Susan P. Graber

Infobox Judge
name = Susan P. Graber


imagesize =
caption =
office = 90th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
termstart = 1990
termend = 1998
nominator =
appointer = Neil Goldschmidt
predecessor = Robert E. Jones
successor = R. William Riggs
office2 = Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
termstart2 = 1998
termend2 =
nominator2 = Bill Clinton
appointer2 =
predecessor2 = Edward Leavy
successor2 =
birthdate = 1949
birthplace = Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
deathdate =
deathplace =
spouse =

Susan P. Graber (born 1949) is an American attorney and jurist. She is currently a circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. A native of Oklahoma, she previously was the 90th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, and served on the Oregon Court of Appeals.

Early life

Susan Graber was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1949. [http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=2758 Susan P. Graber.] Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved on January 25 2008.] After high school Graber attended Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She graduated from Wellesley with a bachelors of arts in 1969. Susan Graber then went on to law school at Yale where she earned her Juris Doctor in 1972.

Legal career

Upon graduation Graber became an assistant attorney general for the New Mexico Bureau of Revenue where she continued until 1974. That year she entered private law practice in Santa Fe, New Mexico until 1975. In 1975 she moved to Ohio where she returned to private practice, this time in Cincinnati, Ohio until 1978. Then in 1978 Graber moved to Portland, Oregon where she became an associate at Stoel Rives Boley Jones and Grey (now Stoel Rives LLP). [http://www.uoregon.edu/~uocomm/newsreleases/latest/may99/P051199.html Press Release May 11, 1999.] University of Oregon. Retrieved on January 25 2008.] In 1981 she made partner.

Judicial career

Graber began her career as a judge when she was selected to serve as a state district court judge in 1983 on a temporary basis, remaining until 1988. She was also a mediator for the U.S. District Court from 1986 to 1988. In 1986, the Northwest Women’s Law Center gave her their Founder’s Award. Next, Oregon Governor Neil Goldschmidt appointed her to the Oregon Court of Appeals. She was appointed on February 11 1988 to replace judge Thomas F. Young who had died in office. Susan Graber served on the court of appeals until May 2 1990 when she resigned her position. [ [http://bluebook.state.or.us/state/elections/elections28.htm Judges of the Oregon Court of Appeals.] Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on January 25 2008.] While on the bench she served as president of the Oregon Appellate Judges Association.

On May 2, 1990, Graber was appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court to replace Robert E. Jones by Governor Goldschmidt. [http://www.bluebook.state.or.us/state/elections/elections27.htm Oregon Blue Book: Supreme Court Justices of Oregon.] Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on January 25 2008.] [http://bluebook.state.or.us/state/elections/elections24.htm Oregon Blue Book: Oregon Governors.] Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on January 25 2008.] However, Jones, prior to resigning his position, filed for re-election and won the election. Thus Jones resigned a second time and Goldschmidt appointed Graber a second time on January 7 1991. She then won election to a full six-year term in 1992, but resigned on April 1 1998, before the term expired.

Graber resigned because on July 30 1997, President Bill Clinton nominated her to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to replace Edward Leavy who assumed senior judge status. She was subsequently confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a 98-0 vote on March 17 1998 and received her commission two days later. With her appointment she became the first female judge to serve on that court from the state of Oregon. [ [http://www.owlsfoundation.org/Women%20in%20Oregon%20Firsts.pdf Firsts.] OWLS Foundation. Retrieved on January 25 2008.] In 1998, the Northwest Women’s Law Center named her Legal Citizen of the Year, and in 2001 she received the For Country Award from Yale University. Graber was selected to be chairperson of the American Bar Association’s Committee on Appellate Practice in 2001. [ [http://mootcourt.lawschool.cornell.edu/lbio_Graber.html Moot Court Board: The Honorable Susan P. Graber.] Cornell Law School. Retrieved on January 25 2008.]

References