Betty Roberts

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Betty R. Roberts
83rd Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
In office 1982 – 1986
Appointed by	Victor G. Atiyeh
Preceded by	Thomas Tongue
Succeeded by	W. Michael Gillette
Judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals
In office 1977 – 1982
Born	February 5, 1923 (1923-02-05) (age 85) Kansas
Spouse	Keith D. Skelton

Betty R. Roberts (b. February 5, 1923) is an American politician and former judge in the state of Oregon. She was the 90th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, the highest state court in Oregon. She was the first woman on the Oregon Supreme Court, and had also been the first woman on the Oregon Court of Appeals. A Kansas native, Roberts had previously been elected to both chambers of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, but lost bids for the governor's office and United States Senate. As of 2007 she was mediator and senior judge.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Politics 3 Judicial career 4 Later years 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Early life

Roberts was born in Kansas in 1923^[1] and grew up in Texas during the Great Depression of the 1930s.^[2] In Texas she graduated from high school and then attended Texas Wesleyan College in Ft. Worth for one year starting in 1940.^[3] She married Bill Rice, a young soldier from Oregon during World War II.^[2]

By the 1950s Roberts lived in Oregon where she was a mother of four children.^[2] She enrolled at Eastern Oregon College for one year, and then enrolled in Portland State College where she graduated in 1958 with a bachelor of science degree in education.^[2][3] From 1958 to 1967 Roberts taught high school in the Portland, Oregon area before moving on to teach business law and political science at Mt. Hood Community College from 1967 to 1976.^[3] She and Bill Rice divorced in 1960. In 1960 she became a member of the Lynch Elementary School District school board, remaining until 1966.^[3] Roberts then went on to earn a masters degree in political science from the University of Oregon in 1962.^[3] Next, Roberts attended Lewis & Clark College’s law school where she graduated in 1966 with her JD.^[3] She earned her degree while attending evening classes.^[2] During this time she also taught high school and successfully ran for a seat in Oregon’s House of Representatives.^[2] During this time, she was married to Frank L. Roberts for four years.

[edit] Politics

Elected in 1964 to the Oregon House as a Democrat from Multnomah County, Roberts won re-election in 1966.^[4][5] Then in 1968 she won election to the Oregon Senate.^[6] That same year she married fellow legislator Keith D. Skelton. She was the only woman in the Oregon Senate.^[2][7] In 1972 Betty was re-elected to the Senate.^{[8] [9]}

In 1974 Roberts ran for governor, but lost in the primary.^[2] Later that year she was picked by the Democratic Party to run in the general election in an unsuccessful bid for the United States Senate against incumbent Bob Packwood.^[2] In 1975, she was named the Education Citizen of the Year Award by the Oregon Education Association^[3] and the Woman of the Year by the Oregon Women’s Political Caucus.^[2] The next year the Oregon Conference of Seventh Day Adventists gave her their Liberty Award.^[3] During this time Roberts also served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1968, 1972, and 1976 while practicing law at the firm Skelton & Roberts from 1967 to 1977.^[3] Also in 1976 she served as the Oregon chairperson for Jimmy Carter’s Presidential campaign.^[3]

[edit] Judicial career

On September 1, 1977, Oregon Governor Robert W. Straub appointed Betty Roberts to the Oregon Court of Appeals to a new position along with W. Michael Gillette.^[10][11] Roberts was the first woman on that court then won election to a full term in 1978 and resigned on February 8, 1982.^[11][12] when she was appointed by Governor Victor G. Atiyeh to the Oregon Supreme Court to replace the retiring Thomas Tongue.^[10][13] Roberts was the first woman on the state’s highest court.^[12] While on the bench Roberts was recognized by both the University of Oregon and Portland State University for distinguished service.^[3] She then won election to a full six-year term in 1982 before resigning on February 7, 1986.^[13]

[edit] Later years

In 1986, Oregon's Mary Leonard Law Society for women attorneys gave Roberts their Distinguished Service Award,^[2] and the following year the Oregon State Bar Association granted her an Award of Merit^[2] with the Oregon American Civil Liberties Union awarding her a Civil Liberties Award.^[3] From 1988 to 1991 she was a visiting professor in political science at Oregon State University.^[3] In 1988, she received recognition from Portland State University, Oregon State University, and Lewis & Clark Law School.^[3] Roberts was given the award bearing her name from the Oregon Women Lawyers in 1992.^[2] She earned the E.B. MacNaughton Civil Liberties Award from the ACLU in 2004.^[3] In 2006, the American Bar Association awarded her the Margaret Brent Award from its Commission on Women in the Profession.^[14] As of 2007, Roberts serves as a mediator in the Portland area.^[1] Betty Roberts is also a senior judge in Oregon, subject to recall to serve as a temporary judge.^[15]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Living History of Women in the Law