Thomas A. Balmer

Infobox Judge
name = Thomas A. Balmer


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office = 96th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
termstart = 2001
termend =
nominator =
appointer = John Kitzhaber
predecessor = Ted Kulongoski
successor = Incumbent
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termstart2 =
termend2 =
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appointer2 =
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birthdate = 1952
birthplace = Longview, Washington
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Thomas (Tom) A. Balmer (born 1952) is an American jurist in Oregon, United States. A native of Washington, he has served as an Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court since 2001. He was re-elected to a full six year term on the bench in 2002.cite web
title = Oregon Supreme Court Justices
work = Oregon Blue Book
publisher = Oregon Secretary of State
url = http://www.bluebook.state.or.us/state/elections/elections27.htm
accessdate = 2006-12-21 ]

Early life

Justice Balmer was born in Longview, Washington, a community located on the Columbia River and the border of Oregon.cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Hon. Thomas A. Balmer
work = Lawyer Directory
publisher = FindLaw
date =
url = http://pview.findlaw.com/view/1430268_1
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-01-11 ] He attended and graduated from high school in Portland, Oregon.cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Judge of the Supreme Court
work = Voter’s Guide
publisher = Oregon Secretary of State
date =
url = http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections/may212002/guide/np/balmt.htm
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-01-11 ]

Balmer’s college career began at Oberlin College in the Ohio town of the same name. He was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree and earned High Honors, graduating in 1974. Balmer then attended law school, graduating from the University of Chicago Law School in 1977 with a law degree.

Legal career

Justice Balmer began his public legal career as a trial lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice from 1979 to 1980. Working in Washington, D.C., he was part of the Antitrust Division. Balmer taught at Lewis & Clark Law School from 1983-1984, and again from 1990-1992 as an adjunct professor. From 1986 to 1987 he was the chairperson of the Oregon State Bar antitrust law section, and in 1992-1993 he was chairperson of the Multnomah County Legal Aid Service’s Board of Directors.

Later he served as a deputy attorney general for the state of Oregon from 1993 to 1997. While there he worked for the Oregon Attorney General, Ted Kulongoski. [http://www.ojd.state.or.us/courts/supreme/balmerbio.htm The Honorable Thomas A. Balmer.] Oregon Judicial Department. Retrieved on November 26 2007.] Balmer is a former partner of Ater Wynne LLP, focusing on antitrust law, government regulations, and commercial litigation. In 1997, he became a member of the board of directors for Classroom Law Project, and from 2000 to 2001, he served as an adjunct professor of political science at Lewis & Clark College, 2000-2001.

On September 20, 2001 Balmer was selected for the Oregon Supreme Court, becoming the 96th justice. Governor John Kitzhaber appointed Balmer to replace Ted Kulongoski (who Balmer worked for at the Oregon Department of Justice) after Kulongoski resigned to campaign for governor, which he then won the election to replace Kitzhaber. Balmer was then elected to a full six-year term in 2002. His term expires in 2008. In 2005, he joined the board of directors to the Oregon Law Institute.cite web
title = Hon. Thomas A. Balmer
work =
publisher = Legal Span
date =
url = http://www.legalspan.com/catalog2/faculty.asp?UserID=20050620729133170451%20%20%20%20%20%20&OwnerColor=%23660033
accessdate = 2007-01-11 ] Balmer is currently a member of the US District Court’s Indigent Representation Committee.

elect Publications

*Co-author of: "Conflicts Between State Law and the Sherman Act", 44 U. Pitt. L. Rev. 1 (1982).
*Co-author of: "Antitrust Review of Proposed Administrative Actions", 61 B.U. L. Rev. 90 (1981).

References