James A. Redden

James Anthony Redden Jr. (March 13, 1929 – March 31, 2020) was an American judge and politician from Oregon. He was a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, from 1995 to 2020, and, before that, had served as a federal judge since 1980. Before his appointment to the bench, he was a trial attorney, and a career Democratic politician, serving as a legislator and in two of the state's constitutional offices, as Treasurer and Attorney General.

Early life and education Redden was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, the third child of James A. Redden Sr., a dentist, and his wife, Alma. He spent his early childhood in their home on Bronson Terrace at the eastern edge of Forest Park, where for a time his father also maintained his dental office. During what he would later describe as a "mediocre" high school career, Redden enlisted in the United States Army in 1946, serving two years as a PFC in occupied Japan. As a legislator, Redden was a key figure in some of Oregon's most groundbreaking legislative initiatives, including brokering the deal which brought the passage of the state's 1967 public beach access law.

Jurist Redden was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on December 3, 1979, to a new seat on the United States District Court for the District of Oregon created by 92 Stat. 1629. He was confirmed by the United States Senate and received his commission on February 20, 1980. He served as Chief Judge from 1990 to 1995, and then assumed senior status on March 13, 1995.

Notable cases In 1983, Redden dismissed weapons charges, from 1975, against American Indian Movement leader Dennis Banks.

After 2003, Redden emerged as a central figure in the tension between industry and environmental concerns about the hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River, rejecting two management plans advanced by the federal government of the United States, on the grounds that they failed to protect various species of salmon, as required by the Endangered Species Act, and suggested that if the Bush administration failed to adequately address the salmon issue, management of the dams could fall to the courts. In November 2011, he announced that he would remove himself from the case prior to a new plan that the government presented in 2014.

Personal life Redden married Joan Johnson in 1951; she predeceased him in 2018. Redden died in Beaverton on March 31, 2020, eighteen days after his 91st birthday, shortly after being treated for congestive heart failure. He had been living in an adult foster care home.