Karin Immergut
Encyclopedia
Karin Johanna Immergut is a judge in the state of Oregon
. A native of New York
, she was the United States Attorney
for the District of Oregon from 2003 until her resignation in July 2009 when she was appointed as circuit court judge for Multnomah County, Oregon
, by Governor Ted Kulongoski
. Prior to serving as a U.S. Attorney, Immergut worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in both Oregon and California
, was a deputy district attorney in Portland
, and work for Ken Starr during his investigation of President Bill Clinton
.
in 1982 and received her law degree in 1987 from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. After law school she worked as a litigation associate at the law firm of Covington & Burling
in Washington, D.C.
for one year.
, to work for the firm Gravel & Shea for two years. In 1996, Immergut then moved to Portland, Oregon
, where she married James T. McDermott and was hired by Multnomah County
.
Immergut served for five years as a Deputy District Attorney in Portland, where she primarily prosecuted white collar crimes. In 1998, Immergut was a Multnomah County
deputy district attorney and a longtime Democrat
when she went to work for Ken Starr, who was investigating then-President Bill Clinton. She re-registered as an independent
upon taking that position. Immergut personally questioned Monica Lewinsky
in an August 6, 1998 deposition. In 2001, she joined the U.S. Attorney's office in Portland as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Oregon. Serving two years in the position, she prosecuted cases involving white collar crime and worked on Project Safe Neighborhoods, a national gun violence reduction initiative.
confirmed her nomination on that same date. She was appointed by President George W. Bush
to the position. Bush signed her commission to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Oregon on October 4, 2003 and she was sworn in as the United States Attorney on October 8, 2003. She succeeded Michael W. Mosman
in that role.
As U.S. Attorney, Immergut serves as the district's top federal law enforcement official. She manages a staff of approximately 107 people, including 51 Assistant U.S. Attorneys, who handle civil litigation on behalf of the United States and criminal investigations and prosecutions involving violations of federal law such as white collar crime, narcotics trafficking, violent crime, money laundering and cybercrime. In addition, Immergut served on the Attorney General
's Advisory Committee.
In January 2008, Immergut applied to succeed Judge Garr King
on the Oregon District Court. She was initially considered the leading candidate for the post, as the preferred choice of U.S. Senator Gordon Smith. However, following news reports highlighting her role in the investigation of president Bill Clinton
's sex scandal, she was not one of the final candidates for the position. She re-registered as a Republican
at the beginning of Bush's first term as president, in the same month that she went to work for Mosman. Attorney Brandon Mayfield
blamed Immergut more than anyone else at a local level for her role in his being falsely accused of terrorist activity in 2004. She resigned from the office in July 2009 in order to be appointed as a circuit court judge for Multnomah County.
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. A native of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, she was the United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for the District of Oregon from 2003 until her resignation in July 2009 when she was appointed as circuit court judge for Multnomah County, Oregon
Multnomah County, Oregon
Multnomah County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Though smallest in area, it is the most populous as its county seat, Portland, is the state's largest city...
, by Governor Ted Kulongoski
Ted Kulongoski
Theodore R. "Ted" Kulongoski is an American politician, who served as the 36th Governor of Oregon. A Democrat, he has served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, as the state Insurance Commissioner, the Attorney General, and an Associate Justice on the Oregon Supreme Court.-Early...
. Prior to serving as a U.S. Attorney, Immergut worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in both Oregon and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, was a deputy district attorney in Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, and work for Ken Starr during his investigation of President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
Early life
Karin Immergut was born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 22, 1960. Her father was an Austrian chemist and her mother a Swedish mathematician. Her parents married in Sweden and then immigrated to the United States where Karin was born. She graduated from Amherst CollegeAmherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
in 1982 and received her law degree in 1987 from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. After law school she worked as a litigation associate at the law firm of Covington & Burling
Covington & Burling
Covington & Burling LLP is an international law firm with offices in Beijing, Brussels, London, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, San Diego, and Washington, DC. The firm advises multinational corporations on significant transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
for one year.
Legal career
Following private practice, Immergut served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California in Los Angeles for six years. During her tenure in the Central District of California, Immergut prosecuted several large-scale complex narcotics and money laundering cases and served as a Deputy Chief of the Narcotics Section and Chief of the Training Section. She spent six years there and then moved to Burlington, VermontBurlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
, to work for the firm Gravel & Shea for two years. In 1996, Immergut then moved to Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, where she married James T. McDermott and was hired by Multnomah County
Multnomah County, Oregon
Multnomah County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Though smallest in area, it is the most populous as its county seat, Portland, is the state's largest city...
.
Immergut served for five years as a Deputy District Attorney in Portland, where she primarily prosecuted white collar crimes. In 1998, Immergut was a Multnomah County
Multnomah County, Oregon
Multnomah County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Though smallest in area, it is the most populous as its county seat, Portland, is the state's largest city...
deputy district attorney and a longtime Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
when she went to work for Ken Starr, who was investigating then-President Bill Clinton. She re-registered as an independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
upon taking that position. Immergut personally questioned Monica Lewinsky
Monica Lewinsky
Monica Samille Lewinsky is an American woman with whom United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an "improper relationship" while she worked at the White House in 1995 and 1996...
in an August 6, 1998 deposition. In 2001, she joined the U.S. Attorney's office in Portland as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Oregon. Serving two years in the position, she prosecuted cases involving white collar crime and worked on Project Safe Neighborhoods, a national gun violence reduction initiative.
U.S. Attorney
Immergut was sworn in as interim United States Attorney on October 3, 2003, and the United States SenateUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
confirmed her nomination on that same date. She was appointed by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
to the position. Bush signed her commission to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Oregon on October 4, 2003 and she was sworn in as the United States Attorney on October 8, 2003. She succeeded Michael W. Mosman
Michael W. Mosman
Michael Wise Mosman is an American attorney and jurist from Oregon. He is currently a federal district court judge in Portland, Oregon, for the United States District Court for the District of Oregon...
in that role.
As U.S. Attorney, Immergut serves as the district's top federal law enforcement official. She manages a staff of approximately 107 people, including 51 Assistant U.S. Attorneys, who handle civil litigation on behalf of the United States and criminal investigations and prosecutions involving violations of federal law such as white collar crime, narcotics trafficking, violent crime, money laundering and cybercrime. In addition, Immergut served on the Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
's Advisory Committee.
In January 2008, Immergut applied to succeed Judge Garr King
Garr King
Garr Michael King is a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. He was appointed to the federal bench by President Clinton in 1997 to fill a vacancy left by Helen J. Frye's attaining senior judge status. A graduate of University of Utah, he received his LL.B. from Lewis &...
on the Oregon District Court. She was initially considered the leading candidate for the post, as the preferred choice of U.S. Senator Gordon Smith. However, following news reports highlighting her role in the investigation of president Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's sex scandal, she was not one of the final candidates for the position. She re-registered as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
at the beginning of Bush's first term as president, in the same month that she went to work for Mosman. Attorney Brandon Mayfield
Brandon Mayfield
Brandon Mayfield is an American attorney in Washington County, Oregon. He is best known for being erroneously linked to the 2004 Madrid train bombings. On May 6, 2004, the FBI arrested Mayfield as a material witness in connection with the Madrid attacks, and held him for over two weeks...
blamed Immergut more than anyone else at a local level for her role in his being falsely accused of terrorist activity in 2004. She resigned from the office in July 2009 in order to be appointed as a circuit court judge for Multnomah County.