Oregon Appellate Almanac

Our 2023 edition is live – click here to read it!

The Oregon Appellate Almanac is published annually by the Appellate Practice Section and focuses on issues of Oregon appellate law and practice.  The Almanac welcomes submissions of roughly 500 to 2500 words in the following areas:

  • Biographies, interviews, and profiles of current and past figures in Oregon law and history
  • Court history, statistics, and trivia
  • Analysis of intriguing or obscure issues in Oregon appellate law and procedure
  • Humor, wit, poetry, and puzzles

The 2024 submission deadline is October 1.  In case of pandemic, natural disaster, or other forces beyond everyone’s control, extensions will be granted liberally.

Works should be between 500 and 2500 words and lightly footnoted as needed.  Authors receive a copy of the printed Almanac (if desired) and the plaudits of the Oregon appellate community.

If you have questions or would like to submit a piece, please email the editor, Nora Coon, at [email protected].  Our past issues are linked below with tables of contents and can also be accessed through HeinOnline.

  • Volume 13 (2023)
    • In Memoriam: Chief Judge Haselton
      • Hon. Rebecca Duncan
      • Hon. Paul De Muniz
      • Hon. Mary Deits
      • Hon. Erika Hadlock & Jean Ann Quinn
      • Hon. Jack L. Landau
      • Hon. Ellen Rosenblum
      • Sadie Forzley
      • Alia Miles
      • Shenoa Payne
      • Jeffrey Piampiano
      • Jeremy Rice
      • Josh Ross
      • Erin Severe
      • Laura Walhood
      • H.M. Zamudio
    • “Confessions of an Oxford Comma Skeptic,” by Hon. Meagan Flynn
    • “Anti-(S)hero,” by Hon. Anna Joyce
    • The Appellate Court Grammarian
    • “Making Lemonade Out of Congressional Lemons,” by Bruce Myers
    • “Correcting the Burdon of Proof for Specific Performance of Written Contracts,” by Colin Hunter
  • Volume 12 (2022)
    • In Memoriam: Justice R. William (“Bill”) Riggs, by Julia E. Markley
    • Judge Bill Riggs Caesar Salad Recipe
    • “A Legacy of Service: A Tribute to the Honorable Justice Lynn R. Nakamoto,” by Sara Ghafouri, Gabrielle Thompson, and Merissa A. Moeller
    • “More than Meets the Eye: A Tribute to the Honorable Judge Rex Armstrong,” by Chris Page
    • “A Legacy of Mentorship: A Tribute to the Honorable Judge Joel DeVore,” by Rachel Morris
    • “A Conversation with Chief Judge Erin Lagesen,” by Erica Tatoian
    • “City and County Home Rule Under the Oregon Constitution—What Does It Mean?”, by Denis Vannier
    • “Automatically Moot? Probation Revocation, Expungement, and Felony Reduction,” by Nora Coon
    • FUNGO Word Puzzles, by Erik Blumenthal
  • Volume 11 (2021) and Proposed Temporary ORAP Amendments
    • “Sense, Sensibility, and Single-Spacing,” by Drew Eyman
    • “Email and Texting Data”
    • “Other (Please specify),” by the Oregon appellate community
    • “‘(Cleaned Up)’: The Pioneering Explanatory Parenthetical, by James Coon
    • “A Public Defender,” by Lane Borg
    • “Clerkship: A Journey and an Adventure,” by Hon. Rick T. Haselton & H.M. Zamudio
    • “Schuman, Linde, Landau, and the State of First Things First,'” by Hon. Christopher L. Garrett
    • “Appellate Motions Practice: Advice from the Appellate Commissioner,” by Theresa Kidd
    • “LASO is Kvelling Over Its Appellate Referral Process,” by Rachael Federico
    • “Paging Through Provenance: or The Travels and Tribulations of a Law Book,” by Georgia Armitage
    • “Reporter Rejected at the Oregon Constitutional Convention,” by Nora Coon
    • “Proposed Temporary Amendments to Oregon Rules of Appellate Procedure (Redline Changes,” Oregon Court of Appeals
  • Volume 10 (2020) and full-size puzzle
    • Tributes to Justice Hans Linde from Hon. Rex Armstrong, Hon. Erin Lagesen, and Hon. Jack Landau
    • “Living Up to Our Values,” by Hon. Adrienne Nelson
    • “Harlots, Adventuresses, and…Wrestlers? The Maligned Women of Oregon’s Judicial Decisions,” by Sara Werboff
    • “The Strange Project of a Female Attorney,” by Cheryl Coon
    • “The Fusion Plot:  How Oregon’s First Senator Joseph Lane Plotted to Save Slavery and Destroy the Union,” by Lewis Zimmerman
    • “Women in the Law, RBG, and Federalism: A Conversation with Chief Justice Walters,” by Christine Moore
    • “Remarks Delivered at the 50th Anniversary Celebration for the Oregon Court of Appeals, September 6, 2019,” by Hon. Erika Hadlock
    • “Then and Now: The Appellate Settlement Conference Program,” by Genevieve Evarts
    • “Let’s Face the Music: It’s Time to Narrow the Abscond-Dismissal Rule,” by Brett Allin
    • “Circumstantial Evidence: Using History to Interpret Legislative Enactments,” by Nora Coon
    • “A Reply to Westwood and Wright,” by Hon. Jack Landau
    • “An Ode to the Reasonable Person,” by Geoff Briggs
    • Acrostic by Erik Blumenthal
  • Volume 9 (2019) and full-size crossword
    • “Remarks to New Clerks,” by Judge Haselton
    • Clerks’ Memories of Chief Judge Herbert Schwab, by Will Aitchison, Terry Lukens, Phillip Margolin & Michael Marowitz
    • “The (Former) Appellate Commissioner’s Retrospective,” by Jim Nass
    • “Chief Judge: ‘Mom’?” by Judge Haselton
    • “History in Oregon Constitutional Interpretation – Why We Should Do It That Way,” by James Westwood
    • “History in Oregon Constitutional Interpretation – Why We Should Not Do It That Way,” by Timothy Wright
    • “Two Cheers for Certified Questions,” by Justice Balmer
    • “Oy Vey! What’s Yiddish Doing in Court of Appeals Opinions?” by Judge Wollheim
    • “Should Westlaw ‘Correct’ A Supreme Court Opinion?” by Charles F. Hinkle
    • “Thanks to the Editor,” by Judge Lagesen
    • “The Michigan Mystery,” by Nora Coon
    • “How Many Times Do We Have to Tell You?” by Charles F. Hinkle
    • “A Conversation with Justice Kistler,” by Drew Eyman & Justice Kistler
    • “Mitchell and the Hold-Up Session,” by Lewis C. Zimmerman
    • Case Flashback: State v. Rohrs
    • FUNGO Word Puzzles, by Dan Bennett, Erik Blumenthal & Josh Crowther
    • Crossword Puzzle, by J. Aaron Landau
  • Volume 8 (2015)
    • Chair’s Note, by Robyn Ridler Aoyagi
    • “Practice Tips from the Oregon Supreme Court and Oregon Court of Appeals,” by Lisa N. Norris-Lampe and Lora E. Keenan
  • Volume 7 (2014)
    • A Note from the Chair, by Theodore P. Heus
    • “The Honorable David Schuman,” by Danielle Lordi
    • “Judicial Profile: Judge Erin Lagesen, Oregon Court of Appeals,” by Julie A. Smith
  • Volume 6 (2012)
    • Welcome, by Justice Flynn
    • “Dedication: Justice Betty Roberts,” by Justice Linder and Justice Walters
    • “In Memoriam: Judge John Buttler,” by Francine Shetterly
    • “Reflections,” by Justice De Muniz
    • “Some Recollections, 1972 to 2012, and Some Observations,” by Justice Durham
    • “A Tribute to: The Honorable W. Michael Gillette,” by Harry Auerbach
    • “Fresh Faces on the Oregon Supreme Court,” by Cody Hoesly
    • “Fresh Faces on the Oregon Court of Appeals,” by Cody Hoesly
    • “Judicial Profile: Justice Jack Landau, Oregon Supreme Court,” by Hillary A. Taylor
    • “Judicial Profile: Judge Rebecca Duncan, Oregon Court of Appeals,” by Hillary A. Taylor
    • “Judicial Profile: Judge Erika Hadlock, Oregon Court of Appeals,” by Ryan Bounds
    • “Judicial Profile: Judge Lynn Nakamoto, Oregon Court of Appeals,” by Jona Maukonen
    • “Inside the Oregon Court of Appeals: Arguments, Conferences, and Opinion Publication,” by Lora E. Keenan
    • Oregon Supreme Court 2011 Statistics
