Oral history interview with Jacob B. Tanzer

Oral history interview with Jacob B. Tanzer [Session 01, Video 01] Oral history interview with Jacob B. Tanzer [Session 02, Video 01]

Identity elements

Reference code

SR 1764

Name and location of repository

Level of description

Series

Title

Oral history interview with Jacob B. Tanzer

Date(s)

  • 1988-10 (Creation)

Extent

0.1 cubic feet; 1 videocassette (VHS, 3 hr., 42 min., 32 sec.)

Name of creator

(1935-2018)

Biographical history

Jacob Bruno Tanzer was born in Longview, Washington, in 1935. His family moved to Portland, Oregon, in 1945. He attended the University of Oregon, Stanford University, and Reed College. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Oregon in 1956, and a law degree from the University of Oregon in 1959. He practiced law in Portland for a few years before deciding that he would rather be a public prosecutor. In 1962, he began working for the organized crime division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. In 1964, he was the criminal law advisor for the team investigating the murder of civil rights workers in Mississippi that year. Later in 1964, he returned to Portland and worked as a Multnomah County deputy district attorney until 1969, when he was appointed Oregon's first solicitor general. In 1971, he became the first director of the Oregon Department of Human Services. He was appointed to the Oregon Court of Appeals by Governor Tom McCall in 1973. He resigned in 1980 and was immediately appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court by Governor Vic Atiyeh. Although he won an election later that year for a six-year term on the court, he resigned in 1982 and returned to private practice in Portland. He was named Legal Citizen of the Year in 2014 by the Classroom Law Project.

Tanzer was married twice. He and Miriam Albert were married in 1962; they later had four children. In 1972, they divorced, and in 1974, he and Elaine Rhine were married. Together, they founded Elephants Delicatessen in Portland in 1979. Tanzer died in 2018.

Content and structure elements

Scope and content

This oral history interview with Jacob B. Tanzer was conducted by Frank Parisi in Tanzer's office in Portland, Oregon, in October 1988. The interview was created as part of the Oregon Court of Appeals Oral History Project, which was later donated to the U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society to become part of their U.S. District Court Oral History Project. The interview was conducted in two sessions.

In the first interview session, Tanzer discusses serving as a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals, and discusses some of the cases he heard while on the court of appeals, particularly regarding administrative law. He speaks about his admiration for Judge Herb Schwab, and about serving on the Oregon Supreme Court with Justice Hans Linde. He also talks about his judicial and political philosophy. The video focuses on the art and photographs in Tanzer's office as Tanzer talks about their relationship to his career in the U.S. Department of Justice, on the Oregon Supreme Court, and as director of the Oregon Department of Human Resources, now known as the Oregon Department of Human Servcices. Other art and photos prompt him to discuss Portland Police Chief Penny Harringon, his family history, and his experiences with the U.S. Supreme Court. He talks about writing the 1981 opinion for the Oregon Supreme Court that overturned the 1978 reinstatement of the death penalty. He shares the reasons he prefers work as a lawyer in private practice over work as a judge, and talks about changes he would recommend for the court of appeals.

In the second interview session, Tanzer talks about Oregon Supreme Court justices Ralph Holman and Kenneth J. O'Connell, and talks about his process of writing opinions. He speaks at length about the tendency of the Oregon Supreme Court to defer to the state constitution before the federal. He talks about Oregon attorney generals Dave Frohnmayer and Lee Johnson; speaks about his unsuccessful 1974 campaign for a seat on the Oregon Court of Appeals; and shares his opinion about judicial elections. He revisits the topic of his experiences with the U.S. Supreme Court; talks about managing the caseload of the Oregon Court of Appeals and Supreme Court; and discusses the role of law clerks in the courts. He speaks further about his admiration for Judge Herb Schwab, and about his family history. He closes the interview by sharing his thoughts about the civil rights movement, about immigrants in American society, and about the Watergate scandal.

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use elements

Conditions governing access

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

Physical access

Technical access

Conditions governing reproduction

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

Gift of the U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society, April 2016 (Lib. Acc. 28809).

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

Accruals

Related materials elements

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related archival materials

An additional interview with Jacob B. Tanzer, conducted by Heather Brunner in 2010, is held by the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education in Portland, Oregon.

An additional interview with Jacob B. Tanzer, by Peter C. Richter, SR 11126, is held by the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Related descriptions

Notes element

General note

Preferred citation: Oral history interview with Jacob B. Tanzer, by Frank M. Parisi, SR 1764, 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

Place access points

Name access points

Accession area