded as a seminary by a territorial legislative charter in 1859, the school became a four year degree granting institution in 1883...
in Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,731 at the 2010 census...
. He then went on to Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
where he graduated with a bachelor of law degree in 1966.
Legal career
Gillette passed the Oregon State BarOregon State Bar
The Oregon State Bar is a government agency in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded in 1890 as the private Oregon Bar Association, it became a public entity in 1935 that regulates the legal profession. The public corporation is part of the Oregon Judicial Department...
in 1966 and joined the Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
law firm of Rives and Rogers. The next year he moved on to become a Deputy District Attorney for Multnomah County, staying until 1969. Following this he was an Assistant Attorney General in American Samoa
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
and Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
for two years. Gillette joined the Consumer Protection Division as chief counsel, serving until 1973 when he became Chief Trial Counsel for the Oregon Department of Justice
Oregon Department of Justice
The Oregon Department of Justice , headed by Attorney General John Kroger, is the main legal branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The DOJ is part of Oregon's executive branch, and most of its employees work in Oregon's capital, Salem...
. That same year he then became Solicitor General for the state of Oregon, a position he held until 1977.
In 1977, Gillette joined the Oregon Court of Appeals
Oregon Court of Appeals
The Oregon Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court in the U.S. state of Oregon. Part of the Oregon Judicial Department, it has ten judges and is located in Salem...
and served on that court until 1986. He served as a presiding judge on that court from 1980 until the end of his tenure. In 1980, he began serving on the board of directors for the Oregon Law-Related Education Project, remaining until 1988. Gillette left the Court of Appeals after appointment to the Oregon Supreme Court
Oregon Supreme Court
The Oregon Supreme Court is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. The OSC holds court at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, Oregon, near the capitol...
in 1986 by then Republican Governor Vic Atiyeh
Victor G. Atiyeh
Victor George Atiyeh is an American politician, elected the 32nd Governor of Oregon in 1978. A member of the Republican Party, Atiyeh was the first elected governor of Arab descent in the United States, serving eight years from 1979 through 1987...
. Atiyeh appointed Gillette to fill the vacancy created when Justice Betty Roberts
Betty Roberts
Betty Cantrell Roberts was a politician and judge in the U.S. state of Oregon. She was the 83rd Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, the highest state court in Oregon. She was the first woman on the Oregon Supreme Court, and had also been the first woman on the Oregon Court of Appeals...
left the bench.
Gillette was then elected to a full six-year term in 1986 and re-elected in 1992, 1998, and 2004. Gillette is a faculty member of National Judicial College. On the bench he has authored many opinions, and was one of the leading opinion writers in the 1990s on the court. Gillette wrote the majority opinion in Lehman v. Bradbury that invalidated 1992's Measure 3 that had enacted term limits in Oregon
Term limits in Oregon
Term limits legislation – term limits for state and federal office-holders – has been a recurring political issue in the U.S. state of Oregon since 1992...
, and the majority decision in Li & Kennedy vs. State of Oregon that invalidated same-sex marriages approved by Multnomah County
Multnomah County, Oregon
Multnomah County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Though smallest in area, it is the most populous as its county seat, Portland, is the state's largest city...
in 2004. He also wrote the opinion of the unanimous court for the 2008 edition of Williams v. Philip Morris, Inc.
Philip Morris USA v. Williams
Philip Morris USA v. Williams, 549 U.S. 346 , was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, which held that the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment bars punitive damages for harm caused to individuals not involved in the litigation.Mayola Williams, the widow of Jesse D...
, a case that had already been to the United States Supreme Court twice. The opinion upheld the punitive damages award against the tobacco company. He declined to run for re-election in 2010 and his term ended on December 31, 2010.
Later years
In the past he served as a faculty member of Willamette UniversityWillamette University
Willamette University is an American private institution of higher learning located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the Western United States. Willamette is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges, and is made up of an undergraduate College of Liberal Arts and...
, and as an instructor at Portland State University
Portland State University
Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...
. Gillette served on the Board of Trustees from 1977 to 1980 for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is a museum located in Portland, Oregon, United States. It contains two auditoriums, including an IMAX Dome theatre, and a variety of hands-on permanent exhibits focused on natural sciences, industry, and technology...
. He worked on the Advisory Committee of Scholars for the Constitution Project starting in 1984, and in 1991 was named Classroom Law Project's Legal Citizen of the Year. The following year Gillette received an honorary LL.D. degree from Whitman College. In 2006, he was awarded the V. Robert Payant Award in 2006 for teaching excellence from the National Judicial College, and named one of the 500 Leading Judges in America in 2006 by Lawdragon. A basketball player in high school, he serves as a referee for high school games when away from court. The Wilsonville
Wilsonville, Oregon
Wilsonville is a city primarily in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A portion of the northern section of the city is in Washington County. Originally founded as Boones Landing due to the Boones Ferry which crossed the Willamette River at the location, the community became Wilsonville in...
resident returned to private practice after leaving the bench, joining Portland law firm of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt
Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt
Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt is an American law firm with over 165 attorneys in eight cities. The firm currently has offices in:* Oregon** Portland** Bend** Salem** Eugene* Washington** Seattle** Stevenson** Vancouver...
in January 2011.