United States District Court for the District of Oregon
Encyclopedia
The United States District Court for the District of Oregon (in case citation
s, D. Ore. or D. Or.) is the Federal district court
whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Oregon
. It was created in 1859 when the state was admitted to the Union. Appellate jurisdiction belongs to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
(except for patent
claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act
, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit
). Matthew P. Deady
served as its first judge. Ann Aiken
is the current (2009) chief judge, the first woman to hold that position on the court.
The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The current United States Attorney
is Amanda Marshall.
, Eugene
, Medford
, and Pendleton
. Portland’s division holds court at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse
and handles cases from Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Hood River, Jefferson, Multnomah, Polk, Tillamook, Wasco, Washington, and Yamhill counties. The Medford Division covers Curry, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Lake counties and meets at the James A. Redden United States Courthouse. The Pendleton court includes Baker, Crook, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, and Wheeler and holds session at John F. Kilkenny United States Post Office and Courthouse. The Wayne L. Morse United States Courthouse
houses the Eugene Division that covers Benton, Coos, Deschutes, Douglas, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, and Marion counties.
created the District of Oregon encompassing the entire state on March 3, 1859. The bill creating the district authorized a single judge and also designated it as a judicial circuit. President James Buchanan
appointed Matthew Deady
as judge, and the court was to hold annual sessions in April and September at the seat of government in Salem
. Deady held the first session of the court on September 12, 1859, in Salem, but was able to have the court relocated to Portland by the September session of 1860. Beginning in 1933, the court was housed in the United States Courthouse (now Gus J. Solomon United States Courthouse
) before moving to the new Hatfield Courthouse in 1997.
On March 3, 1863, Congress passed a law that removed the circuit court jurisdiction and transferred appeals court jurisdiction to the Tenth Circuit
, and in 1866 transferred it again to the Ninth Circuit. On April 18, 1877, court clerk Ralph Wilcox
committed suicide in his office at the court using a Deringer pistol. On March 27, 1885, judge Deady admitted Mary Leonard
to the federal bar, the first woman admitted in Oregon. In 1909, Congress adding an additional judge position to the court, followed by another judgeship in 1949. On October 20, 1978, Congress passed a law authorizing two more positions on the bench of the Oregon court. The first woman to serve on the court was Helen J. Frye
, whose service began on February 20, 1980. In 1990, Congress added a sixth judgeship for the district. Ancer L. Haggerty
, the first African American on the court, began his service on March 28, 1994.
Former and current Chief Judges for the court.
One vacancy currently exists due to Michael R. Hogan's decision to assume senior status on September 24, 2011. No replacement is currently pending.
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
s, D. Ore. or D. Or.) is the Federal district court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Oregon
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...
. It was created in 1859 when the state was admitted to the Union. Appellate jurisdiction belongs to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
(except for patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act
Tucker Act
Through the Tucker Act , the United States government has waived its sovereign immunity with respect to certain lawsuits....
, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
-Vacancies and pending nominations:-List of former judges:-Chief judges:Notwithstanding the foregoing, when the court was initially created, Congress had to resolve which chief judge of the predecessor courts would become the first chief judge...
). Matthew P. Deady
Matthew Deady
Matthew Paul Deady was a politician and jurist in the Oregon Territory and the state of Oregon of the United States. He served on the Oregon Supreme Court from 1853 to 1859, at which time he was appointed to the newly created federal court of the state...
served as its first judge. Ann Aiken
Ann Aiken
Ann Louise Aiken is an American attorney and jurist in the state of Oregon. A native Oregonian, she has served as a state court judge of the Oregon circuit courts and worked in private legal practice...
is the current (2009) chief judge, the first woman to hold that position on the court.
The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The current 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...
is Amanda Marshall.
Organization
The court has four divisional offices within the state (three with staff): PortlandPortland, 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...
, Eugene
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
, Medford
Medford, Oregon
Medford is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 US Census, the city had a total population of 74,907 and a metropolitan area population of 207,010, making the Medford MSA the 4th largest metro area in Oregon...
, and Pendleton
Pendleton, Oregon
Pendleton is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. Pendleton was named in 1868 by the county commissioners for George H. Pendleton, Democratic candidate for Vice-President in the 1864 presidential campaign. The population was 16,612 at the 2010 census...
. Portland’s division holds court at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse
Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse
The Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse is a federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon. It is named in honor of former U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield. It is used by the United States District Court for the District of Oregon....
and handles cases from Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Hood River, Jefferson, Multnomah, Polk, Tillamook, Wasco, Washington, and Yamhill counties. The Medford Division covers Curry, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Lake counties and meets at the James A. Redden United States Courthouse. The Pendleton court includes Baker, Crook, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, and Wheeler and holds session at John F. Kilkenny United States Post Office and Courthouse. The Wayne L. Morse United States Courthouse
Wayne L. Morse United States Courthouse
The Wayne L. Morse United States Courthouse is a federal courthouse located in Eugene, Oregon. Completed in 2006, it serves the District of Oregon as part of the Ninth Judicial Circuit. The courthouse is named in honor of former U.S. Senator Wayne Morse who represented Oregon for 24 years in the...
houses the Eugene Division that covers Benton, Coos, Deschutes, Douglas, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, and Marion counties.
