David Schuman, professor of practice at the University of Oregon School of Law, a former justice on the Oregon Court of Appeals and a deputy attorney general of Oregon, died Oct. 8, 2019. He was 75. Read more about his enduring legacy.

David Schuman received a B.A. from Stanford University, an M.A. from San Francisco State University, a Ph. D. in English Literature from the University of Chicago, and a J.D. from the University of Oregon Law School. Before attending law school, he taught English at the college level for nine years. In 1981, he moved to Eugene to begin law studies at the University of Oregon Law School, graduating with honors in 1984. Subsequently he served as judicial clerk to the Honorable Hans Linde of the Oregon Supreme Court and then as an assistant attorney general in the Appellate Division of the Oregon Department of Justice.

In 1987, Schuman became a member of the University of Oregon Law School faculty, where he taught constitutional law, criminal procedure, legislation, and administrative law; between 1994 and 1996 he also served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. While a law professor, he received the Ersted Award for Distinguished Teaching and published scholarly articles in the Oregon Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Vermont Law Review, American Criminal Law Review, Temple Law Review, and many other journals, as well as articles in The Washington Post, The Oregonian, The Chronicle of Higher Education and other periodicals.

In 1997, Schuman was appointed by Attorney General Hardy Myers to be his Deputy Attorney General in the Oregon Department of Justice, where he served until 2001. As Deputy Attorney General, he advised the Attorney General, members of the Department, elected officials and state agencies on civil and criminal matters. He also frequently represented the state in the defense of important statutes and constitutional provisions.

In January, 2001, after a four-year term as Deputy Attorney General, Schuman returned briefly to the University of Oregon Law School faculty where he was promoted to the rank of full professor.

On March 5, 2001, Governor John Kitzhaber appointed him to the Oregon Court of Appeals. He was elected to a full six-year term in 2002 and re-elected in 2008. He retired in 2014 and returned to the law school faculty in 2015.

Judge Schuman passed away in October of 2019. He is survived by his wife, Sharon, and two grown children.