W. Michael Gillette (born December 29, 1941) is an American attorney and retired 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 ...

. He was a 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.

, where he served from 1986 until 2010. A graduate of

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

, he was previously a judge on 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 ...

from 1977 to 1986.

Early life

Gillette was born on December 29, 1941, in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, and grew up in the

Eastern Oregon Eastern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost countie ...

city of Milton-Freewater. In 1963, Gillette graduated

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 ...

with a bachelor's degree in arts from

Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Founded as a seminary by a territorial l ...

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,339 as of 2023. The combined populat ...

. He then went on to

where he graduated with a

bachelor of law A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree in 1966.

Legal career

Gillette passed the

Oregon State Bar The Oregon State Bar (OSB) is a public corporation and instrumentality of the Oregon Judicial Department in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded in 1890 as the private Oregon Bar Association, it became a public entity in 1935 that regulates the lega ...

in 1966 and joined the

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

law firm of Rives and Rogers. The next year he moved on to become a Deputy District Attorney for

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 ...

, staying until 1969. Following this he was an Assistant Attorney General in

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

and

for two years. Gillette joined the Consumer Protection Division as chief counsel, serving until 1973 when he became Chief Trial Counsel for the

Oregon Department of Justice The Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ), headed by the Oregon Attorney General (currently Ellen Rosenblum), is the main legal branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The DOJ is part of Oregon's executive branch, and most of its empl ...

. That same year he then became Solicitor General for the state of Oregon, a position he held until 1977. In 1977, Gillette joined the

and served on that court until 1986. He served as a presiding judge on that court from 1980 until the end of his tenure. In 1980, he began serving on the board of directors for the Oregon Law-Related Education Project, remaining until 1988. Gillette left the Court of Appeals after appointment to the

in 1986 by then Republican Governor

Vic Atiyeh Victor George Atiyeh (; February 20, 1923 – July 20, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 32nd governor of Oregon from 1979 to 1987. He was also the first elected governor of Middle Eastern descent and of Syrian descent in the U ...

. Atiyeh appointed Gillette to fill the vacancy created when Justice Betty Roberts left the bench. Gillette was then elected to a full six-year term in 1986 and re-elected in 1992, 1998, and 2004. Gillette is a faculty member of

National Judicial College The National Judicial College (NJC) was established in 1963 as an entity within the American Bar Association. The NJC moved to the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno in 1964 and became a Nevada not-for-profit (501)(c)(3) educational corporat ...

. On the bench he has authored many opinions, and was one of the leading opinion writers in the 1990s on the court. Gillette wrote the majority opinion in ''Lehman v. Bradbury'' that invalidated 1992's Measure 3 that had enacted

term limits in Oregon Term limits legislation – term limit A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method o ...

, and the majority decision in ''Li & Kennedy vs. State of Oregon'' that invalidated

same-sex marriages Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...

approved by

in 2004. He also wrote the opinion of the unanimous court for the 2008 edition of ''Williams v. Philip Morris, Inc.'', a case that had already been to the

United States Supreme Court 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 U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

twice. The opinion upheld the punitive damages award against the tobacco company. He declined to run for re-election in 2010 and his term ended on December 31, 2010.

Later years

In the past he served as a faculty member of

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 ...

, and as an instructor at

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

. Gillette served on the Board of Trustees from 1977 to 1980 for the

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI, ) is a science and technology museum in Portland, Oregon, United States. It contains three auditoriums, including a large-screen theatre, planetarium, and exhibition halls with a variety of hands- ...

. He worked on the Advisory Committee of Scholars for the Constitution Project starting in 1984, and in 1991 was named

Classroom Law Project A classroom, schoolroom or lecture room is a learning space in which both children and adults learn. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, ranging from preschools to universities, and may also be found in other place ...

's Legal Citizen of the Year. The following year Gillette received an honorary LL.D. degree from Whitman College. In 2006, he was awarded the V. Robert Payant Award in 2006 for teaching excellence from the National Judicial College, and named one of the 500 Leading Judges in America in 2006 by Lawdragon. A basketball player in high school, he serves as a referee for high school games when away from court. The Wilsonville resident returned to private practice after leaving the bench, joining Portland law firm of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt in January 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillette, W. Michael 1941 births Living people 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Harvard Law School alumni Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court Oregon Court of Appeals judges People from Milton-Freewater, Oregon People from Wilsonville, Oregon Whitman College alumni Willamette University faculty