Richard William Riggs (November 21, 1938 – April 23, 2022) was an American attorney and jurist who served as the 94th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court from 1998 to 2006.

Early life and education

He was born on November 21, 1938, in Hinsdale, Illinois, where he lived until 1950 when his family moved to Hillsboro, Oregon.{{cite news |last1=Ogadhoh |first1=Jaelen |title=Former Oregon Supreme Court justice dies at 83 |url=https://pamplinmedia.com/ht/117-hillsboro-tribune-news/545326-436556-former-oregon-supreme-court-justice-dies-at-83 |access-date=14 May 2022 |work=Hillsboro News Times |date=May 11, 2022 |language=en-us}} In Oregon he graduated from Hillsboro High School. Riggs earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Portland State University in 1961.Appellate Courts Supreme Court Rives Kistler Age: 54. The Oregonian, April 28, 2004.

{{cite journal

| first = R. William

| last = Riggs

| title = A Proposal for Change

| journal = Willamette Law Review

| volume = 39

| page = 1439

| year = 2003

| edition = Fall

| issue = 4

| url = http://willamette.edu/law/pdf/review/39-4/riggs.pdf

| access-date = April 5, 2018

}} He then served in the United States Navy Reserve from 1961 to 1992. Riggs retired from the Navy with the rank of captain and earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1968.

Career

Riggs served as president of the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association from 1973 to 1974, and has been on the board of governors for the Western Trial Lawyers Association. He was a member of both Phi Alpha Delta and Sigma Alpha Epsilon. In 1993, he helped to found the Oregon Academy of Family Law Practitioners and has worked with the organization since its inception.[http://www.law.uoregon.edu/alumni/ol/OL2004.pdf Oregon Lawyer: 2004.] University of Oregon School of Law. Retrieved January 13, 2008.

=Judicial service=

William Riggs became a circuit court judge for Multnomah County, Oregon in 1978, serving until 1988. From 1988 to 1998 he was a judge for the Oregon Court of Appeals. 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.[https://sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Documents/elections/history-officials.pdf Oregon Blue Book: Earliest Authorities in Oregon - Appeals Court Judges of Oregon.] Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved January 13, 2008. 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. He resigned from the appeals court in September 1998.

On September 8, 1998, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber appointed Riggs as the ninety-fourth justice to the state supreme court.[https://sos.oregon.gov/archives/Pages/records/governors_guides.aspx Oregon State Archives: Governor's Records Guides.] Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved January 13, 2008.{{cite web

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| title = Earliest Authorities in Oregon - Oregon Supreme Court Justices

| work = Oregon Blue Book

| publisher = Oregon Secretary of State

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| url = https://sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Documents/elections/history-officials.pdf

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| accessdate = 2007-05-01 }}

He replaced Susan P. Graber who had resigned in April. That fall Riggs won election to a full six-year term, and then re-election in 2004. 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.State v. Guzek, 336 Or. 424, 86 P.3d 1106 (2004) He resigned from the court in September 2006 and Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski appointed Martha Lee Walters to fill the position.[http://www.osbar.org/_docs/lawimprove/capinsider/ci_061004.pdf Capitol Insider.] Oregon Bar Association. Retrieved January 13, 2008.