Notable rulings
On June 17,2021,Immergut granted a preliminary injunction to Olivia Moultrie,ruling that the National Women's Soccer League could not enforce its rule requiring players to be at least 18 years old before signing a professional contract. [16] Immergut's ruling held that the rule unlawfully "excludes female competitors from the only available professional soccer opportunity in the United States because they are under 18,regardless of talent,maturity,strength,and ability" and,pointing out that Major League Soccer did not have a similar age limit,that "the balance of equities and the public interest strongly favor affording girls in the United States the same opportunities as boys." [17]
On March 10,2023,Immergut ruled that Salem police officer Robert Johnston had no way of knowing he violated Eleaqia McCrae's rights when he shot her with rubber bullets at a protest in 2020,a legal principle known as qualified immunity. [18] Immergut overturned a jury's unanimous verdict that Johnston violated McCrae’s Fourth Amendment right not to be subjected to excessive force and erased the jury's decision to award McCrae $250,000 for economic loss and $800,000 in other damages. [19] On September 16,2024,a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found Immergut was wrong to throw out the jury’s award and that she should not have granted the officer immunity. [20]
On July 14,2023,Immergut upheld Oregon's gun control law,Measure 114,banning large capacity magazines and requiring a permit to purchase a gun,ruling that it falls in line with "the nation’s history and tradition of regulating uniquely dangerous features of weapons and firearms to protect public safety." [21]
On October 4,2025,Immergut temporarily blocked the Trump Administration from deploying the Oregon National Guard in Portland,pending further arguments in a lawsuit brought by the state and city,saying that President Trump's reasoning for doing so was "untethered to facts." [22] [23] In response,U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the deployment of federalized California and Texas National Guard troops to Portland;Immergut blocked these actions in an emergency hearing on October 5,saying that the actions "appear to be in direct contravention of my order." [24] In response,Trump said,"that judge ought to be ashamed of himself",apparently unaware that Immergut,who he appointed in 2019,is a woman. [25] On November 7,following a three-day trial,Immergut made her earlier temporary injunctions permanent,finding that Trump "did not have a lawful basis to federalize the National Guard." [26]
