Wallace Preston Carson Jr. (born June 10, 1934) is an American attorney and politician from

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 has spent time in both of Oregon's legislative branches and served on 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.

for 24 years. Carson's fourteen-year tenure as chief justice was longer than that of any of his predecessors.

Early life

Wallace P. Carson Jr. was born June 10, 1934; he was raised 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 ...

, where his grandfather had started a law firm in 1889.Leeson, Fred. Colleagues elect Carson as Supreme Court Chief Justice. ''

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 ...

'', July 25, 1991. He graduated from Salem High School (now North Salem High School) in 1952. Wallace graduated from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1956 where he was a brother of

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded in 1848, and currently headquartered, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, alo ...

. At Stanford he was in the

Reserve Officer Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

(ROTC), which led to a commission in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. Carson Jr. then enrolled in Willamette University's law school, graduating 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 1962. After graduation, he spent three years on active duty in the Air Force. Overall Carson Jr. was in the armed forces for 34 years, many with the Air Force Reserve and Oregon Air National Guard. While serving in the military he rose to the rank of brigadier general while serving as a

Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG or JAG Corps) is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judge advocates ...

(JAG) officer, ground control intercept officer, and jet pilot. This service took him to places such as

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. Wallace P. Carson Jr. was in private legal practice from 1962 to 1977.

Political career

While still serving in the military and working in private practice, Wallace Carson was invited by Oregon Republican politician

Bob Packwood Robert William Packwood (born September 11, 1932) is an American retired lawyer and politician from Oregon who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1969 to 1995. He resigned from the U.S. Senate under threat of expulsion, in 1995 ...

to run for a seat in the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

in 1966. There he served two terms, including one as majority leader. Then he was elected in 1970 to the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the State legislature (United States), statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Ther ...

, and re-elected in 1974. He served as minority floor leader during his second term.

Judicial service

Carson began his career in the judicial branch of government following his years in the legislature with an appointment to the Marion County Circuit Court by Governor Robert W. Straub in 1977. 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 ...

appointed him to replace Justice Denecke on the Oregon Supreme Court in July 1982, he was elected to a full six-year term in November of that year, and he was re-elected in 1988, 1994, and 2000. He was chairman of the Oregon Appellate Judges Association from 1989 to 1991. Carson's fellow justices chose him to serve as chief justice from 1991 to 2005. He was the longest serving Chief Justice in Oregon's history, and about 94% of the decisions issued by the court under his tenure were unanimous decisions. While on the court he served as chairperson of the Commission on Appellate Court Performance Standards for the National Center for State Courts. Carson did not seek re-election in 2006.

Virginia Linder Virginia Lynn Linder (born April 20, 1953) is an American judge from Oregon who served as the 99th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court from January 2007 until January 2016. She served on the Oregon Court of Appeals from 1997 until her election to ...

was elected to the position he vacated.

Personal life

Carson has served on the Board of Trustees 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 ...

since 1970. He is currently a senior judge for the state, subject to temporary assignment as a judge on any court in 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 ...

. He has been married to his wife, the former Gloria Stalk, for over 50 years. She was a year behind him in high school, and they met at a local pool, where he was swimming and she had been playing tennis.

External links

Voters' Pamphlet Primary Election, May 2000, page 124Oregon Benchmarks

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carson, Wallace P. Jr. 1934 births Living people 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Chief justices of the Oregon Supreme Court Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court Lawyers from Salem, Oregon Military personnel from Oregon North Salem High School (Salem, Oregon) alumni Politicians from Salem, Oregon Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Republican Party Oregon state senators Stanford University alumni Willamette University College of Law alumni 20th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly