| Martha Lee Walters | |
|---|---|
| Walters in 2009 | |
| 98th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office October 9, 2006 |
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| Appointed by | Ted Kulongoski |
| Preceded by | R. William Riggs |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 23, 1950 Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Spouse(s) | John VanLandingham IV |
Martha Lee Walters (born October 23, 1950) is an American labor attorney and judge in the state of Oregon. As of 2008, she is the 98th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. She became the first female justice on the state's highest court in three years when she was appointed in 2006. A native of Michigan, she worked on the Casey Martin lawsuit against the PGA Tour while in private legal practice.
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Walters was born on October 23, 1950,[1] in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she also grew up.[2] After high school she attended the University of Michigan, where she graduated in 1972 with a Bachelor of arts degree.[2] Walters earned her law degree from the University of Oregon School of Law in Eugene, Oregon, graduating in 1977 with her Juris Doctor and earning Order of the Coif.[3] Walters is married to John VanLandingham IV,[4] a low-income housing advocate and mobile home-housing specialist.[5] The couple has two children, John VanLandingham V, a graduate of the University of Chicago, and Cassady Walters, a student at Whitman College.
Justice Walters was the founder and president of the Eugene law firm of Walters, Chanti & Zennache.[3] In 1998, she was given the Public Justice Award by the Oregon Trial Lawyers.[3] She served as a delegate to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and as a member of the American Law Institute.[3] While in private practice she represented golfer Casey Martin in his lawsuit against the PGA Tour in order to allow the disabled Martin to use a golf cart while playing on the tour.[6]
She was appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court by Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski and was sworn into office on October 9, 2006, to replace Justice R. William Riggs who had retired.[7] She won election to a full six-year term in 2008.[8][9] Walters was the first female justice on the court since 2003 when Susan M. Leeson left the court.[8] A specialist in employment and labor law, she was 55 years-old when appointed.[10] In 2007, Walters was elected as the president of the Uniform Law Commission, becoming that organization's first female president.[6] Walters won election to a full six-year term on the court in 2008.[8]
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