Betty Roberts
Encyclopedia
Betty Cantrell Roberts was a politician and judge in the U.S. state of Oregon
. She was the 83rd Associate Justice
of the Oregon Supreme Court
, the highest state court in Oregon. She was the first woman on the Oregon Supreme Court, and had also been the first woman on the Oregon Court of Appeals
. Roberts served from 1982 to 1986 on the high court and from 1977 to 1982 on the Court of Appeals.
A native of Kansas
and raised in Texas
, Roberts had previously been elected to both chambers of the Oregon Legislative Assembly
, but lost bids for the governor's office
and the United States Senate
, both in 1974. She was married three times, including to Frank L. Roberts
and Keith Skelton
, both of whom she would serve with in the Oregon Legislative Assembly. She was a private mediator and senior judge until her death due to pulmonary fibrosis
.
, on February 5, 1923. When she was six, her father became partially paralyzed and the family moved to Texas to be near her mother's family. In Texas, Roberts was raised poor during the Great Depression
of the 1930s. She graduated from high school and then attended Texas Wesleyan College
in Ft. Worth
for one year starting in 1940. She married Bill Rice, a young soldier from Oregon during World War II in 1942 who was stationed at Sheppard Field
. After the war they moved to Oregon where Bill was a banker, with the family living in Klamath Falls, Lakeview, Gresham, and La Grande. By the 1950s Roberts was the mother of four children, Dian, John Jr., Jo, and Randy.
Roberts enrolled at Eastern Oregon College
in La Grande for a single year in 1955. After the family moved to Portland, she enrolled at Portland State College
where she graduated in 1958 with a bachelor of science degree in education. From 1958 to 1967, Roberts taught high school in the Portland metropolitan area
at Reynolds High School, Centennial High School
, and David Douglas High School
before moving on to teach business law and political science at Mt. Hood Community College from 1967 to 1976. She and Bill Rice divorced in 1959. She became a member of the Lynch Elementary School District school board, serving from 1960 to 1966. She married Frank L. Roberts
in 1960, adopting his name and retaining it after their divorce in 1965.
Roberts went on to earn a masters degree in political science from the University of Oregon
in 1962. She then attended Northwestern School of Law (now Lewis & Clark Law School
) in Portland where she graduated in 1966 with her Juris Doctor. She earned her degree while attending evening classes at the school, much like she earned her early degrees. During this time she was still teaching high school and successfully ran for a seat in Oregon's House of Representatives
.
, Roberts won re-election in 1966. In 1968, she won election to the Oregon Senate representing Multnomah County in District 12, and was the only woman in the Oregon Senate at that time. That same year she married fellow legislator Keith D. Skelton, but retained the Roberts surname. However, the Oregon State Bar
, The Oregonian
newspaper, and the state elections division refused to abide by her decision. She threatened legal action, and eventually was no longer referred to as Mrs. Betty Skelton. While in the Senate she was a cosponsor of the Oregon Bottle Bill
that passed in 1971, the first of its kind in the nation. In 1972, Roberts was re-elected to the Senate for another four-year term.
In 1974, Roberts ran for governor of Oregon (the fifth woman to do so), but lost in the Democratic primary to Robert W. Straub
. Later that year, following the death of Democratic nominee Wayne Morse
, she was picked by the Democratic Party to run on the November ballot for the 1974 Oregon United States Senate
, an unsuccessful bid against incumbent Bob Packwood
. In 1975, she was named the Education Citizen of the Year Award by the Oregon Education Association
and the Woman of the Year by the Oregon Women’s Political Caucus. The next year the Oregon Conference of Seventh Day Adventists gave her their Liberty Award. During this time Roberts also served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
in 1968, 1972, and 1976, while also practicing law at the firm Skelton & Roberts from 1967 to 1977. She served as the Oregon chairperson for Jimmy Carter
's Presidential campaign in 1976.
Straub, a former opponent, appointed Roberts to the Oregon Court of Appeals
to a new position, along with W. Michael Gillette
, George M. Joseph, and John Buttler, when the court expanded from six to ten positions. Roberts was the first woman on that court, as well as the first on any appellate court
in Oregon. The next year she was up for election to retain her seat on the court, and won the election to a full six-year term. While on the court she faced discrimination
from some judges due to her gender, as the Chief Judge had been against the nomination of a woman to the court.
