The Chief Judge of the Oregon Court of Appeals has issued the following media release:

A Message from the Chief Judge

After 36 years of exemplary service to the Oregon appellate courts, Appellate Commissioner James W. Nass is retiring.  His last date of service as Commissioner will be May 31, 2019.

Commissioner Nass first came to work for the Oregon appellate courts in 1983, serving as Appellate Legal Counsel for both the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.   Beginning in 1998, Commissioner Nass served as Appellate Legal Counsel exclusively for the Court of Appeals.  After the Court of Appeals created the Office of the Appellate Commissioner in 2008, Chief Judge David Brewer appointed James Nass as the first Appellate Commissioner.

Commissioner Nass deserves our abiding gratitude for his countless contributions to this court’s work and his dedication to efficient, quality decision making.  It has been the great honor of his colleagues to have served with him.

Although Commissioner Nass will be greatly missed, I am pleased to announce that Theresa M. Kidd will succeed him as the next Appellate Commissioner.  Ms. Kidd has been a staff attorney at the Court of Appeals since 2008 and, before becoming a staff attorney, worked in the Appellate Commissioner’s office as Assistant Appellate Legal Counsel.  A native of the Oregon coast, Ms. Kidd attended college at University of Oregon (B.S., Political Science & Psychology) and law school at Ohio Northern University.  After law school, she clerked at the Oregon Court of Appeals and then at the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.  In addition to her work for the courts, Ms. Kidd has worked in private practice and taught legal research and writing at Florida Coastal School of Law.  Please join me in welcoming Ms. Kidd to her new role as Appellate Commissioner.

Jim Egan
Chief Judge, Oregon Court of Appeals