Owen M. Panner

Owen Murphy Panner (July 28, 1924 – December 19, 2018) was an American attorney and jurist from Oregon who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.

Early life

Panner was born in Chicago, Illinois to a geologist father. The family, which included two sisters, moved to Oklahoma, where Panner grew up in the town of Whizbang. His father worked in the oil fields as Owen grew up in the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. Panner was also vice president of the Oregon State Bar and a member of the board of governors of the organization from 1961 to 1963, as well as president of the Central Oregon chapter. His decision was based on a unanimous 2006 US Supreme Court ruling in Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal, that required the U.S. federal government to allow the Church to import and consume the tea for religious ceremonies under the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The Oregon State Bar's litigation section presents an annual award for professionalism in honor of Panner. He had four children and later remarried to Nancy.