James T. Brand
James T. Brand | |
|---|---|
| 31st Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court | |
| In office 1951–1953 | |
| Preceded by | Hall S. Lusk |
| Succeeded by | Earl C. Latourette |
| 61st Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court | |
| In office 1941–1958 | |
| Appointed by | Douglas McKay |
| Preceded by | Henry J. Bean |
| Succeeded by | Kenneth J. O'Connell |
James T. Brand (October 9 1886 - February 28 1964) was the 31st Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, serving in that role from 1951 to 1953. While serving on court from 1941 to 1958 his service was interrupted when he was chosen to be a judge on a military tribunal adjudicating Nazi war crimes after World War II.
Early life
Brand graduated from Oberlin High School in Oberlin, Ohio in 1905.[1] After moving to Oregon, Brand became a Circuit Judge in Coos Bay, located in the southwestern section of the state.[2] He served for 14 years in that position.[1] In 1936 he was living in Marshfield, Oregon when he attended the funeral of John H. McNary.[3]
Judicial career
Brand was appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court on May 14 1941[4] by Oregon Governor Charles A. Sprague.[5] Brand replaced Henry J. Bean, who had died in office on May 8 1941.[4] Then, in 1942, Justice Brand received a full six-year term after winning the election.
In 1947 Justice Brand was appointed by the War Department to the War Crimes Tribunal to be convened in Germany after World War II.[6] There he was one of four judges of Nazi War Crimes at the Judges' Trial, the third in a set of twelve trials collectively known as the Subsequent Nuremberg Trials. The trial began in March of 1947[7] with Brand as a member of a three-person Military Tribunal, but on June 19 1947 he became the Presiding Judge when Carrington T. Marshall resigned for health reasons.[8]
After returning from Germany he resumed his position on Oregon's highest court.[4] James Brand won re-election in both 1948 and 1954.[4] In between elections he was chosen by his fellow justices to serve as chief justice from 1951 to 1953.[4] Justice Brand resigned his position on the bench on June 30 1958.[4]
Later life and family
After retiring from the court Brand became a professor at Stetson University College of Law in Florida.[9] Justice Brand died in Phoenix, Arizona while on vacation on February 28 1964 at the age of 77.[1] He was survived by his wife and his son Col. Thomas Brand who served in the Judge Advocate General Corps.[10][1]
Other
- Speaker at: Postwar problems of the Pacific and world organization, held in March of 1944.[11]
- In the movie Judgment at Nuremberg starring Spencer Tracy, Tracy’s character is modeled after Brand.[12]
- Hattie Bratzel Kremen the first women in Oregon elected as a district attorney served as Justice Brand’s personal secretary and court reporter, even accompanying him to Germany.[2]
- Authored: The Insanity Defense, 9 Ore. L. Rev. 309 (1930)
- Authored: Montesquieu and the Separation of Power, 12 Ore. L. Rev. 175 (1933)
- Authored: Crimes against humanity and the Nürnberg trials, 28 Ore. L. Rev. 93 (1949)
Decisions authored
- Mutzig v. Hope, 176 Or. 368, 158 P.2d 110 (1945) (jurisdiction, venue)
- Marsh v. McLaughlin, 210 Or. 84, 309 P.2d 188 (1957) (torts)
External links
References
- ^ a b c d Oberlin High School: obituaries. From The New York Times, February 29, 1964.
- ^ a b Ted Mahar. STATE'S FIRST ELECTED WOMAN D.A. DIES. The Oregonian, November 3, 1996.
- ^ Salem Pioneer Cemetery
- ^ a b c d e f Oregon Blue Book: Supreme Court Justices of Oregon
- ^ Oregon Blue Book: Governors of Oregon
- ^ Oregon SOS: Gov. Earl W. Snell Inaugural Message 1947
- ^ Mazal Library: OPENING STATEMENTS
- ^ Mazal Library: NUERNBERG MILITARY TRIBUNAL: Volume III: MEMBERS OF THE TRIBUNAL
- ^ W. Gary Vause. Foundations for excellence-The history of Stetson University College of Law
- ^ OSU News: OSU to observe Holocaust Memorial Week
- ^ The Far Eastern Quarterly, Vol. 4, No. 1. (Nov., 1944), pp. 78-80.
- ^ Oregon State University: HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL 2007 Events