Hans A. Linde died of natural causes on August 31. He was 96. A member of the Institute since 1977, serving on ALI Council from 1982 to 2008, Justice Linde is considered one of the greatest jurists of the last century.
Following his World War II Army service, Justice Linde graduated from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He clerked for Justice William O. Douglas in the U.S. Supreme Court. He was a lawyer in the Office of the Legal Adviser to the Department of State before serving as legislative assistant to Oregon Senator Richard L. Neuberger. In addition to work in government, he was a professor of law at the University of Oregon for over 17 years and served as Associate Justice on the Oregon Supreme Court from 1977 to 1990.
In the early 1970s Justice Linde published articles urging lawyers to bring civil rights cases in state courts and to make arguments grounded in the provisions of state constitutions. Jeffrey S. Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit explores Judge Linde’s influence on the court in his book, 51 Imperfect Solutions: States and the Making of American Constitutional Law.
Justice Linde will be remembered for his wide ranging scholarly and judicial work, commitment to education, and his dedication to upholding the rule of law. In 2007, Willamette Law Review held a symposium dedicated to Justice Linde. Materials published from the symposium are available here.