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    United States District Court for the District of Oregon

    From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 8 min
    District of Oregon
    Ninth Circuit
    OR-D.gif
    Judgeships
    Posts: 6
    Judges: 5
    Vacancies: 1
    Judges
    Chief: Marco A. Hernandez
    Active judges: Ann Aiken, Marco A. Hernandez, Karin J. Immergut, Michael McShane, Michael H. Simon

    Senior judges:
    Anna Brown, Ancer Haggerty, Robert E. Jones, Malcolm Marsh, Michael Mosman


    The United States District Court for the District of Oregon is one of 94 United States district courts. The district operates out of courthouses in Portland, Eugene, Medford, and Pendleton, Oregon. The district court was created in 1859, when the state was admitted to the union. Appeals are submitted to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit based in downtown San Francisco at the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse. Initial appeals are heard by the Ninth Circuit at the Pioneer Federal Courthouse in Portland, Oregon.

    Vacancies[edit]

    See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

    There is one current vacancy on the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, out of the court's six judicial positions.

    Pending nominations[edit]

    There are no pending nominees for this court.


    Active judges[edit]

    Article III judges[edit]

    Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

    Ann Aiken

    Bill Clinton (D)

    		February 4, 1998 -

    University of Oregon, 1974

    University of Oregon School of Law, 1979

    Marco A. Hernandez

    Barack Obama (D)

    		February 9, 2011 -

    Western Oregon State College, 1983

    University of Washington School of Law, 1986

    Michael H. Simon

    Barack Obama (D)

    		June 22, 2011 -

    University of California, Los Angeles, 1978

    Harvard Law School, 1981

    Michael McShane

    Barack Obama (D)

    		May 30, 2013 -

    Gonzaga University, 1983

    Northwestern School of Law, Lewis & Clark College, 1988

    Karin J. Immergut

    Donald Trump (R)

    		August 5, 2019 -

    Amherst College, 1982

    University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1987


    Active Article III judges by appointing political party[edit]

    The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

    • Democrat appointed: 4
    • Republican appointed: 1

    Senior judges[edit]

    Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

    Malcolm Marsh

    Ronald Reagan (R)

    		April 16, 1998 -

    University of Oregon, 1951

    University of Oregon School of Law, 1954

    Robert E. Jones

    George H.W. Bush (R)

    		May 1, 2000 -

    University of Hawaii, 1949

    Lewis & Clark College, Northwestern School of Law, 1953

    Ancer Haggerty

    Bill Clinton (D)

    		August 26, 2009 -

    University of Oregon, 1967

    University of California, Hastings College of the Law, 1973

    Anna Brown

    Bill Clinton (D)

    		July 27, 2017 -

    Portland State University, 1975

    Northwestern School of Law, Lewis & Clark College, 1980

    Michael Mosman

    George W. Bush (R)

    		December 27, 2021 -

    Utah State University, 1981

    Brigham Young University, J. Reuben Clark Law School, 1984


    Senior judges by appointing political party[edit]

    The list below displays the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

    • Democrat appointed: 2
    • Republican appointed: 3

    Magistrate judges[edit]

    Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.[1]

    Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

    Janice Stewart

    Stanford University, 1972

    University of Chicago, 1975

    John Acosta

    San Diego State University, 1979

    University of Oregon, 1982

    John Jelderks

    Willamette University

    Willamette University College of Law

    Jolie Russo

    Lewis & Clark College

    Lewis & Clark School of Law, 1998

    Mark Clarke

    Southern Oregon University, 1980

    University of Oregon School of Law, 1983

    Paul Papak

    Princeton University, 1971

    University of Wisconsin, 1975

    Stacie F. Beckerman

    University of Iowa, 1995

    Harvard Law School, 1998

    Youlee Yim You

    Wellesley College, 1986

    University of Washington School of Law, 1989

    Patricia Sullivan

    		September 28, 2005 -

    Loyola University, Chicago, 1973

    University of Georgia School of Law, 1978

    Mustafa Kasubhai

    		September 21, 2018 -

    University of California, Berkeley, 1992

    University of Oregon School of Law, 1996

    Andrew Hallman

    United States District Court for the District of Oregon

    		September 29, 2021 -

    University of Oregon, 2004

    University of Oregon School of Law, 2008

    Former chief judges[edit]

    In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.[2]

    In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.[3][4][5]

    The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.[3][4][5]

    Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.[2][3][4][5]

    On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the President of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.[6]


    Former judges[edit]

    For more information on the judges of the District of Oregon, see former federal judges of the District of Oregon.

    Jurisdiction[edit]

    The Counties of Oregon (click for larger map)

    The District of Oregon has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

    The jurisdiction of the District of Oregon consists of all the counties in the state of Oregon. These counties are split into subdivisions, consisting of the following counties:

    The Eugene Division holds court in the Wayne L. Morse United States Courthouse, covering the counties of Benton, Coos, Deschutes, Douglas, Lane, Lincoln, Linn and Marion.

    The Medford Division holds court in the James A. Redden United States Courthouse, covering the counties of Curry, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath and Lake.

