Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Series
Title
Oral history interview with James A. Redden
Date(s)
- 2006-01-27 (Creation)
Extent
.1 cubic feet 2 videocassettes (1 hr., 8 min., 33 sec.) Mini-DV
Name of creator
Biographical history
James "Jim" Anthony Redden was born in 1929 and grew up in Massachusetts. In 1946, while he was in high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving two years as a medic stationed in Japan, where he saw firsthand the effects of the bombing of Hiroshima. In 1951, he married Joan Johnson. After earning a high school diploma, he attended Boston College and Boston College Law School, where he graduated with a law degree in 1954. He practiced law in Massachusetts for a year, then came to Portland, Oregon, where he worked for various insurance companies before moving to Medford, Oregon, to build his own law firm. He was a Democrat who represented the 19th District in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1962 to 1969, serving as minority leader from 1967 to 1969. From 1970 to 1972, he was chairman of the Public Employee Relations Board. From 1973 to 1976, he was state treasurer, and then attorney general from 1977 to 1980, before he was appointed to the U.S. District Court by President Jimmy Carter in 1980. He served as chief justice from 1990 to 1995, whereupon he took senior status.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This oral history interview with James A. Redden was conducted by Michael O'Rourke in Redden's chambers at the U.S. District Court in Portland, Oregon, on January 27, 2006. In this interview, Redden discusses cases during his time as Oregon attorney general and as a U.S. District Court judge, including some involving treaties with Native Americans and fishing rights on the Columbia River, as well as the effects of the dams on salmon runs and other fisheries. He also discusses the history and impact of the U.S. District Court Historical Society; the war on terror, particularly the Patriot Act; and drug-related cases.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Joint copyright is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society. In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Gift of Donna Sinclair, January 2008 (Lib. Acc. 26436).
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Oral history interview with James A. Redden, SR 1245, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
Preferred citation: Oral history interview with James A. Redden, by Michael O'Rourke, SR 11149, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
General note
Forms part of the United States District Court Oral History Project.
General note
Incomplete transcript (25 pages) available for in-person use in the OHS Research Library.
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition.
Sources used
Archivist's note
Sarah Stroman
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- United States. District Court (Oregon) (Subject)
- United States District Court of Oregon Historical Society (Subject)
- O'Rourke, Michael (Filmmaker) (Subject)