The Oregon Supreme Court Building is the home to 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.

Oregon Court of Appeals The Oregon Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court in the US state of Oregon. Part of the Oregon Judicial Department, it has thirteen judges and is located in Salem. Except for death penalty cases, which are reserved to the O ...

, and the

Oregon Judicial Department The Oregon Judicial Department (OJD) is the judicial branch of government of the state of Oregon in the United States. The chief executive of the branch is the Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. Oregon’s judiciary consists primarily o ...

. Located in the state capitol complex in

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...

, it is Oregon's oldest state government building. The three-story structure was completed in 1914 and currently houses the state's law library, and once housed the

Oregon State Library The State Library of Oregon in Salem, is the library for the U.S. state of Oregon. The mission of the State Library of Oregon is to provide leadership and resources to continue growing vibrant library services for Oregonians with print disabil ...

History

The state supreme court used to hold session in various locations in downtown Salem. In 1854

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...

began construction of the Territorial Capitol Building in Salem that was finished in 1855.First State House. Oregon State Capitol, R HMC-1111 (Salem Public Library) The court was briefly located in that building on the second floor. However, on December 29, 1855 after the building was partially occupied, it was razed by fire.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. Then in 1876 the state finished construction on a second capitol building where the court was located on the third floor.''The Oregonian'', January 15, 1893. In 1911, a bill was introduced in the

Oregon Legislature The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower chamber: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the H ...

by John A. Carson (grandfather of future Chief Justice Wallace P. Carson, Jr.) to expand the 1876 capitol building to add a wing for the court.Finnemore, Melody
Built Like a Fortress: Preserving Oregon's Historic Supreme Court Building.
'' Oregon State Bar Bulletin'', August/September 2005. Retrieved on February 1, 2008. This bill was later amended to allow for the construction of a separate building instead. Construction began in 1912 with the design by local architect William C. Knighton. Knighton was the state's first official architect. The building was completed in early 1914 and the first session of court in the building was held on February 14, 1914 in the third floor courtroom. This was the 55th anniversary of Oregon's statehood. Total cost for the structure was $320,000.Oregon Historic Photographs Collections: Supreme Court Building, State & 12th Streets, Salem, Oregon.
Salem Public Library. Retrieved on February 1, 2008. Prior to the completion of the Oregon State Library Building in 1939 the state library was located in the basement and first floor of the Supreme Court Building. Kester, Randall
Oregon Legal Heritage: Ex Libris: A lament for libraries.
Oregon State Bar Bulletin, June 2003. Retrieved on February 1, 2008. As this building and the Oregon State Capitol were connected by

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

s used for utilities, the fire that destroyed the capitol in 1935 also damaged the library. This was due to all the water that was used to fight the fire drained into the basement and destroyed many books in the

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

. On October 12, 1962, during the

Columbus Day Storm The Columbus Day storm of 1962 (also known as the big blow of 1962, and originally in Canada as Typhoon Freda) was a Pacific Northwest windstorm that struck the West Coast of Canada and the Pacific Northwest coast of the United States on Octobe ...

that caused an estimated $170 million in damages, the decorative stained-glass

skylight A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History O ...

in the courtroom was damaged. The original stained-glass piece was created by Povey Brothers Art Glass Works, who were the premier artisans of that trade in the Northwest from 1888 to 1929. Oregon Supreme Court courtroom stainedglass

Oregon Supreme Court courtroom stainedglass

Beginning in 1981 the building was renovated with much of the

courtroom A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

refurbished with Italian silk paneling, hand-painted carpet, and new furniture built by inmates. This refurbishing was completed in 2002 when the State of Oregon Law Library's renovations were completed. During this time in 1989, the building was added to Salem's Historic Properties List as a local historic landmark. Funds for the renovations came from private donors. The

stained-glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

skylight located above the courtroom that has a design of the Oregon State Seal was reinforced at this time and a protective clear skylight was built over the decorative skylight installed in 1914. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2020.

