James T. Brand

Infobox Judge
name = James T. Brand


imagesize =
caption =
office = 31st Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
termstart = 1951
termend = 1953
nominator =
appointer =
predecessor = Hall S. Lusk
successor = Earl C. Latourette
office2 = 61st Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
termstart2 = 1941
termend2 = 1958
nominator2 =
appointer2 = Douglas McKay
predecessor2 = Henry J. Bean
successor2 = Kenneth J. O'Connell
birthdate = October 9 1886
birthplace =
deathdate = February 28 1964
deathplace = Phoenix, Arizona
spouse = Irene Morley

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

James Brand was born in Oberlin, Ohio on October 9, 1886.Corning, Howard M. "Dictionary of Oregon History". Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.] Brand graduated from Oberlin High School in Oberlin in 1905. [http://www.oberlin-high.org/obits/ohs_obits_bn-bz.html Oberlin High School: obituaries. From "The New York Times", February 29, 1964.] ] Next he graduated from Oberlin College in 1909, followed by Harvard Law School where he graduated in 1914. After graduation Brand worked for the U.S. Forest Service when he moved to Oregon. In 1916 he married Irene Morley.

Once in Oregon he was in private practice in Coos Bay, Oregon, before serving as the city attorney for Marshfield, Oregon, (now called Coos Bay) from 1917 to 1927. Brand was then appointed as a Circuit Judge in Marshfield, Oregon, located in the southwestern section of the state.Ted Mahar. STATE'S FIRST ELECTED WOMAN D.A. DIES. "The Oregonian", November 3, 1996.] He served for 14 years in that position. He was living in Marshfield in 1936 when he attended the funeral of John H. McNary. [ [http://www.open.org/pioneerc/pg30.html Salem Pioneer Cemetery] ]

Judicial career

Brand was appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court on May 14 1941 [http://www.bluebook.state.or.us/state/elections/elections27.htm Oregon Blue Book: Supreme Court Justices of Oregon] ] by Oregon Governor Charles A. Sprague. [ [http://www.bluebook.state.or.us/state/elections/elections24.htm Oregon Blue Book: Governors of Oregon] ] Brand replaced Henry J. Bean, who had died in office on May 8 1941. 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. [ [http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/governors/Snell/message1947.html Oregon SOS: Gov. Earl W. Snell Inaugural Message 1947] ] 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 1947 [ [http://www.mazal.org/archive/nmt/03/NMT03-T0031.htm Mazal Library: OPENING STATEMENTS] ] 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. [ [http://www.mazal.org/archive/nmt/03/NMT03-T0013.htm Mazal Library: NUERNBERG MILITARY TRIBUNAL: Volume III: MEMBERS OF THE TRIBUNAL] ]

After returning from Germany he resumed his position on Oregon's highest court. James Brand won re-election in both 1948 and 1954. In between elections he was chosen by his fellow justices to serve as chief justice from 1951 to 1953. Justice Brand resigned his position on the bench on June 30 1958.

Later life and family

After retiring from the court Brand became a professor at Stetson University College of Law in Florida. [ [http://www.law.stetson.edu/lawrev/vause.pdf W. Gary Vause. "Foundations for excellence-The history of Stetson University College of Law"] ] Justice Brand died in Phoenix, Arizona while on vacation on February 28 1964 at the age of 77. He was survived by his wife Irene Morley and his son Col. Thomas Brand who served in the Judge Advocate General Corps. [ [http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ncs/newsarch/2001/Apr01/holo.htm OSU News: OSU to observe Holocaust Memorial Week] ]

Other

*Speaker at: Postwar problems of the Pacific and world organization, held in March 1944. ["The Far Eastern Quarterly", Vol. 4, No. 1. (Nov., 1944), pp. 78-80.]
*In the movie Judgment at Nuremberg starring Spencer Tracy, Tracy’s character is modeled after Brand. [ [http://oregonstate.edu/dept/holocaust/program/ Oregon State University: HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL 2007 Events] ]
*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.
*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

* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jksonc/bancoult_v_mcnamara.html Bancoult v. McNamara]
* [http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10007073 Subsequent Nuremberg Meetings]

References