Prior to completing her term on the court, Roberts resigned on February 8, 1982, when she was appointed by Governor Victor G. Atiyeh
to the Oregon Supreme Court. She was appointed to replace the retiring Thomas Tongue
on Oregon's highest court, where she was again the first woman on that court. She then won election to a full six-year term on the court later in 1982. In 1982, she wrote the opinion in State v. Charles (293 Or. 273), which adopted the duty to retreat
in Oregon. This requires people to attempt to retreat in most situations before one could use deadly force, even in self defense. That same year she wrote the opinion in the workers' compensation case, Hewitt v. SAIF, that men and women have equal rights under the Oregon Constitution
, and so effectively gave Oregon an Equal Rights Amendment.
Roberts was the sole dissenting justice in Bank of Oregon v. Independent News (298 Ore. 434), when the court ruled that banks were not public figures, making it easier for banks and their officials to sue journalists for libel
. While on the bench Roberts was recognized by both the University of Oregon
and Portland State University
for distinguished service. On February 7, 1986, she resigned her position on the court. Roberts left in part due to the heavy workload of the job, in part due to the daily commute between her home in Portland and the Oregon Supreme Court Building
in Salem, partly due to the stress of the job, and in part because her husband was retiring and asked her to travel with him.
Law Society for women attorneys gave Roberts their Distinguished Service Award, and the following year the Oregon State Bar Association granted her an Award of Merit, with the Oregon American Civil Liberties Union
awarding her a Civil Liberties Award. After leaving the Oregon Supreme Court she was asked to help broker a settlement in a case by the Chief Justice, which led to a career in alternative dispute resolution, primarily as an mediator, but also as an arbitrator.
During Robert Bork’s U.S. Supreme Court nomination
she helped organize opposition to the nomination in Oregon. From 1988 to 1991 she was a visiting professor in political science at Oregon State University
. In 1988, she received recognition from Portland State University, Oregon State University, and Lewis & Clark Law School
. She also served on the state's Commission on Higher Education in the late 1980s. In 1992, Roberts was given the award bearing her name from the Oregon Women Lawyers. She earned the E. B. MacNaughton Civil Liberties Award from the ACLU in 2004.
In March 2004, she presided over the first legal same-sex marriage in Oregon that was held during a brief period when Multnomah County issued marriage licenses to people of the same-sex. In 2006, the American Bar Association
awarded her the Margaret Brent Award from its Commission on Women in the Profession. As of 2008, Roberts served as a private mediator
in the Portland area, and was a senior judge in Oregon, subject to recall to serve as a temporary judge. Her autobiography, With Grit and By Grace, Breaking Trails in Politics and Law, was published in 2008.
Roberts died in her Portland home of pulmonary fibrosis
on June 25, 2011. Representative Earl Blumenauer
stated "She was one of a kind.... for over a quarter century, Betty Roberts had as much impact on the political process as anyone in Oregon."
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. She was the 83rd Associate Justice
Associate Justice
Associate Justice or Associate Judge is the title for a member of a judicial panel who is not the Chief Justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the United States Supreme Court and some state supreme courts, and for some other courts in Commonwealth...
of the Oregon Supreme Court
Oregon Supreme Court
The Oregon Supreme Court is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. The OSC holds court at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, Oregon, near the capitol...
, the highest state court in Oregon. She was the first woman on the Oregon Supreme Court, and had also been the first woman on the Oregon Court of Appeals
Oregon Court of Appeals
The Oregon Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court in the U.S. state of Oregon. Part of the Oregon Judicial Department, it has ten judges and is located in Salem...
. Roberts served from 1982 to 1986 on the high court and from 1977 to 1982 on the Court of Appeals.
A native of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and raised in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Roberts had previously been elected to both chambers of the Oregon Legislative Assembly
Oregon Legislative Assembly
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...
, but lost bids for the governor's office
Governor of Oregon
The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments....
and the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, both in 1974. She was married three times, including to Frank L. Roberts
Frank L. Roberts
Frank Livezey Roberts was an American politician from the state of Oregon. A Democrat, Roberts served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. He served two terms in the Oregon House of Representatives and most of five terms in the Oregon Senate before resigning due to poor health...
and Keith Skelton
Keith Skelton
Keith Dexter Skelton was an American attorney, soldier and politician. He served in the Oregon Legislative Assembly and as a World War II fighter pilot. As a pilot, he flew over fifty missions in the war against Japan. He received his BS from Edinboro University, his MS from University of Michigan...
