{{Short description|American judge}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Richard Unis | image = Richard Unis judge.PNG | image_size = 200px | caption = | office = 89th Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court | term_start = 1990 | term_end = 1996 | appointer = Neil Goldschmidt | predecessor = Hans A. Linde | successor = Ted Kulongoski | birth_date = {{Birth date|1928|06|11}} | birth_place = Portland, Oregon | death_date = {{death date and age|2016|2|10|1928|6|11|mf=y}} | death_place = Gresham, Oregon | party = | spouse = Gloria Lenore Schuster }}
'''Richard L. Unis''' (June 11, 1928 – February 10, 2016) was an American attorney in the state of Oregon. He was the 89th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. Previously he was a judge for the city of Portland, a judge at the county level, and a state circuit court judge.
==Early life== Richard Unis was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, attending Franklin High School.<ref name=appointment>Leeson, Fred. New justices seen as moderate, progressive thinkers. ''The Oregonian'', February 7, 1990.</ref><ref name="hammond obit">{{cite news|last1=Hammond|first1=Betsy|title=Richard Unis, former Oregon Supreme Court justice, 'ideal' trial judge, dead at 87|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/02/richard_unis_former_oregon_sup.html|accessdate=21 February 2016|work=The Oregonian/OregonLive|date=February 20, 2016}}</ref> After high school he attended and graduated from the University of Oregon on a basketball scholarship.<ref name=appointment/><ref name="hammond obit"/> On March 23, 1952, he married Gloria Lenore Schuster in Portland.<ref name="obit">{{cite web|title=Richard Louis Unis (1928 - 2016)|url=http://obits.oregonlive.com/obituaries/oregon/obituary.aspx?n=richard-louis-unis&pid=177766137|website=Obituaries & Guestbooks|publisher=OregonLive|accessdate=21 February 2016}}</ref> In 1953, Unis graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law in Eugene, Oregon.<ref name=Oregon>[http://www.law.uoregon.edu/alumni/ol/OrLawyerS2000.pdf Former Supreme Court Judge Unis Honored With Harley Award.] ''Oregon Lawyer'', Spring 2000.</ref> After law school he began working at the city attorney's office in Portland.<ref name=appointment/>
==Judicial career== In 1968 Unis began serving as a municipal court judge for Portland, remaining at that position until 1971.<ref name=unis>Leeson, Fred. Graber, Unis chosen for high court. ''The Oregonian'', January 31, 1990.</ref> That year the court was merged with the county district court where Unis would serve until 1976.<ref name=unis/> Beginning in 1969 he began teaching at the Northwestern College of Law, while also teaching at the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada.<ref name=unis/> In January 1977 Richard Unis was appointed to the state circuit court.<ref name=unis/>
On February 1, 1990, Unis was appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court by Governor Neil Goldschmidt to replace the retiring Hans A. Linde.<ref name=gov>[https://sos.oregon.gov/archives/Pages/records/governors_guides.aspx Oregon State Archives: Governor's Records Guides.] Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on January 25, 2008.</ref><ref name=OSC>[https://sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Documents/elections/history-officials.pdf Oregon Blue Book: Earliest Authorities in Oregon - Supreme Court Justices of Oregon.] Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on January 25, 2008.</ref> Unis then won a full six-year term later in 1990, but resigned on June 30, 1996 before completing that term.<ref name=OSC/> He retired from the Supreme Court in order to take a position overseeing the settlement of a class action lawsuit against Louisiana-Pacific for problems with their siding material.<ref>Church, Foster. Justice will leave state high court early to oversee L-P case. ''The Oregonian'', June 13, 1996.</ref> Unis was appointed by United States District Judge Robert E. Jones.
==Later life and family== Unis was awarded the Herbert Harley Award in October 1999 for his "outstanding efforts and contributions that substantially change and improve the administration of justice in their states."<ref name=Oregon/> This national award is presented by the American Judicature Society.<ref name=Oregon/> In October 2003, Unis helped finalize the settlement in the Louisiana-Pacific siding lawsuits as a special master appointed by the court.<ref>Rivera, Dylan. LP wrapping up payments on inner-seal siding claims. ''The Oregonian'', October 7, 2003.</ref>
Unis died on February 10, 2016, at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center in Gresham, Oregon, at the age of 87.<ref name="hammond obit"/> He had lived in Clackamas County along the Sandy River for more than thirty years at his death.<ref name="hammond obit"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unis, Richard L.}} Category:1928 births Category:2016 deaths Category:20th-century Oregon state court judges Category:20th-century American lawyers Category:Franklin High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Category:Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court Category:Lawyers from Portland, Oregon Category:University of Oregon alumni Category:University of Oregon School of Law alumni