Oregon Judicial Vacancies
Recent Vacancies
Governor Kate Brown Announces Circuit Court Vacancy Judge McLane to Resign from 22nd Judicial District
(Salem, OR) —Governor Kate Brown announced today that she is accepting applications for a judicial position on the Circuit Court for the 22nd Judicial District to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Michael McLane. The Governor thanked Judge McLane for his dedicated judicial service to Jefferson and Crook Counties, wished him well in his return to private practice in Bend, and announced that she will fill the position by appointment. Judge McLane’s resignation is effective October 10, 2021.
Interested applicants should address their completed application forms to Dustin Buehler, General Counsel, Office of the Governor, and email (no mail or hand delivery) those completed forms to Shevaun Gutridge at shevaun.gutridge@oregon.gov. Forms must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, October 11, 2021.
Governor Brown fills judicial vacancies based on merit. She encourages applications from lawyers with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences.
ORS 3.041 and 3.050 provide that at the time of appointment to the court, the candidate must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of Oregon, and a member of the Oregon State Bar. SB 977, recently passed by the Legislature, creates a new requirement. It amends ORS 3.041 and requires that these vacancies must be filled by persons who are residents of or have principal offices in the judicial districts to which they are appointed or adjacent judicial districts.
For questions about the appointment process, or to request an interest form, contact Shevaun Gutridge at 503-378-6246 or shevaun.gutridge@oregon.gov.
The judicial interest form is also available online.
Governor Brown is committed to a diverse and inclusive judiciary. The Oregon Asian Pacific American Bar Association (OAPABA), OGALLA, the LGBTQ Bar Association, the Oregon Chapter of the National Bar Association (OC-NBA), and the Oregon Hispanic Bar Association (OHBA) have created the Oregon Judicial Diversity Coalition (OJDC) to conduct interviews for applicants interested in receiving endorsements from those specialty bars. Applicants interested in participating in the OJDC's interview process can find information and application materials here (http://oapaba.org/judicial-endorsements). All applications to OJDC are due no later than the deadline for the application forms to the Governor.
Governor Brown Announces Clatsop County Circuit Court Vacancy
The following candidates have submitted materials to the Governor's Office for this vacancy. Comments on any of the candidates can be made to General Counsel at Governor Kate Brown's Office, Dustin Buehler, (503) 378-6246, or dustin.e.buehler@oregon.gov.
Wahl, Andrea
Wintermute, Kirk
Governor Brown Announces Columbia County Circuit Court Vacancy
The following candidates have submitted materials to the Governor's Office for this vacancy. Comments on any of the candidates can be made to General Counsel at Governor Kate Brown's Office, Dustin Buehler, (503) 378-6246, or dustin.e.buehler@oregon.gov.
Martin, Aaron
Meyer, Adam
Schlosser, John
Governor Kate Brown Announces Jackson County Justice Court Vacancy
The following candidates have submitted materials to the Governor's Office for this vacancy. Comments on any of the candidates can be made to General Counsel at Governor Kate Brown's Office, Dustin Buehler, (503) 378-6246, or dustin.e.buehler@oregon.gov.
Watson, Janice
Wente, Nathan
Zammetti, Jennifer
Governor Kate Brown Announces Lane County Justice Court Vacancy
(Salem, OR) — Governor Kate Brown announced today that she is accepting applications for a judicial vacancy on the Lane County Circuit Court created by the planned retirement of Judge Charles D. Carlson. The Governor thanked Judge Carlson for his dedicated judicial service, and announced that she will fill the position by appointment. Judge Carlson’s retirement takes effect June 30, 2022.
Interested applicants should address their completed application forms to Dustin Buehler, General Counsel, Office of the Governor, and email (no mail or hand delivery) those completed forms to Shevaun Gutridge at shevaun.gutridge@oregon.gov. Forms must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 3, 2022.
Governor Kate Brown fills judicial vacancies based on merit. She encourages applications from lawyers with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences.
ORS 3.041 and 3.050 provide that at the time of appointment to the court, the candidate must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of Oregon, and a member of the Oregon State Bar. SB 977, recently passed by the Legislature, creates a new requirement. It amends ORS 3.041 and requires that these vacancies must be filled by persons who are residents of or have principal offices in the judicial districts to which they are appointed or adjacent judicial districts.
To receive answers to questions about the appointment process, or to request an interest form, contact Shevaun Gutridge at 503-378-6246 or shevaun.gutridge@oregon.gov.
The judicial interest form is also available online.
Governor Kate Brown Announces Linn County Justice Court Vacancy
The following candidates have submitted materials to the Governor's Office for this vacancy. Comments on any of the candidates can be made to General Counsel at Governor Kate Brown's Office, Dustin Buehler, (503) 378-6246, or dustin.e.buehler@oregon.gov.
Flinn, Michael
Hernandez, Tomas
Plagmann, Teri
Stein, Keith
Williamson, Leonard
Governor Kate Brown Announces Yamhill County Circuit Court Vacancies
The following candidates have submitted materials to the Governor's Office for this vacancy. Comments on any of the candidates can be made to General Counsel at Governor Kate Brown's Office, Dustin Buehler, (503) 378-6246, or dustin.e.buehler@oregon.gov.