    • “Oregon Court of Appeals Report: 2011-12,” by Chief Judge Brewer
    • “Changes to the Oregon Rules of Appellate Procedure,” by Lora Keenan and Lisa Norris-Lampe
    • 2012 Appellate Case Summaries, by Willamette Law Online Staff
    • The Almanac Contendere: Appellate Haiku
  • Volume 5 (2010)
    • Editor’s Note, by Jeff Dobbins
    • Dedication: Hon. Walter I. Edmonds, Jr.
    • “Judge Walt Edmonds: An Appreciation,” by Judge Landau
    • “Walter Edmonds: Judge and Mentor,” by Former Law Clerks to Judge Walter Edmonds
    • 2009 State of the Court of Appeals
    • In Re Alumni Award
    • 2009-10 Year in Review: Oregon Supreme Court, Oregon Court of Appeals, U.S. Supreme Court, and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
    • “Whither Another Method?” by Rob Wilsey
    • “A Call for Judicial Abrogation of Two Third-Level Maxims of Statutory Construction,” by Cody Hoesly
    • Oregon Supreme Court Calendar, by Phil Schradle
    • Oregon Supreme Court Statistics
    • Oregon Court of Appeals Calendar, by Lora Keenan
    • Oregon Court of Appeals Statistics
    • Changes to the Oregon Rules of Appellate Procedure
    • 2009 Contest Winner
    • The Almanac Contendere 2010
  • Volume 4 (2009)
    • “Dedication: Hon. Hans Linde,” by Judge Schuman
    • Survey of United States Supreme Court: Decisions of the October 2007 Term, by Harry Auerbach
    • 2008 Ninth Circuit Review, by Scott Shorr
    • “Civil Service – A Recap of the Oregon Supreme Court’s 2008 Non-Criminal, Non-Habeas, and Non-PCR Cases,” by Keith Garza
    • “Oregon Supreme Court: Criminal Law Year in Review, 2008,” by Yonit Sharaby & Marc D. Brown
    • “A Highly Selective (Even Arbitrary) Overview of Cases Decided by the Court of Appeals in 2008,” by Meagan Flynn
    • “Criminal Case Review: Oregon Court of Appeals, 2008,” by Marc D. Brown
    • 2008 Oregon Court of Appeals Annual Report
    • “The Appellate Settlement Conference Program,” by Judy Henry
    • “2009 Amendments to the Oregon Rules of Appellate Procedure,” by Lora Keenan and Melanie Hagan
    • “Electronic Filing in the Oregon Appellate Courts,” by Lora Keenan and Melanie Hagan
    • “The Mysterious Disappearance of PGE,” by Judge Landau
    • “In Memoriam: Appellate Legal Counsel,” by Jim Nass
    • State Court System Appeals Board
    • “The Odyssey of James the Second Becoming James the Third: A Story of Evil Incarnate,” by Jim Nass
    • “Judicial Developments in Russia,” by Justice De Muniz
    • “Footnote Fracas,” by David Olsson
    • “My First Oral Argument,” by Casey Gillham
    • Oregon Supreme Court Public Calendar for 2009
    • Oregon Court of Appeals Calendar
    • Oregon Supreme Court 2008 Statistics
    • Oregon Court of Appeals Cases Filed 2008
    • 2008 Almanac Contest Winners
    • “The Almanac Contendere: 2009,” by Judy Giers
  • Volume 3 (2008)
    • “Dedication: Hon. Berkeley Lent,” by Kathleen Dodds
    • 2007: The Year in Review, by Harry Auerbach, Peter Hawkes, Stephanie Hendricks, Tom Sondag, Keith M. Garza, Marc Brown, and Meagan Flynn
    • “The Honorable Timothy J. Sercombe,” by Scott Shorr
    • “2007 Legislative Affecting Appellate Practitioners,” by Jim Nass
    • “2008 ORAP Committee,” by Lora E. Keenan
    • “Oregon Court of Appeals Annual Report 2007,” by Judge Landau, Judge Ortega, Alice Phalan, Jim Nass, and Lora E. Keenan
    • “Preserving Issues for Appeal in Oregon Civil Actions,” by Charles F. Adams
    • “An In-Depth History of the Location Act Controversy,” by Stephen P. Armitage
    • “A Brief History of the Oregon Reports (Part 2 of 2),” by Justice Balmer
    • “A Brief History of the State of Oregon Office of Public Defense Services,” by Walter J. Ledesma, Esq.
    • “Law Reviews and the Courts: An Off and On and Off Again Affair,” by Judge Landau
