Albin Walter Norblad III (March 15, 1939 – February 10, 2014) was an attorney in the U.S. state of Oregon, and a judge of the

Oregon Circuit Court Oregon's circuit courts are general jurisdiction trial courts of the U.S. state of Oregon. These courts hear civil and criminal court cases. The state has 27 circuit court districts, most of which correspond to the boundaries of Oregon's 36 coun ...

for the 3rd judicial district, in Marion County at

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

. He was named for his father, A. Walter Norblad, and grandfather,

A. W. Norblad Albin Walter Norblad Sr., (March 19, 1881 – April 17, 1960) was a prominent lawyer who lived in Astoria, Oregon, United States, and the 19th Governor of Oregon from 1929 to 1931. He was a Republican. He was the father of A. Walter N ...

, both prominent Oregon attorneys and politicians.

Early life

Norblad was born in

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corne ...

in 1939, and moved with his family to Stayton, Oregon in 1953. After a United States Army discharge in 1958 and a year's study at Georgetown University, Norblad obtained a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Oregon in 1963, and a law degree from the Willamette University in 1965. Norblad's father died in office in 1964, and Norblad considered running for his seat in the United States House of Representatives, however Wendell Wyatt was elected instead.

Legal career

Before becoming a state court judge, Norblad served as a municipal court judge and a deputy district attorney. His lengthy career as a jurist included a number of controversial and high-profile cases, including a 1994 decision upholding a state law banning enforcement of local anti-gay rights ordinances. As a juvenile court judge during the 1970s, Norblad made hundreds of unpopular decisions, reportedly sending more youths to MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility than any other judge in the state. The judge was disciplined by the Oregon Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability in 2002 with a thirty-day suspension following a drunk driving incident, an action which was upheld on appeal to the state

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Later life and death

He was the state's longest sitting judge. According to Article VII of the

Oregon Constitution The Oregon Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Oregon, originally enacted in 1857. As amended the current state constitution contains eighteen sections, beginning with a bill of rights.

, he would have had to retire at the end of 2014. He died in Salem, Oregon on February 10, 2014, from a brain hemorrhage after a fall; he was 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norblad, Albin 1939 births 2014 deaths American people of Swedish descent Oregon lawyers Oregon state court judges University of Oregon alumni Willamette University College of Law alumni Georgetown University alumni United States Army soldiers Politicians from Astoria, Oregon People from Stayton, Oregon