Oral history interview with Jack G. Collins

Oral history interview with Jack G. Collins [Sound Recording 01] Oral history interview with Jack G. Collins [Sound Recording 02] Oral history interview with Jack G. Collins [Sound Recording 03] Oral history interview with Jack G. Collins [Sound Recording 04]

Identity elements

Reference code

SR 1250

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

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Finding aids

Acquisition and appraisal elements

Custodial history

Immediate source of acquisition

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Accruals

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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.

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

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Accession area