Berkeley "Bud" Lent (September 22, 1921 – November 11, 2007) was an American politician and jurist in the state of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. He was the 38th Chief Justice of the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest State court (United States), 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.

, serving from 1982 to 1983. Elected to the court in 1976, Lent remained until 1988. Previously, the native Oregonian also was elected to both branches of the Oregon legislature, including time as the Senate Majority Leader, and was a county circuit court

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

. Lent also served as a mediator and senior judge in

Early life

On September 22, 1921, Lent was born in

Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With an estimated 3,878,704 residents within the city ...

. Raised in the Lents neighborhood of southeast Portland, Berkeley earned his primary education there, graduating from Franklin High School.Green, Ashbel S. Berkeley Lent: lawyer, legislator, judge. ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'', November 14, 2007. After high school he moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where he attended

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is ...

from 1944 to 1945. Also in 1944, he married Dorothy Welch. Lent joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

that year. Lent then returned to Portland where he attended

Reed College Reed College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, E ...

, graduating in 1948. He then went on to

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

Willamette University College of Law The Willamette University School of Law (previously known as the Willamette University College of Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Willamette University. Located in Salem, Oregon, Salem, Oregon, and founded in 1883, Wil ...

where he graduated with his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in 1950 and was president of his class his final year. After law school Lent moved to

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, and worked for Bancroft-Whitney Law Publishing Company as an editor. He then returned to Portland and worked for the

Bonneville Power Administration The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is an American federal agency operating in the Pacific Northwest. BPA was created by an act of United States Congress, Congress in 1937 to market electric power from the Bonneville Dam located on the Col ...

as a staff attorney. After practicing law in

Coos Bay, Oregon Coos Bay () is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. It shares Coos Bay with the adjacent city of North Bend, Oregon, North Bend. Together, they are often referred to as ...

, Lent returned again to Portland and began working at the law firm of Peterson & Pozzi beginning in 1953.

Political career

Berkeley Lent began his political life in the

state house State House or statehouse may refer to: Buildings *Aso Villa or State House, the official residence of the President of Nigeria *Government House, Dominica or The State House, the official residence of the President of Dominica * State House, Bar ...

as a Democrat from Portland, serving at the 1957 session. He remained in the House through 1965, and that year serving as the Minority Whip. He then served in the state senate from 1967 to 1971. During the 1971 legislative session Lent was selected as the Senate Majority Leader after losing the Senate Presidency when a rural conservative Democrat, himself a former Senate President, joined Republicans to deny Lent the Senate Presidency. The defection caused a 15–15 deadlock that lasted for 12 days and through 54 ballots before being broken.''Oregon Appellate Almanac'', 2008. Later that year Lent was appointed as a county circuit court judge in

Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland metropolitan area. The state's smallest and most populous county, it ...

remaining at that post until 1977. Lent was elected to the

in November 1976 to replace the outgoing Kenneth O'Connell. Justice Lent was then re-elected to another six-year term in 1982. On the court his fellow justices elected him as chief justice in July 1982, serving until resigning the position in August 1983. Justice Lent then resigned from the bench on September 30, 1988.

George Van Hoomissen George Albert Van Hoomissen (born March 7, 1930) is an American attorney in the state of Oregon. He previously served as the 87th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court and previously served as a judge of the Oregon Court of Appeals. The Portland, ...

was elected in May of that year to replace Lent.

Later life and family

After leaving the court and political office, Lent worked in

alternative dispute resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...

as an arbitrator and mediator, as well as a senior judge for the state of Oregon. He divorced his first wife Dorothy in 1961 and remarried in 1968 to Joan Burnett, with the family moving to

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, after Lent's retirement. He had one son, Eric, and four daughters, Terry, Deirdre, Suzanne, and Patricia. Berkeley Lent died of a heart attack in Las Vegas on November 11, 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lent, Berkeley Members of the Oregon House of Representatives Oregon state senators Willamette University College of Law alumni Reed College alumni 2007 deaths 1921 births Lawyers from Portland, Oregon United States Navy personnel of World War II Chief justices of the Oregon Supreme Court Franklin High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni 20th-century American judges 20th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly 20th-century American lawyers Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court