, both of whom she would serve with in the Oregon Legislative Assembly. She was a private mediator and senior judge until her death due to pulmonary fibrosis
Pulmonary fibrosis
Pulmonary fibrosis is the formation or development of excess fibrous connective tissue in the lungs. It is also described as "scarring of the lung".-Symptoms:Symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis are mainly:...
.
Early life
Betty Cantrell was born in Arkansas City, KansasArkansas City, Kansas
Arkansas City is a city situated at the confluence of the Arkansas and Walnut rivers in the southwestern part of Cowley County, located in south-central Kansas, in the central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,415....
, on February 5, 1923. When she was six, her father became partially paralyzed and the family moved to Texas to be near her mother's family. In Texas, Roberts was raised poor during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
of the 1930s. She graduated from high school and then attended Texas Wesleyan College
Texas Wesleyan University
Texas Wesleyan University is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university founded by the United Methodist Church in 1890. The main campus is located in the Polytechnic Heights Neighborhood of Fort Worth, Texas, with branch campuses in Burleson and downtown Fort Worth.-History:Texas Wesleyan...
in Ft. Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
for one year starting in 1940. She married Bill Rice, a young soldier from Oregon during World War II in 1942 who was stationed at Sheppard Field
Sheppard Air Force Base
Sheppard Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located five miles north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the largest training base and most diversified in Air Education and Training Command...
. After the war they moved to Oregon where Bill was a banker, with the family living in Klamath Falls, Lakeview, Gresham, and La Grande. By the 1950s Roberts was the mother of four children, Dian, John Jr., Jo, and Randy.
Roberts enrolled at Eastern Oregon College
Eastern Oregon University
Eastern Oregon University is one of seven state-funded, four-year universities of higher education in the State of Oregon and belongs to the Oregon University System...
in La Grande for a single year in 1955. After the family moved to Portland, she enrolled at Portland State College
Portland State University
Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...
where she graduated in 1958 with a bachelor of science degree in education. From 1958 to 1967, Roberts taught high school in the Portland metropolitan area
Portland metropolitan area
The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area , also known as the Portland metropolitan area or Greater Portland, is an urban area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered around the city of Portland, Oregon. The U.S...
at Reynolds High School, Centennial High School
Centennial High School (Gresham, Oregon)
Centennial High School is a public high school located in Gresham, Oregon, United States.-Academics:In 1989, Centennial High School was honored in the Blue Ribbon Schools Program, the highest honor a school can receive in the United States....
, and David Douglas High School
David Douglas High School
David Douglas High School is a public high school in Portland, Oregon, United States.-History:The school is named after 19th-century Scottish botanist David Douglas, namesake of such Pacific Northwest species as the Douglas-fir...
before moving on to teach business law and political science at Mt. Hood Community College from 1967 to 1976. She and Bill Rice divorced in 1959. She became a member of the Lynch Elementary School District school board, serving from 1960 to 1966. She married Frank L. Roberts
Frank L. Roberts
Frank Livezey Roberts was an American politician from the state of Oregon. A Democrat, Roberts served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. He served two terms in the Oregon House of Representatives and most of five terms in the Oregon Senate before resigning due to poor health...
in 1960, adopting his name and retaining it after their divorce in 1965.
Roberts went on to earn a masters degree in political science from the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
in 1962. She then attended Northwestern School of Law (now Lewis & Clark Law School
Lewis & Clark Law School
Lewis and Clark Law School is a private American law school located in Portland, Oregon. In the last ten years, L&C's Environmental Law program has been the highest-rated in the United States eight times....
) in Portland where she graduated in 1966 with her Juris Doctor. She earned her degree while attending evening classes at the school, much like she earned her early degrees. During this time she was still teaching high school and successfully ran for a seat in Oregon's House of Representatives
Oregon House of Representatives
The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 57,000. The House meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem....
.
Political career
Elected in 1964 to the Oregon House as a Democrat from Multnomah CountyMultnomah County, Oregon
Multnomah County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Though smallest in area, it is the most populous as its county seat, Portland, is the state's largest city...
, Roberts won re-election in 1966. In 1968, she won election to the Oregon Senate representing Multnomah County in District 12, and was the only woman in the Oregon Senate at that time. That same year she married fellow legislator Keith D. Skelton, but retained the Roberts surname. However, the Oregon State Bar
Oregon State Bar
The Oregon State Bar is a government agency in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded in 1890 as the private Oregon Bar Association, it became a public entity in 1935 that regulates the legal profession. The public corporation is part of the Oregon Judicial Department...
