Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Series
Title
Oral history interview with Jack G. Collins
Date(s)
- 1996-08-15 (Creation)
Extent
.1 cubic feet; 2 audiocassettes (1 hr., 46 min., 37 sec.)
Name of creator
Biographical history
Jack Gore Collins was born in Waukegan, Illinois, in 1930. He joined the Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps to pay his tuition to Princeton University, where he graduated in 1952. He then served in the Navy at the tail end of the Korean War. He met Janine Decker during leave in 1954, and they were married in 1957; they later had three children. He earned a law degree at Harvard Law School in 1958. After graduation, he relocated to Oregon to be a law clerk for Oregon Supreme Court Justice Walter Perry for a year. In 1958, he went into private law practice in Salem, Oregon. He became an assistant attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in 1963. He worked under U.S. Attorney Sidney Lezak. He was promoted to first assistant U.S. attorney in 1966. In 1982, Charles Turner replaced Sidney Lezak, and Collins was made chief of the Civil Division. In 1992, his title changed to chief of the Asset Forfeiture Division. He retired three years later, in 1995. He taught administrative law at Lewis and Clark College and later at Portland State University. He died in 2010.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This oral history interview with Jack G. Collins was conducted by Bruce James on August 15, 1996. Additional interview sessions were planned, but were never conducted. In this interview, Collins discusses coming to Oregon in 1958 to become a law clerk for Oregon Supreme Court Justice Water Perry; studying for the Oregon bar exam; and working with Bob Packwood. He then speaks at length about his family background and early life in Waukegan, Illinois, including his education. He discusses his involvement with the Presbyterian Church; some of the cases he worked on as a lawyer in Salem, Oregon; and attending Princeton University while serving in the Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps. He closes the interview by talking briefly about his naval service during the Korean War.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Collection is open for research.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Additional oral history interviews with Jack G. Collins are designated SR 1212 and SR 1251 at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
Preferred citation: Oral history interview with Jack G. Collins, by Bruce James, SR 1250, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
General note
Forms part of the United States District Court Oral History Project.
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition.
Sources used
Archivist's note
Sarah Stroman
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- James, Bruce (Contributor)