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 Nathan Vasquez.
The four court locations are
As of August 2023, the following are currently serving judges in the Circuit Court: [2]
Family and juvenile judges
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 | 2020–2025 | Appointed in 2020 | |
Nathan Vasquez | 2025–present |
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]
The United States District Court for the District of Oregon 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. Matthew P. Deady served as its first judge.
Multnomah County, Oregon, the city of Portland, Oregon, and Metro held elections on May 16 and November 7, 2006.
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. He served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon in Portland, as the sole Judge until his death in 1893. While on the court he presided over the trial that led to the United States Supreme Court decision of Pennoyer v. Neff concerning personal jurisdiction.
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Ralph Milo Holman was an attorney and judge in the state of Oregon, United States. He was the 74th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. Previously he was a circuit court judge for Clackamas County, Oregon. His great uncle was United States Senator Rufus C. Holman.
Oregon's circuit courts are general jurisdiction trial courts of the U.S. state of Oregon. These courts hear civil and criminal court cases.
Malcolm Francis Marsh is an American attorney and jurist from the state of Oregon. He is an inactive Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon in Portland, Oregon. A native of Oregon, he served as an active judge for eleven years, and was in private legal practice in Salem before that.
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Michael J. McShane is an American lawyer serving as the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. He previously served as a state court judge on the Oregon Multnomah County Circuit Court from 2001 to 2013.
The Multnomah County Justice Center, or simply Justice Center, is a building located at 1120 Southwest 3rd Avenue in downtown Portland, Oregon. The building was designed by ZGF Architects. It is adjacent to Lownsdale Square.
Michael D. Schrunk was an American attorney who served as district attorney of Multnomah County, Oregon, United States from 1981 until 2012. He is believed to have been the longest-serving district attorney in the state of Oregon.
Michael Schmidt is an American attorney and a progressive prosecutor. He served as the Multnomah County District Attorney from August 2020 to January 2025. Originally set to begin his term on January 1, 2021, Governor Kate Brown appointed him to the job early, in August 2020, to replace Rod Underhill, who retired in July. Schmidt was succeeded by Nathan Vasquez on January 1, 2025 at the end of his term after conceding loss in the primary election in May 2024.
The Multnomah Bar Association (MBA) is a voluntary bar association located in Portland, Oregon. The organization is also sometimes referred to as the Multnomah County Bar Association. Although named after Multnomah County membership in the association is open to all lawyers in the State of Oregon. The present MBA was founded in 1906. There was an earlier group of attorneys, also called the Multnomah Bar Association, which appears to have dissolved some time in the early 1900s.
Bronson James is an American lawyer serving as a justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. He assumed office on January 1, 2023.
Amy Margaret Baggio is an American lawyer who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon since 2024. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, prior to appointment to the bench, she had a career in criminal defense, including as a federal public defender. She also previously served as a judge of the Multnomah County Circuit Court from 2019 to 2024.