Series

Oral history interview with Stephen M. Bloom

• 2005-04-19 - 2005-05-02 (Creation)

0.1 cubic feet; 6 audiocassettes (4 hr., 24 min., 20 sec.) and 1 videocassette (mini-dv, 1 hr., 55 sec.) + transcript (103 pages)

This oral history interview with Stephen M. Bloom was conducted by Donna Sinclair at the U.S. District Courthouse in Portland, Oregon, from April 19 to May 2, 2005, as part of the United States District Court Oral History Project. The interview was conducted in three sessions, and a transcript is available. Part of the third session was recorded simultaneously on audiocassette and videocassette.

In the first interview session, conducted on April 19, 2005, Bloom discusses his family background and early life in San Francisco and in the San Fernando Valley, California, including his education, his relationship with his siblings, and the death of his mother when he was 10 years old. He briefly talks about studying law at Willamette University, and speaks about his children, their education, and their careers.

In the second interview session, conducted on April 20, 2005, Bloom discusses his experiences at Stanford University and in the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps during the Vietnam War. He discusses practicing law in Pendleton, Oregon, and speaks at length about cases he worked on in the field of water law. He also talks about working as a pro tem judge for the Umatilla Indian Reservation; speaks further about studying law at Willamette University; and talks about his marriage to Becky Nelson after his second year of law school. He also briefly speaks about working in the district attorney's office in Pendleton. He talks about serving as a magistrate judge on the U.S. District Court of Oregon from 1988 to 2005. He describes the duties of a magistrate judge, talks about following sentencing guidelines, and shares some of the cases he heard.

In the third and final interview session, conducted on May 2, 2005, Bloom continues to discuss serving as a magistrate judge on the U.S. District Court of Oregon from 1988 to 2005, and to talk about some of the cases he heard. He also continues to speak about practicing law in Pendleton and about cases he worked on in the field of water law. He closes the interview by discussing his involvement in several organizations, including Legal Aid Services of Oregon and the Peace Corps.

Joint copyright for this interview is held by the U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society and the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright, Educational Use Permitted http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/

• English

Gift of the U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society, June 2007 (Lib. Acc. 26270).

Preferred citation: Oral history interview with Stephen M. Bloom, by Donna Sinclair, SR 11098, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Forms part of the U.S. District Court Oral History Project.

Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition.

Sarah Stroman

• Judges--Oregon
• Justice, Administration of--Oregon
• Lawyers--Oregon--Pendleton
• Water--Law and legislation--Oregon

• Sinclair, Donna L. (Donna Lynn), 1964- (Contributor)
• United States. District Court (Oregon) (Subject)
• United States District Court of Oregon Historical Society (Subject)

• oral histories (literary works)
• Interviews