Rives Kistler (born 1949) is an American attorney and judge 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 ...

. After college and law school on the East Coast, he moved to Oregon where he worked in private practice before joining the Oregon Department of Justice. Kistler then joined the

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 ...

before appointment 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.

in 2003.

Education

Rives Kistler earned his undergraduate degree at

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. Located in Berkshire County, the town is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts metropolitan statis ...

, earning a BA.Appellate Courts Supreme Court Rives Kistler Age: 54. The Oregonian, April 28, 2004. He then earned a master's degree at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

before attending law school. Justice Kistler graduated ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' from

Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...

in 1981. After graduation, he served as a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

for Charles Clark, Chief Judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: ...

, and for Justice

Lewis F. Powell Jr. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. (September 19, 1907 – August 25, 1998) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1972 to 1987. Born in Suffolk, Virginia, he graduated ...

of the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

Legal career

On completing his clerkships, Kistler went into private practice as a litigation associate for

Stoel Rives LLP Stoel Rives LLP is a U.S. business law firm with 10 office locations in seven U.S. states and Washington, D.C. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, in the Park Avenue West Tower, it is the largest law firm in the state of Oregon, having 326 attor ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

from 1983 to 1987. He then moved to the Oregon Department of Justice as an Assistant Attorney General, representing the state in civil and criminal appeals before the state and federal courts from 1987 to 1999. Kistler began his judicial career in 1999 when Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber appointed him to the

. He started service on that court on January 14, 1999, replacing R. William Riggs who had been elevated to the

. Kistler served on Oregon's intermediate court of appeals until August 14, 2003, when he was himself appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court. On August 15, 2003, he was appointed to the

to replace Susan M. Leeson who had resigned.Oregon Blue Book: Supreme Court Justices of Oregon.
Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on January 10, 2009. Appointed by governor

Ted Kulongoski Theodore Ralph Kulongoski ( ; born November 5, 1940) is an American politician, judge, and lawyer who served as the List of Governors of Oregon, 36th governor of Oregon from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrati ...

, he won election to a full six-year term in 2004, winning 60 percent of the vote. He ran unopposed for re-election in 2010, winning a second six-year term. In addition to his judicial work, Kistler has taught state constitutional law as an adjunct professor at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. He is a former member and vice-chair of the Oregon Board of Bar Examiners and a former member of the

National Association of Attorneys General The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of state and territory attorneys general in the United States which therefore means that the United States Attorney General in the federal government is n ...

Working Groups on criminal law, federalism, and free speech; he served as chair of the working group on free speech. Kistler is openly gay, and at the time of his appointment was the only openly

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

state supreme court justice in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The second was fellow Oregonian Virginia Linder, who joined Kistler on the Oregon court in 2007. Kistler was previously one of twelve openly LGBT state supreme court justices who served in the United States.

References

External links

Official Oregon Supreme Court biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kistler, Rives 1949 births Living people 21st-century American judges American gay men Georgetown University Law Center alumni Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court LGBTQ appointed officials in the United States LGBTQ judges American LGBTQ lawyers LGBTQ people from Oregon Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Oregon Court of Appeals judges University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Williams College alumni 21st-century American LGBTQ people

Education

Legal career

See also

References

External links