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Nearly 40 years after he began practicing, Oregon Supreme Court Justice Paul De Muniz recently achieved a personal first: a three-week vacation. Upon ending his tenure as the court鈥檚 chief justice in May, De Muniz and his wife, Mary, toured Italy, Turkey and Greece. Greece, in particular, provided some new perspective.

鈥淚t was interesting talking to the people there. They were so nice to us, but you could tell they are worried about themselves,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t made their crisis real for us, and it was very eye opening.鈥�

De Muniz returned to work with just six months left on the Supreme Court. He will retire in January with a rich legacy of accomplishments that began with a year-long tour of duty in Vietnam with the U.S. Air Force after he graduated from high school. De Muniz earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree from Portland State University in 1972 and his law degree from Willamette University in 1975. He was a deputy public defender for two years before specializing in complex criminal and civil litigation with Salem-based Garrett, Seideman, Hemann, Robertson and De Muniz.

After 13 years in private practice, De Muniz served on the Oregon Court of Appeals. In 2000, he became the first Hispanic-American elected to state office in Oregon when he joined the Supreme Court. He became chief justice in 2006, and was one of the court鈥檚 most productive opinion writers even as administrative head of the Oregon Judicial Department.

As chief justice, De Muniz led the effort to repair the judicial department鈥檚 relationship with the Legislature, reduce the department鈥檚 expenses by $500,000, craft a strategic plan for the court, and launch a statewide campaign designed to teach the public about how the court operates and build trust in the institution.

He also worked to improve the system鈥檚 efficiency and reduce spending by centralizing many state court operations; enabled judges to handle cases across the state, regardless of geographic boundaries; and implemented the state鈥檚 eCourt system and going paperless whenever possible. From the strategic plan to Oregon鈥檚 New Lawyer Mentoring Program, De Muniz has played a key role in making Oregon a national and international model. In 2011, he was inducted into the National Center for State Courts鈥� Warren E. Burger Society for working to improve the administration of justice within the states.

De Muniz shares with Briefly Legal how he views his time on the Oregon Supreme Court and how he plans to spend his retirement. His responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Briefly Legal: What have you enjoyed most about your time on the court?

De Muniz: I was raised poor in Northeast Portland, so I wasn鈥檛 destined to become chief justice. Every day has been a really remarkable experience and a privilege for me. I鈥檓 always interested in the cases that we hear and fascinated by the brilliance of the lawyers who appear in front of us. These cases generally don鈥檛 have easy answers, and the lawyers do an incredible job in attempting to shape the law.

BL: What other improvements would you like to see happen within the judicial branch?

De Muniz: We have to meet the needs of modern society and get back to the public dinner-table conversation where people really understand the courts. The only thing the court systems in each state have got going for them is their legitimacy, and the public needs to believe that this is the branch of government that resolves disputes impartially.

BL: What will you do once you retire?

De Muniz: I鈥檓 going to become a jurist-in-residence at Willamette鈥檚 College of Law, where I will work with the Willamette Center for the Advancement of State Courts and Public Policy. The center鈥檚 objective is to carry out research, scholarship, education and training to enable state courts to deliver modern, cost-effective judicial services necessary to meet the needs of Oregon鈥檚 ever-changing society.