Robert S. Bean | |
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Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon | |
In office April 28, 1909 – January 7, 1931 |
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Appointed by | William Howard Taft |
Preceded by | new seat |
Succeeded by | James Alger Fee |
16th Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court | |
In office 1894-1896, 1900-1902 – 1905-1909 |
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Preceded by |
William Paine Lord, Charles E. Wolverton |
Succeeded by | Frank A. Moore |
32nd Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court | |
In office 1890–1909 |
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Preceded by | W. W. Thayer |
Succeeded by | Thomas A. McBride |
Personal details | |
Born | November 28, 1854 Yamhill County, Oregon |
Died | January 7, 1931 Portland, Oregon |
(aged 76)
Spouse(s) | Ina E. Condon |
Robert Sharp Bean (November 28, 1854 – January 7, 1931) was an American attorney and judge in the state of Oregon. He was the 16th Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, serving as chief justice three different times. Bean was on the state’ highest court from 1890 to 1909 when he was appointed as a judge for 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.
Robert Bean was born on November 28, 1854, in Yamhill County, Oregon. He was educated first at Monmouth Christian College before attending the University of Oregon in Eugene where he was part of the first graduating class in 1878 with a Bachelor of Science degree. Bean then read the law and entered private practice in Eugene from 1878-1882.
In 1882, Bean became a circuit judge for the state of Oregon, serving until 1890. Then in 1890 he won election to the Oregon Supreme Court in the November election. In 1895, the University of Oregon conferred an honorary doctorate of laws degree on the Bean. Bean won additional six-year terms in 1896, 1902, and 1908. He then served as chief justice on three occasions, 1894–1896, 1900–1902, and 1905-1909. 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 U.S. 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.
On April 15, 1909, United States President William H. Taft nominated Bean for a new position on the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. Bean received Senate confirmation on April 28 and received his federal commission that same day. On May 1, 1909, he resigned from the Oregon Supreme Court. Judge Bean served the federal bench until his death on January 7, 1931 in Portland, Oregon.