Judges watch lawyers for a living. They see who comes to court prepared and who doesn’t. They see who tells the truth when it hurts their case, and who stretches it; they see who the jury believes.
Few people in American history watched as many trial lawyers as Judge Edward Leavy.
Ed Leavy: One of Oregon’s Most Honored Trial Judges
Ed Leavy (1929–2023) was born on his family’s hop farm near Butteville, Oregon, the youngest of ten children of an Irish immigrant. He graduated from the University of Portland and Notre Dame Law School, then went to work as a deputy district attorney in Eugene. In 1957, he became a judge, and served in seven courts over the next six decades.
Leavy was a Lane County district judge and circuit judge. He sat as a justice pro tem on the Oregon Supreme Court. He served as a U.S. magistrate judge and then a U.S. district judge in Portland, where he oversaw plea negotiations with the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his followers. As a mediator he settled complex cases, including precedent-setting disputes involving the Warm Springs, Umatilla, and Yakama tribes and the federal government.
President Reagan appointed him to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1987, and Chief Justice Rehnquist later named him to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, where he served as presiding judge.
Ed Leavy Wins The Nobel Prize of the Federal Judiciary
In 2015, Judge Leavy received the Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award, often called the Nobel Prize of the federal judiciary. A panel of federal judges, chaired that year by Justice Clarence Thomas, selects one federal judge for distinguished service to justice.
The award was presented on November 13, 2015, at the United States Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Sonia Sotomayor, and Clarence Thomas were there. Justice Kennedy even serenaded Judge Leavy’s wife, Eileen, whose birthday fell on the same day.
Above all, he was humble. Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain, his longtime neighbor in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse, put it simply: “Judge Leavy is the genuine article.”
Speaking for Judge Leavy Before the Supreme Court: The Honor of a Lifetime
The honoree was allowed one lawyer to speak on his behalf. After nearly sixty years of watching thousands of lawyers—prosecutors and defense attorneys, Plaintiffs’ lawyers and corporate counsel—Judge Ed Leavy chose me as his personal representative.
I was honored beyond words. In my address, I channeled Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., one of the great figures in American law and a personal idol of my own. Both Justices understand not just what the judicial bench represents, but what trial lawyers like myself are capable of.
An attorney’s trust is earned one case at a time, over years. We must show up for every client, every day: prepared, forthright, and respectful of every person in the courtroom. Judge Leavy spent his life showing what a fair, humble, decent judge looks like. I’ve tried to spend mine being the kind of lawyer he would trust.
This remains the standard we hold ourselves to at Barton Trial Attorneys, for every client and in every case.
Ed Leavy died on March 12, 2023, at the age of 93. The Ninth Circuit’s chief judge called him “a legend in Oregon and on this court,” and indeed he was. I am grateful to have practiced in his courtroom, and to have had the privilege of honoring him before the Supreme Court.
If you or someone you love has been seriously hurt, Barton Trial Attorneys is here for you. We take only a handful of cases at a time, and every client receives the attention of two trial attorneys and a full administrative staff. Learn more about our firm and our team, or contact us to learn more.
Call (541) 265-5377 for a free consultation.