rrrrrineuts
6 jH S t M at » aprii 16. 1999
PHO TO S
BY
L IN D A
J udicial
S napshot
Continued from the cover
e fair, be just, be mer
•
ciful.”
' These are the
-■
three vows Wilson took
along with her oath of office
to the Multnomah County
District Court in 1991, as
one of former Gov. Barbara
Roberts’ judicial appoint
ments.
In 1994, Wilson, who
received
her
bachelor’s
degree from Willamette Uni
versity in Salem and her law
degree from the Willamette
University School of Law,
became a Multnomah Coun
ty Circuit Court judge. She
hopes someday to be a feder
al judge.
“Law is a calling,” she
tells Just Out.
“Serving society and the
rule of the law" matters to
Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Janice Wilson
the native Oregonian, and
one doesn’t doubt it after
fercnce [during a session on] diversity issues in
And you’d better leave your guns, knives,
chatting with her and her associates in the legal
the courts, Judge Wilson noted to 200 judges in
field, and watching her work it from the bench.
cannons and slingshots at home— or else.
the room that she was the first openly lesbian
Still, for Wilson there is no clash between
Each weekday, perhaps after a morning
the expression of compassion and upholding the workout at a nearby athletic club, Wilson makes judge in Oregon, how the Code of Judicial Con
law.
her way to this destination. Her office and duct prevented her from taking any leadership
For example, in late January she eased the chambers nuzzle side by side.
role on opposing Measure 9 in 1992, ‘the biggest
probation terms of a woman who was convicted
From the morning into the afternoon, she’ll political issue o f [her] life,’ and how the gay and
of drug dealing in February 1998 for running a consider probation violation, rape, sexual
lesbian community thought she had turned her
facility that provided medicinal marijuana to assault, drug and other cases. The seedier mani back on them once she assumed the bench.
people with cancer, AIDS and other illnesses.
festations of life.
Most judges in the room had not known that.
Wilson told the woman: “You break [the] law
The worst, Wilson says, are the child abuse
“When later I overheard several comments
at your own risk until the law does change." But cases.
expressing surprise about Judge Wilson's sexual
she nonetheless relaxed the probation restric
“The things people do to their children....”
orientation and implying it was incongruous
tions enough for the perpetrator to gush: “Oh,
with their established admiration for her legal
this is wonderful, wonderful news.”
n March, Wilson received the Judge Mer and judicial skills, I knew I had witnessed a pow
In other words, Wilson considers context,
cedes Deiz award from Oregon Women erful and transformative event. Judge Wilson
and acts accordingly.
Lawyers. The annual award was established to opened some minds that day.”
recognize lawyers who have made outstanding
The writer added: "I expect Judge Wilson
J ilson was bom in 1954 in Medford, and contributions to the promotion of women and opens some minds most days. Each day as she
moved to the Portland area a few years minorities in the legal profession.
takes the bench, she restores her courage and
later.
It no doubt tasted delicious to Wilson, who renews three vows she took along with her oath
“My parents weren’t involved in politics,
in becoming a judge had to forgo much in the of office, vows memorialized in a plaque on her
they were involved with the church," she says,
way of civil rights activism.
bench that says: ‘Be fair, be just, be merciful.
adding a sense of civic mindfulness was instilled
When she joined the district court, for She is, and I am mindful of her lessons each day
early on.
example, it was at the height of the volatile
in my work.”
Her dad snagged the “8 Gallon Pin” when he campaign over Measure 9, which sought to con
Now, if only we could nail down the Judge
hit the eight-gallon mark in personal blood stitutionally classify homosexuality as abnormal, Janice show.
donations, and he nurtured a young Janice’s wrong, unnatural and
intellectual curiosity.
perverse. Queers and
“If I had a question, he wouldn’t just say,
X*
their allies were taking
‘Let’s go look it up.’ It would be, T h is is going to to the streets, speaking
be a lot of fun.’ He really had an enormous out daily at forums, and
enthusiasm and joy about learning,” she recalls.
mixing it up in
And it spread to his offspring. While some unprecedented num
attorneys gripe over tedious rules and regs, Wil bers in Oregon. It had
son embraces the profession’s intricacies. And
to be tough for Wilson.
she finds the tales of the broken and anxious Her sacrifice, however,
people who came to her when she was a private has not gone unno
practice lawyer— and now land before her as a ticed.
judge— to be a compelling, not torturous, exer
In making the case
cise.
as to why Wilson was
Throughout, she keeps it objective and deserving of the Mer
remains hopeful about humankind: “I will never cedes Deiz award, a
say a particular person is incapable of change.”
supporter wrote: “Judge
Wilson has shown
aybe you think a judge’s life is glamorous. great personal courage
Step into the Multnomah County Court in this work. For exam
house and you might reconsider. The air is thick ple, in response to a
and funky; the lighting a throwback to your ele question at the 1993
mentary school days.
Oregon Judicial Con-
Judge Wilson exiting her chambers
B
'
What Makes a Gay Soul?
An Education Support
Group for Gay Men on a
Spiritual Path
Seven Wednesdays: May 19th-
Ju n e 30th, from 7-9 p.m.
For information call:
Dale Rhodes, M.S.
Spiritual Direction at the
Interfaith Spiritual Center
3910 S.E . 11th Avenue, Portland. OR
(503) 289-4103
Sliding scale fe e s are available.
Pre-registration required.
I
NE 4-2nd Avenue
Portland, OR 97^5
2005
2 Blocks N orth o f Sandy
(5 0 3 ) 2 4 9 -1 8 8 8
(8 0 0 ) 843-6793
Q iuilit\
no-nnnsense hiji
& home theater
e</i<i/mient
ST E R E O T Y PE S AUIMO
26 I t n. i’. bro.iJw.iy
h
w
2 SO- 09 10
p i's ,t i id i o . o > iti
w
M