Guide to the J. Blaine Anderson Case Files.
Biographical Note:
J. Blaine Anderson was born in Trenton, Utah, on January 19, 1922. He married Grace Little on November 14, 1944; they had four children, three sons and one daughter. He graduated from the University of Idaho College of Law in 1949 and was admitted to the Idaho bar the same year. He practiced in Blackfoot as a partner in the law firm Furchner and Anderson until 1971, when he was appointed a district judge for the District of Idaho. One of his best known decisions was Marshall v. Barlow (1975) that held as unconstitutional an Occupational Safety and Health Administration provision that allowed the search of businesses without a search warrant.
In 1976 he was appointed U.S. Court of Appeals Judge for the 9th Circuit, the largest of the 12 federal circuit courts. As chief administrative judge of the Northern Unit, which included Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, Judge Anderson was the highest ranking federal judicial officer in Idaho. While on the court he wrote the decision holding that the National Football League violated anti-trust laws when it refused to permit the Oakland Raiders to move to Los Angeles (see case 1795). He also wrote the decision in the Committee for an Independent P-I (Post Intelligencer), People Opposed to a One-Newspaper Town, et al. v. Hearst Corporation and the Seattle Times, which was concerned with the joint operating agreement between the Seattle Times and Post Intelligencer in 1982 (see case 1735).
Anderson was a member of the University of Idaho Alumni Hall of Fame and was awarded the first Faculty Award of Legal Merit from the College of Law in 1974. Well-respected by his fellow jurists for his excellent reasonings and opinions, he was awarded an honorary J.D. degree from Lewis & Clark College in 1978. He was a member of the American Bar Association, Idaho State Bar Association, South East Idaho District Bar, American Judicature Society, the American College of Probate Counsel, and a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. In addition to his judicial duties he was chairman of Idaho's Air Pollution Committee from 1959-1960. He was still active on the appeals court when he died at his Boise home on April 17, 1988, at the age of 66.
Anderson, J. Blaine (1922-1988)
Born: January 19, 1922 Trenton, Utah. His family lived briefly in Utah and Nebraska before moving to Pocatello, Idaho where he attended school and graduated from Pocatello High School.
Family: Father, Leslie Howard; Mother, Theo Ellen; Married, Grace Little, November 14, 1944; Children, J. Eric Anderson, son; J. Blaine Anderson, Jr., son; Leslie Ann Dobson, daughter; Dirk Brian Anderson, son.
Education: Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID. Sept. 1940 - Dec. 1941; University of Washington, Seattle, WA, Sept. 1945 - Aug. 1946; University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, Sept. 1946 - Jan. 1947; University of Idaho, College of Law, Jan. 1947 - May 1949, J.D. Degree. Admitted to the Idaho Bar 1949.
Nominations for appointment: District of Idaho by Richard Nixon, Dec. 1, 1971. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by Gerald Ford, June 21, 1976.
Employment: U.S. Coast Guard, Feb. 1942 - Sept. 1945; Self-employed, Blackfoot, ID, Nov. 1949 - Aug. 1955; Anderson & Beebe, Blackfoot, ID. Aug. 1955 - Sept. 1964, partner; Furchner, Anderson & Beebe, Blackfoot, ID, Sept. 1964 - Dec. 1968; Furchner, Anderson & Martch, Blackfoot, ID, Jan. 1969 - Dec. 1971.
Publications: "Damages from Pollution of Air and of Surface and Subterranean Waters," Idaho Law Review 10 (Fall 1973)
As a District Judge for the District of Idaho, one of his best known decisions was Marshall v. Barlow (1975) that held as unconstitutional an Occupational Safety and Health Administration provision that allowed the search of businesses without a search warrant.
In 1976 he was appointed U.S. Court of Appeals Judge for the Ninth Circuit, the largest of the twelve federal circuit courts. As chief administrative judge of the Northern Unit, which included Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, Judge Anderson was the highest ranking federal judicial officer in Idaho. While on the court, he wrote the decision holding that the National Football League violated anti-trust laws when it refused to permit the Oakland Raiders to move to Los Angeles. He also wrote the decision in the Committee for an Independent P-I (Post Intelligencer), People Opposed to a One-Newspaper Town, et al. v. Hearst Corporation and the Seattle Times, which was concerned with the joint operating agreement between the Seattle Times and Post Intelligencer in 1982.
Anderson was a member of the University of Idaho Alumni Hall of Fame and was the first recipient of the Award of Legal Merit for Service to the Profession from the College of Law in 1974. In 1982 he was honored as the Most Distinguished Alumnus, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID. He was awarded an honorary J.D. degree from Lewis & Clark College in 1978. Anderson was chairman of the Idaho Air Pollution Control Commission, a member of the American Bar Association, Idaho delegate to ABA House of Delegates, ABA Council member and ABA Board of Governors, commissioner, vice-president and president of the Idaho State Bar Association, State Director of American Judicature Society, Advisory Board of American Bar Journal and a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He was still active on the Ninth Circuit Appellate Court when he died at his Boise home on April 17, 1988, at the age of 66.
A bust was unveiled in honor of Judge J. Blaine Anderson at the official dedication of the new U.S Courthouse in Pocatello on June 4, 1999.2
April 21, 1988 From Times Wire Services
http://articles.latimes.com/1988-04-21/news/mn-2381_1_j-blaine-anderson
BOISE, Ida. — Judge J. Blaine Anderson, a 12-year veteran of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals who often said "you just have to swallow hard and follow the law," has died of a brain aneurysm at his home in Boise.
Anderson, who was 66 when he died Sunday, is perhaps best known for his decision in the Los Angeles Raiders case. He wrote that the National Football League violated anti-trust laws when it refused to permit the Oakland Raiders to move to Los Angeles.
Appointed by Ford
As a member of the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit since 1976, Anderson traveled monthly to Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Pasadena to hear arguments in cases.
Considered a conservative, he was the last active appointee of President Gerald R. Ford on the appeal court.
His death creates the third vacancy on the 28-judge court. Appointment of a successor is unlikely before the November presidential election. The once liberal-dominated court is split with 13 Democrat and 12 Republican appointees and three vacancies.
In his first year on the appeals court, Anderson struck down warrantless searches of business premises, overturning portions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act allowing warrantless searches as violations of constitutional Fourth Amendment protections.
He wrote in 1982 that immigration officials could not conduct factory sweeps to question alleged illegal aliens but must reasonably suspect a particular individual to interrogate them. The ruling was later overturned by the Supreme Court in a separate case.
In 1986 he rebuked U.S. District Judge Manuel Real, the chief federal judge in Los Angeles, for fining an attorney $250,000 for what Real considered courtroom misconduct.
The 9th Circuit covers nine Western states--Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Nevada, California, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii--and the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific.
Anderson was one of the few judges sought out for appointment because his record as an attorney was so excellent, Chief Judge James R. Browning said.
Although a Republican appointee, he was never registered as Republican or Democrat.
'Card-Carrying Lawyer'
"I'm not a card-carrying anything except a card-carrying lawyer," he said in a 1981 interview.
He was born in Trenton, Utah, in 1922.
His father worked his way through school as a railroad telegrapher and later served as general counsel for the Union Pacific railroad for 35 years, frequently arguing before the 9th Circuit.
Anderson graduated from the University of Idaho Law School in 1949 and served as president of the Idaho State Bar.
Grace Little
Nov. 29, 1919
Nov. 23, 1998
J. Blaine
Jan. 19, 1922
Apr. 16, 19981
