Oregon Supreme Court Gets First African-American Justice

• Author: Gerardo Alvarez
• Pages: 11-11

PHOTOGRAPH BY INTISAR ABIOTO

Oregon Supreme Court Gets

First African-American Justice

Law can level the playing field

entirely comfortable tal king about.

“There are so many issues that are going o n in

our society right now, and I would say that th e biggest

issue isn’t a legal issue,” Nelson says . “Rather, I believe

civility and the ability to have conver sations around

hard topics is most critical for our c ountry.”

The access-to-justice gap is an other critical issue

for Justice Nelson. She h as held “listening sessions”

at various community loc ations, allowing residents

to share their experiences and c oncerns about the

justice system.

“The goal was twofold,” Nelson e xplains. “It was to acknowledge

that there was a gap between the pe rception of justice for people

who came before us and my collea gues, as well as to figure out—once

we identify that—where do we go from the re to educate each other.”

After those sessions conclude d last year, they evolved into Court

Connect, a collabor ative eort between the Multnom ah Bar Foundation

and the county circuit cour t to make the new county courthouse not

only accessible but welcomi ng to and inclusive of all members of the

community.

Nelson believes she owes her success in th e legal field to the

inspiration she finds in peop le from all walks of life. And she says she

hopes to continue to uphold the law as an e qualizer that gives voice to

people and issues that other wise may not have support.

“People won’t always remembe r what you said or what you did,

but they’ll remember how you mad e them feel, and I think that’s very

important and someth ing I try to live by,” Nelson says.

—Gerardo Alvarez

ADRIENNE NELSON MADE H ISTORY this year, becoming

the first African-Americ an to be appointed to the Oregon Supreme

Court in its 158-yea r history.

But she’s been a historymaker for quite som e time now.

In 1985, Nelson graduated f rom high school in Gurdon,

Arkansas, as the first black val edictorian student since the scho ol

integrated after the civil right s movement. But the accomplishme nt

was hard-won.

The school didn’t initial ly want to recognize her academic

excellence because of the co lor of her skin. Her mother had to

sue the school district, p utting her career as a teacher in that sa me

district on the line. This ear ly exposure to law leveling the playing

field inspired Nelson to pursue a l egal career. “That’s what started

my interest in the law because I saw the law as a too l to help people,”

she says.

Nelson relocated to Oregon af ter graduating from the University

of Texas School of Law in 1993 to be closer to family. She pra cticed

law in Portland for several years before beco ming a Multnomah

County circuit judge in 200 6. Nelson was appointed to Oregon’s

highest court by Gov. Kate Brown on Jan. 2 .

As she transitions to her new role, Justice N elson wants to continue

to address issues that are importan t to all Oregonians. She says she

believes the most import ant ones are those that people don’t fe el

Opening Statements

MAY 2018 ABA JOURNAL || 11

Justice Adrienne

Nelson