Great judges, a great WILLAMETTE tradition
From Left: Paul De Muniz, Pete De Muniz (son), Paige (Allen) De Muniz JD’08 (daughter-in-law), Mike De Muniz JD’08 (son), Josh Mosar (grandson) Carrie Mosar (daughter), Mike Mosar (son-in-law), Mary De Muniz (wife) after Mike and Paige’s graduation from WUCL in 2008. Paul gave the commencement address.
Not a life he imagined Becoming a chief justice — with his own Wikipedia entry and a state trooper to drive him around the state — is not the life De Muniz imagined growing up in Portland. His parents divorced when he was 1; he was raised by his mother and his grandparents. His grandfather read him Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe when he was a Qui Nhon, South Vietnam June, 1968
toddler and he says that spurred a lifelong fascination with books. He reads criminal dramas, biographies of historical figures and owns every book written by or about Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. De Muniz says that he was
“He was always respectful of the bench and the
“not an outstanding student” in high school, but he made up
DAs but he didn’t mind going toe-to-toe with
for that with hard work. He
them and beat[ing] them at their own game.”
when he was a teenager,
bused dishes at a restaurant enlisted in the Air Force after high school and was sent to
Vietnam in 1968. “College was not a guaranteed part of my future,” he says. He got through Portland State in 2½ years on the G.I. Bill and worked nights unloading freight to put himself through college and law school.
16 | Willamette Lawyer