Multnomah County Circuit Court

Circuit court of Multnomah County, Oregon

The Multnomah County Circuit Court, which composes the 4th Judicial District of the Oregon Circuit Court system, is the general jurisdiction trial court of Multnomah County, Oregon. Judith Matarazzo is the presiding judge of the Court, serving with 37 others.[1] The chief prosecutor is Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt.

The four court locations are

The Multnomah County Courthouse in 2021 East County Courthouse building in 2022

* Multnomah County Courthouse (Central Courthouse), located at 1200 SW 1st Ave, Portland
* Justice Center, located on the third floor of the County Jail / Police HQ building, 1120 SW 3rd Ave, Portland
* Juvenile Justice Center, 1401 NE 68th Ave, Portland
* East County Courthouse, 18480 SE Stark St, Portland

## Judiciary

[edit]

As of August 2023, the following are currently serving judges in the Circuit Court:[2]

Criminal and civil judges

* Judith Matarazzo, Presiding Judge
* Cheryl Albrecht, Chief Criminal Judge
* Christopher Marshall, Chief Civil Court Judge
* Steffan Alexander
* Amy Baggio
* Eric Bloch
* Leslie Bottomly
* Adrian Brown
* Eric Dahlin
* Bryan Francesconi
* Rima Ghandour
* Michael Greenlick
* Celia Howes
* Andrew Lavin
* Angela Lucero
* Heidi Moawad
* Melvin Oden-Orr
* Jenna Plank
* Christopher Ramras
* David Rees
* Shelley Russell
* Thomas Ryan
* Chanpone Sinlapasai
* Kelly Skye
* Benjamin Souede
* Katharine von Ter Stegge
* Nan Waller

Family and juvenile judges

* Patrick Henry, Chief Probate Judge
* Susan Svetkey, Chief Family Court Judge
* Jacqueline Alarcón
* Maurisa Gates
* Amy Holmes Hehn
* Morgan Long
* Michael Loy
* Patricia McGuire
* Susan Svetkey
* Xiomara Torres
* Francis Troy
* Kathryn Villa-Smith

## List of District Attorneys

[edit]

State's attorney  | Term in office  | Notes

|
|

| John M. Gearin | 1884–1886  |
| Unknown  | 1886-1900  |
| George E. Chamberlain | 1900–1903  | Resigned. Elected Governor in 1902.
| Unknown  | 1903–1931  |
| William Langley | 1954–1957  | Removed from office by Judge Frank J. Lonergan after being found guilty by a jury for refusing to prosecute gambling.
| F. Leo Smith | 1957–1958  | Appointed in 1957.

Did not seek re-election.

| Unknown  | 1958–1962  |
| George Van Hoomissen |  | Did not seek re-election. Ran for Secretary of State instead (lost).[3]
| Harl H. Haas Jr. | 1972–1981  | Did not seek re-election. Ran for Attorney General instead (lost).[4]
| Mike Schrunk | 1981–2012  | Longest serving District Attorney in county's history[5]
| Rod Underhill | 2012–2020  | Resigned in 2020
| Mike Schmidt | 2020-Present  | Appointed in 2020

Elected in 2020

## Architecture

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The new Multnomah County Courthouse on SW 1st Ave opened October 2020. The 17-story building spans 450,000 square feet and cost $324 million.[6] SRG Partnership was the lead architect, and Hoffman Construction Company lead contractor, both Portland based.

The previous building, a century-old courthouse, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It was sold in 2018 to NBP Capital for $28 million, who said it was "considering various creative uses" that would preserve the historic building. The county assessor valued it at $40 million, but estimated necessary upgrades for earthquake resistance at $70 million.[7]

## References

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1. ^ "Judicial Directory" (PDF). Oregon Judicial Branch. October 7, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 21, 2022.
2. ^ "Judges". Oregon Judicial Department. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
3. ^ Green, Ashbel. After 4 decades, Van Hoomissen leaves his mark on Oregon. The Oregonian, December 9, 1999.
4. ^ Whitney, David (November 5, 1980). "Frohnmayer clobbers Haas". The Oregonian. p. E1.
5. ^ Green, Aimee (2012-12-29). "Mike Schrunk: Multnomah County DA retires with a legacy of firm and fair leadership". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
6. ^ Kopochinski, Lisa (October 13, 2020). "Multnomah County Unveils Spacious New Courthouse". Correctional News. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
7. ^ Njus, Elliot (September 17, 2018). "Multnomah County finds buyer for downtown courthouse". The Oregonian/OregonLive. Retrieved March 28, 2022.

* Shepherd, Katie (August 30, 2017). "Prosecutors' Decision to Cripple a Judge's Career Echoes a Larger Battle Over Criminal Justice Reform in Oregon". Willamette Week. Retrieved March 29, 2022.

## External links

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* Courts.Oregon.gov -- Multnomah County Circuit Court, 4th Judicial District

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