History
After Oregon became a state on February 14, 1859, the United States CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
created the District of Oregon encompassing the entire state on March 3, 1859. The bill creating the district authorized a single judge and also designated it as a judicial circuit. President James Buchanan
James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
appointed Matthew Deady
Matthew Deady
Matthew Paul Deady was a politician and jurist in the Oregon Territory and the state of Oregon of the United States. He served on the Oregon Supreme Court from 1853 to 1859, at which time he was appointed to the newly created federal court of the state...
as judge, and the court was to hold annual sessions in April and September at the seat of government in Salem
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
. Deady held the first session of the court on September 12, 1859, in Salem, but was able to have the court relocated to Portland by the September session of 1860. Beginning in 1933, the court was housed in the United States Courthouse (now Gus J. Solomon United States Courthouse
Gus J. Solomon United States Courthouse
Gus J. Solomon United States Courthouse is federal courthouse located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Completed in 1933, it previously housed the United States District Court for the District of Oregon until the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse opened in 1997. The Renaissance...
) before moving to the new Hatfield Courthouse in 1997.
On March 3, 1863, Congress passed a law that removed the circuit court jurisdiction and transferred appeals court jurisdiction to the Tenth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Colorado* District of Kansas...
, and in 1866 transferred it again to the Ninth Circuit. On April 18, 1877, court clerk Ralph Wilcox
Ralph Wilcox
Doctor Ralph Wilcox , was the first teacher and practicing doctor in Portland, Oregon, United States. He also served in the Provisional Government of Oregon, was a legislator during both the territorial period and when Oregon became a state, and a judge of Twality County during the provisional...
committed suicide in his office at the court using a Deringer pistol. On March 27, 1885, judge Deady admitted Mary Leonard
Mary Leonard
Mary Leonard was an American attorney and accused murderer in the state of Oregon. A native of France, she was acquitted for the murder of her husband that many believed she had committed...
to the federal bar, the first woman admitted in Oregon. In 1909, Congress adding an additional judge position to the court, followed by another judgeship in 1949. On October 20, 1978, Congress passed a law authorizing two more positions on the bench of the Oregon court. The first woman to serve on the court was Helen J. Frye
Helen J. Frye
Helen Jackson Frye was an American judge and attorney in the state of Oregon. Born in Southern Oregon, she served as an active federal district court judge in Portland, Oregon, for 15 years and as a judge for the Oregon Circuit Court for nine years...
, whose service began on February 20, 1980. In 1990, Congress added a sixth judgeship for the district. Ancer L. Haggerty
Ancer L. Haggerty
Ancer Lee Haggerty is a senior district judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. At the time of his nomination to the federal bench by President Clinton in 1993, he was serving as an Oregon circuit court judge. He graduated University of Oregon with a B.S...
, the first African American on the court, began his service on March 28, 1994.
Chief Judges
| Order | Name | Years on the Court |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | James A. Fee | 1948–1954 |
| 2. | Claude C. McColloch Claude C. McColloch Claude Charles McColloch was an American attorney and judge in Oregon. A native of California, he served as a federal district court judge in Portland, Oregon, including four years as the courts chief judge... |
1954–1958 |
| 3. | Gus J. Solomon Gus J. Solomon Gus Jerome Solomon was a United States federal judge.Born in Portland, Oregon, was the child of immigrant Jewish parents, his father having been born in Romania and his mother in Russia. Solomon received a Ph.B. from the University of Chicago in 1926 and an LL.B. from Stanford Law School in 1929... |
1958–1971 |
| 4. | Robert C. Belloni Robert C. Belloni Robert Clinton Belloni was a judge with the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. He served as Chief Judge from 1971 to 1976. He was instrumental in upholding Native American fishing rights in the Pacific Northwest.-Career:Belloni was from Myrtle Point, Oregon. Some sources state that... |
1971–1976 |
| 5. | Otto R. Skopil, Jr. | 1976–1979 |
| 6. | James M. Burns James M. Burns James Milton Burns was a United States federal judge.Born in Portland, Oregon, Burns was in the United States Army during World War II from 1943 to 1945, and thereafter received a B.A. from the University of Portland in 1947 and a J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1950... |
1979–1984 |
| 7. | Owen M. Panner Owen M. Panner Owen Murphy Panner is an American attorney and jurist from Oregon. A native of Illinois, he has served on the United States District Court for the District of Oregon since 1980, and was chief judge of the court from 1984 to 1990. He is currently a senior judge on the court.-Early life:Owen Panner... |
1984–1990 |
| 8. | James A. Redden James A. Redden James Anthony "Jim" Redden Jr. is a judge and politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. Since 1980, he has served as a Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon... |
1990–1995 |
| 9. | Michael R. Hogan | 1995–2002 |
| 10. | Ancer L. Haggerty Ancer L. Haggerty Ancer Lee Haggerty is a senior district judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. At the time of his nomination to the federal bench by President Clinton in 1993, he was serving as an Oregon circuit court judge. He graduated University of Oregon with a B.S... |
2002–2009 |
| 11. | Ann Aiken Ann Aiken Ann Louise Aiken is an American attorney and jurist in the state of Oregon. A native Oregonian, she has served as a state court judge of the Oregon circuit courts and worked in private legal practice... |
2009–Present |
Current judges
The current judges of the court including senior judges.One vacancy currently exists due to Michael R. Hogan's decision to assume senior status on September 24, 2011. No replacement is currently pending.
Former judges
See also
- Courts of OregonCourts of OregonCourts of Oregon include:State courts of Oregon*Oregon Supreme Court**Oregon Court of Appeals***Oregon Circuit Courts ***Oregon Justice Courts...
- List of United States federal courthouses in Oregon
- List of Oregon District Court judges