He was elected District Attorney of Lane County in 1958 at the age of 29 and was one of the nation's first public prosecutors to routinely charge drunk drivers involved in fatal accidents with negligent homicide.
It was during his sophomore year while serving as class treasurer that he met Helen Jackson who was then student body vice-president.
[5] He was one of the nation's first public prosecutors to vigorously seek criminal charges, trying twelve cases of negligent homicide and garnering eleven convictions in five years.
Bowles later became one of the subjects of a book by author Pete Earley titled The Hot House: Life Inside Leavenworth Prison.
[8] In 1966 Annette Buchanan was editor of the University of Oregon's student newspaper the Daily Emerald when she wrote an article about marijuana use on campus.
Her appeal was denied by the Oregon Supreme Court, but her actions are generally credited with pushing the legislature to pass the state's shield law in 1973.