Linde was a University of Oregon law professor in 1954 and from 1959 to 1976.

Robert Summers, an internationally known legal scholar at Cornell and a former UO law faculty member, remembered his colleague in a 1984 tribute to Linde. œHe became the most distinguished author ever to serve on the Oregon law faculty¦ and one of the top half dozen constitutional law figures in the entire country.

Linde went on to become one of the most influential ” and most cited ” state judges in America in his thirteen years on the Oregon Supreme Court. He retired in 1990.

œHans Linde understood the importance of interpreting the Oregon Constitution separately from its federal counterpart, said law professor Tom Lininger. œHe helped Oregon to develop a distinctive jurisprudence that matched the independent character of our state.

Ninth Circuit Court Senior Judge Alfred œTed  Goodwin ™51, a previous Frohnmayer Award recipient, said of Linde, œMany a time he reminded his colleagues that ˜nowhere in the United States constitution does it say that the state shall not guarantee their citizens greater civil rights than the Constitution guarantees.™ 

The Frohnmayer Award is given each year in Portland by the UO School of Law Alumni Association. It recognizes a graduate, faculty member, or friend whose public service brings honor to the school.