, The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
newspaper, and the state elections division refused to abide by her decision. She threatened legal action, and eventually was no longer referred to as Mrs. Betty Skelton. While in the Senate she was a cosponsor of the Oregon Bottle Bill
Oregon Bottle Bill
The Oregon Bottle Bill is container-deposit legislation passed in the U.S. state of Oregon in 1971 and amended in 2007. It requires cans, bottles, and other containers of carbonated soft drink, beer, and water sold in Oregon to be returnable with a minimum refund value...
that passed in 1971, the first of its kind in the nation. In 1972, Roberts was re-elected to the Senate for another four-year term.
In 1974, Roberts ran for governor of Oregon (the fifth woman to do so), but lost in the Democratic primary to Robert W. Straub
Robert W. Straub
Robert William "Bob" Straub , was an American politician and businessman in the state of Oregon. A native of California, he settled in Eugene, Oregon, where he entered politics. A Democratic politician, he served in the Oregon State Senate, as the Oregon State Treasurer, and one term as the 31st...
. Later that year, following the death of Democratic nominee Wayne Morse
Wayne Morse
Wayne Lyman Morse was a politician and attorney from Oregon, United States, known for his proclivity for opposing his parties' leadership, and specifically for his opposition to the Vietnam War on constitutional grounds....
, she was picked by the Democratic Party to run on the November ballot for the 1974 Oregon United States Senate
United States Senate election in Oregon, 1974
The 1974 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 5, 1974.Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Bob Packwood won re-election to a second term. Roberts was chosen to replace former U.S. Senator Wayne Morse, who won the Democratic primary but died before the general...
, an unsuccessful bid against incumbent Bob Packwood
Bob Packwood
Robert William "Bob" Packwood is a U.S. politician from Oregon and a member of the Republican Party. He resigned from the United States Senate, under threat of expulsion, in 1995 after allegations of sexual harassment, abuse and assault of women emerged.-Early life and career:Packwood was born in...
. In 1975, she was named the Education Citizen of the Year Award by the Oregon Education Association
Oregon Education Association
The Oregon Education Association is the largest public education employees' union in the U.S. state of Oregon, representing more than 46,000 teachers and classified personnel. It has local affiliates in each of the state's 199 public school districts, and 8 community colleges...
and the Woman of the Year by the Oregon Women’s Political Caucus. The next year the Oregon Conference of Seventh Day Adventists gave her their Liberty Award. During this time Roberts also served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
in 1968, 1972, and 1976, while also practicing law at the firm Skelton & Roberts from 1967 to 1977. She served as the Oregon chairperson for Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
's Presidential campaign in 1976.
Judicial career
On September 1, 1977, Oregon GovernorGovernor of Oregon
The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments....
Straub, a former opponent, appointed Roberts to the Oregon Court of Appeals
Oregon Court of Appeals
The Oregon Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court in the U.S. state of Oregon. Part of the Oregon Judicial Department, it has ten judges and is located in Salem...
to a new position, along with W. Michael Gillette
W. Michael Gillette
W. Michael Gillette is an American attorney and retired judge in the state of Oregon. He was an associate justice on the Oregon Supreme Court, where he served from 1986 until 2010...
, George M. Joseph, and John Buttler, when the court expanded from six to ten positions. Roberts was the first woman on that court, as well as the first on any appellate court
Appellate court
An appellate court, commonly called an appeals court or court of appeals or appeal court , is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal...
in Oregon. The next year she was up for election to retain her seat on the court, and won the election to a full six-year term. While on the court she faced discrimination
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
from some judges due to her gender, as the Chief Judge had been against the nomination of a woman to the court.
Prior to completing her term on the court, Roberts resigned on February 8, 1982, when she was appointed by Governor Victor G. Atiyeh
Victor G. Atiyeh
Victor George Atiyeh is an American politician, elected the 32nd Governor of Oregon in 1978. A member of the Republican Party, Atiyeh was the first elected governor of Arab descent in the United States, serving eight years from 1979 through 1987...
to the Oregon Supreme Court. She was appointed to replace the retiring Thomas Tongue
Thomas Tongue
Thomas H. Tongue III was an American jurist in the state of Oregon. A native of the state, he served as the 75th associate justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, serving 13 years on the state's highest court. Tongue is the grandson of U.S. Representative Thomas H...
on Oregon's highest court, where she was again the first woman on that court. She then won election to a full six-year term on the court later in 1982. In 1982, she wrote the opinion in State v. Charles (293 Or. 273), which adopted the duty to retreat
Duty to retreat
In the criminal law, the duty to retreat is a specific component which sometimes appears in the defense of self-defense, and which must be addressed if the defendant is to prove that his or her conduct was justified. In those jurisdictions where the requirement exists, the burden of proof is on the...
in Oregon. This requires people to attempt to retreat in most situations before one could use deadly force, even in self defense. That same year she wrote the opinion in the workers' compensation case, Hewitt v. SAIF, that men and women have equal rights under the Oregon Constitution
Oregon Constitution
The Oregon Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Oregon, originally enacted in 1857. As amended the current state constitution contains eighteen sections, beginning with a bill of rights. This contains most of the rights and privileges granted in the United States Bill of...
