Harl H. Haas, Jr.

Harl H. Haas Jr. (December 24, 1932 – September 21, 2013) was an American politician and jurist in Oregon. A native of Missouri, he served in both chambers of the Oregon Legislative Assembly as a Democrat before serving as a district attorney and Oregon Circuit Courts judge.

Early life Haas was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on December 24, 1932, to Harl Henry Haas and Berenice Taylor. After his parents divorced when he was two years old, Haas was raised by his mother. He first married Sharron Haas, then Mary Lou Calvin, and had two daughters, Holly and Amy. He won the election and represented Portland in District 6.

In 1972, Haas ran for district attorney of Multnomah County and won, and then won a second four-year term in 1976.

At the end of Haas' second term he ran for Oregon Attorney General, losing to David B. Frohnmayer in the 1980 election. In 1984, he won election to a seat on the Multnomah County Circuit Court, and replaced John J. Murchison in January 1985. Haas' most notable case on the bench came in 1985 with the murder trial of Sandra Jones that was removed from Lincoln County and had Gerry Spence as the attorney for the defendant. During the trial he disqualified prosecutor Joshua Marquis from the trial. While on the bench he started a drug court program in 1991 before retiring from the court in 2001.

Later life and death Harl Haas died at the age of 80 on September 21, 2013, from lung cancer at home in Portland.