Architecture

The building's exterior's finish is a cream colored terra cotta. It has five ornate columns in relief on the front of the building's façade. The exterior was designed to resemble the previous Oregon Capitol building (which burned in 1935). On the interior, the building contains a marble finish, ornate spiral staircase, the stained-glass skylight, a library with columns throughout, and tile flooring. The primary wood used in the courtroom is

Philippine mahogany Philippine mahogany is a common name for several different species of trees and their wood. * Botanically, the name refers to '' Toona calantas'' in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. It is endemic to the Philippines. * In the US timber trade, it is o ...

.Suo, Steve. Oregon Supreme Court is robed in tradition-bound world of its own. ''

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 ...

'', December 3, 1995.

Currently

The Oregon Supreme Court Building currently houses the courtroom for the Supreme Court and the state's law library. This single courtroom is also home to where oral arguments are heard for the

, while the building is home to

. The Supreme Court's courtroom and offices for the justices are located on the third floor. This building is the oldest state government building in Oregon. In 2006, new security measures were implemented at the building that require visitors to sign in with an

Oregon State Police The Oregon State Police (OSP) is a Police, law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of Oregon. The OSP enforces all of Oregon's criminal laws and assists local law enforcement agencies. Casey Codding has served as Superintendent (police), Superi ...

officer who is posted at a security desk near the main entrance to the building on the first floor.Oregon Supreme Court Building Security Enhancements.
oregoncourt.info. Retrieved on February 1, 2008. In October 2019 the Court moved to temporary quarters elsewhere in the city when the building began two years of upgrades to include strengthening the structure against earthquake.

Law library

The State of Oregon Law Library on the second floor of the building was created in 1848 when Oregon Territory was created.Oregon Blue Book: State of Oregon Law Library.
Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on February 1, 2008. In 1851 the legislature passed an act to provide a librarian for this library that mainly served Oregon government officials. Then in 1855 a capitol building was nearly complete when it burned down on December 29, 1855. This building included the law library on the second floor. In 1905 control of the library was changed to the Oregon Supreme Court and both moved into the Supreme Court Building in 1914. In 2002 the library name was changed from the Oregon Supreme Court Library to the State of Oregon Law Library after the completion of renovations that among other items increased the number of electrical outlets from just two. Currently the library is open to everyone and is the largest state government

law library A law library is a special library, specialist library used by Legal education, law students, lawyers, judges and their Law clerk, legal assistants, and academics in order to Legal research, research the law or its Legal history, history. Law ...

in the state. The library is a split level facility existing on both the second floor and third floor of the building. The library has a total of 165,000 volumes in its collections.Monthly Membership Newsletter.
Mary Leonard Law Society, May 2007. Retrieved on June 28, 2007. Collections include the laws of all United States

jurisdictions Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple levels ...

, many historical legal documents, and a variety of legal periodicals. The library is also a depository for the

Federal Depository Library Program The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) is a government program created to make Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government publications available to the public at no cost. there are 1,114 depository libraries in the U ...

. Historical documents include an 1854 copy of the

Revised Statutes Revised Statutes is a term used in some common law jurisdictions for a collection of statutes that have been revised to incorporate amendments, repeals and consolidations. It is not a change to the law, but designed to make the body of statutes m ...

of the Territory of Oregon and a copy of the Congressional Act creating the

from 1848.Main page.
State of Oregon Law Library. Retrieved on June 28, 2007. Historical books include one from 1569 concerning

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...

, an 18th-century book by Blackstone, and a 17th-century version of Coke's Commentary. Additional items of historic note are a large, ornate safe that traveled around

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

and an oak chest built for justice

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

by a prisoner that was allowed to stay in prison after his sentence had ended at his own request. As the primary legal resource for the state government, it also has a collection of case law from all fifty states.About us.
State of Oregon Law Library. Retrieved on June 28, 2007. Along with the Oregon State Library and

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

’s J. W. Long Law Library and Hatfield libraries, the law library is a member of the Hatfield Library Consortium and shares a single reference catalog. The library is staffed by librarians and contains copy machines and computers for legal research.

References

Oregon Supreme Court Building circa 1922

External links

Picture of the Oregon Supreme Court BuildingState of Oregon Law Library
{{Oregon Judicial System Oregon Supreme Court Courthouses in Oregon Buildings and structures in Salem, Oregon 1914 establishments in Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Salem, Oregon Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon