Robert S. Bean

Robert Sharp Bean (November 28, 1854 – January 7, 1931) was the 16th Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, serving as Chief Justice three different times. He later served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. An Oregon native, he was part of the first graduating class of the University of Oregon.

Education and career

Born on November 28, 1854, in Yamhill County, Oregon Territory (State of Oregon from February 14, 1859), Bean graduated from Christian College (now Western Oregon University) in 1873 and read law in 1878. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1878 from the University of Oregon and was a member of the first graduating class of that institution. On May 1, 1909, he resigned from the Supreme Court to take a federal judicial post.

Notable cases as Justice

While Chief Justice in 1906, Justice Bean wrote the opinion for the Oregon court in State v. Muller (48 Or. 252, 85 P. 855) that would then go to the United States Supreme Court, where the opinion was affirmed. He also wrote the opinion in Kadderly v. City of Portland, 44 Or 118, 74 P. 710 (1903) on the constitutionality of the initiative and referendum system in Oregon.

Federal judicial service

Bean was nominated by President William Howard Taft on April 15, 1909, to the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, to a new seat authorized by 35 Stat. 686. Bean was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 28, 1909, and received his commission the same day.

Honor In 1895, the University of Oregon conferred an honorary doctorate of laws degree on the Bean. Justice Bean Hall, a dormitory at the school, was named in his honor and opened in 1963.

Family

Bean's parent's, Obadiah Roberts Bean and Julia Sharp Bean, immigrated to Oregon in 1851 and settled in Mapleton. In 1880 Robert married Ina E. Condon, daughter of geologist Thomas Condon, and the two had five sons.