, and so effectively gave Oregon an Equal Rights Amendment.
Roberts was the sole dissenting justice in Bank of Oregon v. Independent News (298 Ore. 434), when the court ruled that banks were not public figures, making it easier for banks and their officials to sue journalists for libel
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 , was a United States Supreme Court case which established the actual malice standard which has to be met before press reports about public officials or public figures can be considered to be defamation and libel; and hence allowed free reporting of the...
. While on the bench Roberts was recognized by both the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
and Portland State University
Portland State University
Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...
for distinguished service. On February 7, 1986, she resigned her position on the court. Roberts left in part due to the heavy workload of the job, in part due to the daily commute between her home in Portland and the Oregon Supreme Court Building
Oregon Supreme Court Building
The Oregon Supreme Court Building is the home to the Oregon Supreme Court, Oregon Court of Appeals, and the Oregon Judicial Department. Located in the state’s capitol of Salem, it is Oregon’s oldest state government building...
in Salem, partly due to the stress of the job, and in part because her husband was retiring and asked her to travel with him.
Later years and family
Robert's marriage to Keith Skelton lasted until his death on October 23, 1995. In 1986, Oregon's Mary LeonardMary Leonard
Mary Leonard was an American attorney and accused murderer in the state of Oregon. A native of France, she was acquitted for the murder of her husband that many believed she had committed...
Law Society for women attorneys gave Roberts their Distinguished Service Award, and the following year the Oregon State Bar Association granted her an Award of Merit, with the Oregon American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
awarding her a Civil Liberties Award. After leaving the Oregon Supreme Court she was asked to help broker a settlement in a case by the Chief Justice, which led to a career in alternative dispute resolution, primarily as an mediator, but also as an arbitrator.
During Robert Bork’s U.S. Supreme Court nomination
Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination
The Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination refers to the 1987 nomination by President Ronald Reagan of Judge Robert Bork to serve as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. The U.S. Senate rejected his nomination.-Nomination:...
she helped organize opposition to the nomination in Oregon. From 1988 to 1991 she was a visiting professor in political science at Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
. In 1988, she received recognition from Portland State University, Oregon State University, and Lewis & Clark Law School
Lewis & Clark Law School
Lewis and Clark Law School is a private American law school located in Portland, Oregon. In the last ten years, L&C's Environmental Law program has been the highest-rated in the United States eight times....
. She also served on the state's Commission on Higher Education in the late 1980s. In 1992, Roberts was given the award bearing her name from the Oregon Women Lawyers. She earned the E. B. MacNaughton Civil Liberties Award from the ACLU in 2004.
In March 2004, she presided over the first legal same-sex marriage in Oregon that was held during a brief period when Multnomah County issued marriage licenses to people of the same-sex. In 2006, the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
awarded her the Margaret Brent Award from its Commission on Women in the Profession. As of 2008, Roberts served as a private mediator
Mediation
Mediation, as used in law, is a form of alternative dispute resolution , a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties. A third party, the mediator, assists the parties to negotiate their own settlement...
in the Portland area, and was a senior judge in Oregon, subject to recall to serve as a temporary judge. Her autobiography, With Grit and By Grace, Breaking Trails in Politics and Law, was published in 2008.
Roberts died in her Portland home of pulmonary fibrosis
Pulmonary fibrosis
Pulmonary fibrosis is the formation or development of excess fibrous connective tissue in the lungs. It is also described as "scarring of the lung".-Symptoms:Symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis are mainly:...
on June 25, 2011. Representative Earl Blumenauer
Earl Blumenauer
Earl Blumenauer is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1996. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes most of Portland east of the Willamette River. A native of Portland, he previously spent over 20 years as a public official representing the city.-Early...
stated "She was one of a kind.... for over a quarter century, Betty Roberts had as much impact on the political process as anyone in Oregon."