Oregon Department of Justice

Attorney General Hardy Myers today announced that Robert Atkinson, a Senior Assistant Attorney General at the Oregon Department of Justice, will be the lead attorney for the state of Oregon in Oregon v. Gonzales, the lawsuit seeking to protect the voter-approved Death with Dignity law. The case is scheduled for oral argument in the U. S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, October 5, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. EST. Joining Atkinson as legal counsel will be Mary Williams, Oregon's Solicitor General, as well as Eli Stutsman and Nico van Aelstyne, attorneys representing physician and patient interveners. Only Atkinson will be presenting oral argument in the case.

The state's brief and other legal documents related to the lawsuit can be found online by clicking on the "Oregon v. Gonzales" link at www.doj.state.or.us. Atkinson is the longest serving Assistant Attorney General in the department's appeals unit, having joined the unit in 1984. A more thorough biography and photo of Atkinson are available at the website.