Oral history interview with Anna J. Brown

Collection

Identifier: SR 1397

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Anna J. Brown was conducted by Jan Dilg in Portland, Oregon, from October 31, 2019, to October 8, 2020, as part of the United States District Court of Oregon Oral History Project. The interview was conducted in eight sessions; the first sessions were conducted in Brown’s chambers at the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse, and sessions six through eight were held at Brown’s home.

In this interview, Brown discusses her family background and early life in the Sellwood neighborhood of Portland, including her parents' experiences as German immigrants. She speaks about her career as a lawyer with the Bullivant firm in Portland, and about her service as a judge on the Multnomah County Circuit Court and District Court, and on the U.S. District Court of Oregon. She talks about cases she heard, including Philip Morris v. Williams, and cases regarding the federal no-fly list and the occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge.

Dates

2019 October 31-2020 October 8

Creator

Brown, Anna J., 1952- (Interviewee, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Joint copyright is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society. Use of this interview is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted: https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/

Biographical note

Anna Jaeger Brown, nee Anna Jaeger, was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1952. She initially attended Lewis and Clark College before completing a bachelor of science degree in administration of justice at Portland State University in 1975. In 1977, she and Paul Brown were married. In 1980, she earned a doctorate of jurisprudence from Northwestern College of Law, now the Lewis and Clark Law School. While she was in law school, she clerked for Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge John C. Beatty. She practiced law at a firm in Portland until 1992, when she became a judge on the Multnomah County District Court. Two years later, she moved to the Multnomah County Circuit Court. In 1999, President Bill Clinton nominated her to the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. She took senior status in 2017.

Sources: Information provided by Brown in her interview.

Extent

8.86 Gigabytes (8 audio files (WAV, 9 hr., 59 min., 51 sec.) + transcript (212 pages))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Anna J. Brown conducted by Jan Dilg from October 31, 2019, to October 8, 2020, as part of the United States District Court of Oregon Oral History Project. Brown, who served on the Multnomah County District Court, the Multnomah County Circuit Court, and the U.S. District Court of Oregon, discusses her judicial career from 1992 to the time of the interview.