    • “A Clerk’s-Eye View of Good Merits Briefs and Petitions for Review,” by Dallas DeLuca, Cody Hoesly, and Heather Weigler
    • “The Oregon Appellate Courts’ ‘ECourt’ Initiatives,” by Melanie Hagan
    • “Oregon Appellate Courts Brief Bank, by Jim Nass
    • Appellate Internet Resources, by Scott Shorr
    • Oregon Court of Appeals to Inaugurate Appellate Commissioner Program, by Jim Nass
    • Appellate Calendars: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 2008 Court Sessions, Oregon Supreme Court, and Oregon Court of Appeals, by Melanie Hagan and Lora E. Keenan
    • Statistics, Oregon Supreme Court and Oregon Court of Appeals
    • The Almanac Contendere: 2008, by Scott Shorr
  • Volume 2 (2007)
    • Welcome
    • Dedication (R. William Linden, Jr.)
    • Oregon Supreme Court Calendar
    • Supreme Court Diary
    • Profiles: Judges Walt Edmonds, Rex Armstrong, Rick Haselton, Jack Landau, Virginia Linder, Darleen Ortega, David Schuman, Robert Wollheim, and Ellen Rosenblum, and Justice Martha Lee Walters
    • Three of Our Favorites
    • How Appellate Judges Prepare for Oral Argument
    • The Eighth Justice? Webster, His Dictionary, and Its Influence on Oregon Law
    • 2007 Amendments to the Oregon Rules of Appellate Procedure
    • 2006 ORAP Committee Roster
    • New Titles Required for Motions in the Appellate Courts
    • Recovery of Economic Losses in Negligence Actions: “Special Relationships” and Beyond
    • A Blast from the Past
    • The Almanac Contendere 2007
    • Passages
    • Thomas Allen McBridge, J.–Portrait of a Family
    • Epilogue
  • Volume 1 (2006)
    • Welcome
    • “Dedication,” by Justice Carson
    • “2005 — The Year in Review,” by Tom Sondag, Keith Garza, Robert Udziela, and Walter Ledesma
    • 2005 Judicial Profiles (The Supreme Court): Justices Wallace P. Carson, Jr., W. Michael Gillette, Robert D. Durham, R. William Riggs, Paul J. De Muniz, Thomas A. Balmer, and Rives Kistler
    • “2005 Legislation of Interest to Appellate Practitioners,” by James Nass
    • “2006 ORAP Committee,” by Lora E. Keenan and Keith Garza
    • “The Oregon Court of Appeals: 2005 Report,” by Chief Judge Brewer
    • “A Precis of the State’s Appellate Court Practice,” by Hardy Myers
    • “The End of the ‘We Can’t Tell’ Rule Makes Life Much More Challenging for Appellants,” by George Pitcher and David Campbell
    • “Expanding Decretal Notation on Petitions for Review: A Proposal,” by Jana Toran
    • “The Oregon Reports, 1862-1900: A Brief History,” by Justice Balmer
    • “Lord’s Oregon Oak Chest,” by Keith Garza
    • “Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse: A Brief Look at its History as it Reopens to the Public,” by Scott Shorr
    • “The Oregon Law Library Rare Book Collection,” by Joe Stephens
    • “The U.S. Supreme Court’s Review of Oregon State Court Decisions in the First Half-Century of Statehood, 1859-1909,” by Jeff Dobbins
    • “Footnote Folly,” by Judge Landau
    • “Oregon Appellate Courts Style Manual,” by Mary Bauman
    • “A Little Grammar Goes a Long Way: One Practitioner’s Comments on Three Rules Relevant to Legal Writing,” by Linda (Alix) Wicks
    • Appellate Court Calendars
    • “OJIN Abbreviations Used in Appellate Cases,” by Carrie Poust
    • 2005 Statistics, Oregon Supreme Court and Oregon Court of Appeals
    • “Two ‘Fishy’ Cases”
    • Rules of the Supreme Court of Oregon Territory, December 1852
    • “Reflections,” Judge Edmonds
    • “Getting to Know Us: Judicial Outreach in Oregon, by Judge Deits and Lora Keenan
    • “Supreme Court Smackdown: Extreme Oral Argument,” by James Nass
    • “Oregon Court of Appeals: 1982 Annual Report,” by Judge Rossman
    • Passages
    • The Almanac Contendere
    • “Reverse Dedication,” by Justice De Muniz