A Voice for Justice: Writings of David Schuman

by Sharon Schuman (Editor), Margaret Hallock (Foreword by), Garrett Epps (Introduction)

Overview

As an educator, speaker, deputy attorney general, and judge, David Schuman was known for his ability to clarify difficult legal concepts. According to James Egan, chief judge of the Oregon Court of Appeals, he was the "intellectual giant of our generation." A Voice for Justice reveals how David Schuman's unique jurisprudence came to be. His friends and associates knew that Oregon Supreme Court Justice Hans Linde convinced Schuman to turn to the Oregon Constitution rather than the federal one to protect individual rights. But even some of Schuman's closest friends were unaware of his fiction, which provides a window into his deep capacity for empathy and casts new light on his ability to write elegant, sometimes funny, judicial opinions. His legal thinking also had deep roots in literature and political theory. Schuman's 672 judicial opinions are not just brilliant, but are written so that anyone can understand them. Like Ruth Bader Ginsberg, he knew there was nothing to gain by communicating only to specialists. He wanted citizens to be able to make up their own minds about important issues. A Voice for Justice brings together for the first time writings that span over fifty years. Lawyers and laypeople alike will appreciate Schuman's lucid, engaging observations, which are highly relevant to our current disquiet about institutional racism and democracy under stress. The short stories, speeches, op-eds, articles, legal opinions, and dissents selected for this volume constitute a call to action for everyone to become a voice for justice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780870711107
Publisher:	Oregon State University Press
Publication date:	06/20/2021
Edition description:	1
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 18 Years

About the Author

David Schuman was a graduate of Stanford University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Oregon Law School. He served as judicial clerk to the Honorable Hans Linde of the Oregon Supreme Court. He  joined the University of Oregon Law faculty in 1987 but left to serve as Oregon’s Deputy Attorney General. After a brief return to teaching in 2001, he was appointed to serve on the Oregon Court of Appeals. He retired from the bench in 2014 and returned to teaching until his death in 2019.

Sharon J. Schuman earned degrees in English from Stanford University, San Francisco State University, and the University of Chicago. She taught literature at Deep Springs College, Willamette University, and the University of Oregon. Author of Freedom and Dialogue in a Polarized World, she gives presentations and workshops about cultivating dialogic freedom to reduce polarization. She and David were married for 51 years.
 

Table of Contents

Foreword: Margaret Hallock ix

Introduction: Garrett Epps xi

Acknowledgments xvii

Part 1 A Voice For Justice with an introduction by Sharon Schuman

Lawyers in Hell: A Law School Commencement Sermon (1989) 3

Deputy Attorney General Weighs Initiatives (2000) 12

Women Deserve Yes on Measure 89 (2014) 16

Travel Ban Rulings Based on Law (2017) 19

Part 2 The Path Not Taken with an introduction by Sharon Schuman

Saturday Night (1965) 25

Cold Turkey: To Sam and Nancy (1977-1978) 31

Show Business (1981) 44

Tracy (1981) 51

The Winner (1983) 60

Education and Solipsism (1981) 72

Part 3 In Transition: From Literature To Law with an introduction by Sharon Schuman

From "A Legal History of the Los Angeles Aqueduct" (1982) 87

From "Theory of Contract in The Merchant of Venice" (1982) 89

Part 4 Writing And Speaking About Law with an introduction by Margie Paris

From "Taking Law Seriously: Communitarian Search and Seizure" (1990) 94

Remarks on Receiving the Hans Linde Award (2017) 121

From "The Creation of the Oregon Constitution" (1995) 126

Part 5 On The Bench with an introduction by Alycia Sykora

From State v. McBean, 189 Or. App. 235, 74 P.3d 1127 (2003) 144.

From Lahmann v. Grand, 202 Or. App. 123,121 P.3d 671 (2005) 149

From State v. Daniels, 234 Or. App. 533, 541, 228 P.3d 695 (2010) 156

From State v. Alvarado, 257 Or. App. 612, 307 P.3d 540 (2013) 162

From Dissent: City of Nyssa v. Dufloth, 184 Or. App. 631, 57 P.3d 161 (2002) 169

From Dissent: State v. Howard, 204 Ore. App. 438; 129 P.3d 792 (2006) 172

Part 6 Speeches And Tributes with an introduction by Sharon Schuman

Remarks, Oregon Court of Appeals Investiture (2001) 183

Beyond the Wasteland: Being a Lawyer in the 2010s (2013) 187

A Lecture for New Law Students (2014) 194

Remarks on Receiving the Frohnmayer Award for Public Service (2014) 199

Introducing Hardy Myers 202

David Frohnmayer-A Tribute (2016) 205

In Memoriam, James M. O'Fallon, 1944-2017 (2017) 208

Hans Linde Dedication (2009) 210

Epilogue : Legacy

Jack L. Landau, Justice, Oregon Supreme Court 216

Ellen Rosenblum, Oregon Attorney General 218

James C. Egan, Chief Judge, Oregon Court of Appeals 221

Martha Walters, Chief Justice, Oregon Supreme Court 223

Kristen Bell, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Oregon 225

Nicholas Lovrich, Emeritus Professor of Political Science, Washington State University 227

Hans A. Linde, Justice, Oregon Supreme Court, 1977-1990 228

The Dog Contract 230

Writings of David Schuman (excluding Judicial Opinions) 235