R. William Riggs

William Riggs became a circuit court judge for Multnomah County, Oregon in 1978, serving until 1988.[1] From 1988 to 1998 he was a judge for the Oregon Court of Appeals.[1] He was appointed to the Court of Appeals on October 24 of 1988 to replace George Van Hoomissen who had been elected to the Oregon Supreme Court.[4] Riggs was then elected to the court later in 1988 to fill a position vacated by John C. Warden and then re-elected in 1994.[4] He resigned from the appeals court in September 1998.[4]

On September 8, 1998, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber appointed Riggs as the Ninety-fourth Associate Justice to the state supreme court.[5][6] He replaced Susan P. Graber who had resigned in April.[6] That fall Justice Riggs won election to a full six-year term, and then re-election in 2004.[6] While on the court he authored the majority opinion in State v. Guzek, regarding the penalty phase of death penalty trials that was then heard before the Supreme Court of the United States.[7] He resigned from the court in September 2006 and Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski appointed Martha Lee Walters to fill the position.[8]