    The Pendleton Division holds court in the John F. Kilkenny United States Post Office and Courthouse, covering the counties of Baker, Crook, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa and Wheeler.

    The Portland Division holds court in the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse, covering the counties of Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Hood River, Jefferson, Multnomah, Polk, Tillamook, Wasco, Washington and Yamhill.

    Caseloads[edit]

    This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in April 2021.

    Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.


    United States District Court for the District of Oregon caseload stats, 2010-2019
    Year Cases Filed Cases Terminated Cases Pending Number of Judgeships Vacant Judgeship Months Average Total Filings per Judgeship Trials Completed per Judgeship Median time from filing to disposition, criminal Median time from filing to disposition, civil Three-year civil cases (#) Three-year civil cases (%)
    2010 3,370 3,325 3,176 6 24 562 17 10 11 109 5
    2011 3,315 3,413 2,904 6 10 553 15 10 11 119 5
    2012 3,433 3,377 3,115 6 12 572 19 10 10 102 4
    2013 3,430 3,385 3,158 6 5 572 14 11 11 100 4
    2014 3,047 3,430 2,747 6 0 508 16 10 11 96 5
    2015 3,394 3,229 2,912 6 0 566 10 13 10 108 5
    2016 3,414 3,247 3,101 6 0 569 14 11 10 112 5
    2017 3,035 3,196 2,940 6 5 506 8 13 11 118 5
    2018 3,419 3,053 3,301 6 12 570 8 13 11 177 7
    2019 3,271 3,167 3,351 6 7 545 10 12 12 204 8
    Average 3,313 3,282 3,071 6 8 552 13 11 11 125 5

    History[edit]

    The state of Oregon was organized as one judicial district by Congress with one judicial post on March 3, 1859. Since the district court of Oregon was not assigned to a judicial circuit, it was given the same jurisdiction as the U.S. circuit courts, except in appeals and writs of error, which are the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

    On March 3, 1863, the circuit court jurisdiction of the Oregon district court was repealed. The United States District Court for the District of Oregon was established and assigned to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. On July 23, 1866, the District of Oregon was assigned over to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

    Over time. five additional judicial posts were added for a total of six posts.[7]

    Judicial posts[edit]

    The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the District of Oregon:[7]

    Year Statute Total Seats
    March 3, 1859 11 Stat. 437 1
    March 2, 1909 35 Stat. 686 2
    August 3, 1949 63 Stat. 493 3
    October 20, 1978 92 Stat. 1629 5
    December 1, 1990 104 Stat. 5089 6

    Federal courthouse[edit]

    Six separate courthouses serve the District of Oregon.

    About United States District Courts[edit]

    The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.

    There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.

    There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.

    There are currently 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.[8][9]

    The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.

    In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.[10]

    Appointments by president[edit]

    The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through April 1 of the second year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, President Biden had the most district court appointments with 43, followed by President Clinton with 41. President Obama had appointed the fewest with 11.


    Judges by district[edit]

    See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courts

    The table below displays the number of judges in each district and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies in a district and how many pending nominations for that district are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line, and you can navigate through the pages by clicking the arrows at the top of the table. It is updated every Monday.


    Judicial selection[edit]

    The district courts are served by Article III federal judges who are appointed for life during "good behavior." They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States makes the appointments, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.[9]

    Step ApprovedA Candidacy Proceeds DefeatedA Candidacy Halts
    1. Recommendation made by Congress Member to the President President Nominates to Senate Judiciary Committee President Declines Nomination
    2. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews Candidate Sends candidate to Senate for confirmation Returns candidate to President, who may re-nominate to Committee
    3. Senate votes on candidate confirmation Candidate becomes federal judge Candidate does not receive judgeship

    Magistrate judges[edit]

    The district courts are also served by magistrate judges. Congress created the judicial office of federal magistrate in 1968. In 1990, the position title was changed to magistrate judge. The chief judge of each district appoints one or more magistrate judges, who discharge many of the ancillary duties of district judges so judges can handle more trials. There are both full-time and part-time magistrate judge positions, and these positions are assigned to the district courts according to caseload criteria (subject to funding by Congress). A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years; a part-time magistrate judge's term of office is four years.[11]


    See also[edit]

    External links[edit]


    Footnotes[edit]

    1. ↑ U.S. District Court – NH, "Magistrate Judges of the District Court," accessed April 27, 2021
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 United States Courts, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed January 25, 2022
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 136 - Chief judges; precedence of district judges," accessed January 25, 2022
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 258 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 45 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
    6. ↑ Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 171 - Appointment and number of judges; character of court; designation of chief judge," accessed January 25, 2022
    7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Federal Judicial Center, "District Court for the District of Oregon," accessed April 29, 2021
    8. ↑ US Courts, "Federal Judgeships," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
    9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 U.S. Courts, "United States District Court Federal Judiciary Frequently Asked Questions," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
    10. ↑ United States District Courts, "District Courts," accessed May 10, 2021
    11. ↑ The 'Lectric Law Library, "Understanding the U.S. federal courts"


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    Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Original source: https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_Oregon
    Status: cached on April 09 2022 13:58:00
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