Kimberly, Jayme
Matusko, Amie
Riedel, Mike
Recent Appointments
Governor Kate Brown Announces Appointments to the Oregon Supreme Court and Oregon Court of Appeals
(Salem, OR) — Governor Kate Brown today announced that she will appoint Judge Roger J. DeHoog to the Oregon Supreme Court, as well as Judge Ramón A. Pagán, Kristina Hellman, and Anna M. Joyce to the Oregon Court of Appeals. DeHoog is a judge on the Court of Appeals, and will fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Lynn R. Nakamoto. Pagán is a judge on the Washington County Circuit Court, and will fill the vacancy created by DeHoog’s elevation to the Supreme Court. Hellman is an attorney in the Federal Public Defender’s Office, and will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Rex Armstrong. Joyce is currently a shareholder at the Markowitz Herbold law firm, and will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Joel DeVore. All four appointments are effective immediately.
"Each of these highly qualified individuals brings a skill set and perspective informed by years of legal experience,” Governor Brown said. "I am grateful to this talented, diverse group of judges and lawyers, for stepping up to serve our state and administering justice on behalf of the people of Oregon.”
DeHoog served as a trial judge on the Deschutes County Circuit Court from 2012 to 2015, before his appointment to the Court of Appeals. Prior to his judicial service, DeHoog practiced as a Deschutes County public defender from 1993 to 2000, and handled criminal defense and domestic relations cases while in private practice in Bend from 2000 to 2007. In 2008, DeHoog joined the Oregon Department of Justice’s Special Litigation Unit, which handles major state litigation on a variety of matters, including litigation on environmental, constitutional, and consumer protection laws. DeHoog received his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, and his J.D. from the University of Oregon Law School. DeHoog serves on the Judicial Conduct Committee, is the former chair of the State Bar Constitutional Law Section Executive Committee, and is on the Oregon Council on Court Procedures. In addition, he serves on the board of NeighborImpact, a community action agency serving Central Oregon. He will be the second Asian Pacific American ever to serve on the Oregon Supreme Court, and is the only judge on either of Oregon’s appellate courts from outside the Willamette Valley.
Pagán has served as a Washington County Circuit Court judge since 2016, and served as the chief judge of the court’s family law bench from 2018 to 2021. Before his appointment to the trial court, he was a criminal defense attorney in private practice from 2004 to 2016, including as an associate attorney at Janet Hoffman & Associates LLC. While he was in law school, Pagán served as a law clerk for Sonia Sotomayor, who was then a judge of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and is currently an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. After graduating from law school, he worked as a staff attorney at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and then at civil and criminal firms in New York prior to settling in Oregon. Active in his community, Judge Pagán has taught trial advocacy at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland and the Fordham University School of Law in New York, and serves on the Judicial Conduct Committee, the Oregon State Bar Professionalism Committee, and the Literary Arts board of directors. He is a graduate of Arizona State University and the Fordham University School of Law.
Hellman has been an assistant federal public defender for the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Portland, where she currently serves as a supervising attorney. Hellman represents clients in federal habeas corpus cases who are challenging their Oregon state convictions on federal constitutional grounds. Prior to joining the Federal Public Defender’s Office in 2002, Hellman served as a law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge Edward C. Reed in the District of Nevada. In addition to her law practice, Hellman has taught as an adjunct professor at Lewis & Clark Law School, served as a board member of the Oregon Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and has coached the Franklin High School Constitution Team. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, and her J.D. from Georgetown Law School.
Joyce, a shareholder at the Markowitz Herbold law firm in Portland, is regarded as one of the state’s top appellate lawyers. She has argued hundreds of appeals before Oregon’s appellate courts and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and has briefed cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Before joining the Markowitz firm, Joyce practiced in the Appellate Division of the Oregon Department of Justice from 2003 to 2015, and served as Oregon’s Solicitor General. Her practice at Markowitz focuses on complex civil litigation motions and appeals, and she recently served as the managing shareholder. Among her many community and bar activities, Joyce has taught appellate advocacy at Lewis & Clark Law School, is a mentor for the Oregon State Bar New Lawyer Mentoring Program, and serves on the board of directors for Outside In. Joyce began her legal career as a law clerk for Oregon Court of Appeals Judge Rives Kistler. She received both her bachelor’s degree and her J.D. from the University of Oregon.
Governor Kate Brown Appoints Keith Stein to the Linn County Circuit Court
(Washington, D.C.) — Governor Kate Brown announced today that she will appoint Deputy District Attorney Keith B. Stein to the Linn County Circuit Court. Stein will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge David E. Delsman. His appointment is effective immediately.
“Keith Stein is deeply dedicated to his community and the rule of law,” Governor Brown said. “He has the experience, temperament, and compassion to be an outstanding judge on the Linn County bench.”
Stein has worked in the Linn County District Attorney’s Office for more than 15 years. He also helps train law enforcement officials as a legal instructor for the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. Previously, Stein practiced as an attorney at the Long Delapoer Healy McCann and Noonan firm. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Southern Utah University, and his law degree from Willamette University College of Law.
In addition to his legal practice, Stein is involved in his community. Among other things, he volunteers as a high school mock trial instructor, participates in the annual Fish of Albany food drive, and previously served on the executive committee of Boy Scouts of America. Stein also has a passion for film; even after he started practicing law, he continued working part-time as a projectionist for a movie theater in Albany.
Governor Kate Brown Appoints Judges to the Marion County Circuit Court
(Salem, OR) — Governor Kate Brown announced today that she will appoint Jennifer Gardiner and Erious Johnson to the Marion County Circuit Court. Gardiner is currently a hearings referee in Marion County, and will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Cheryl Pellegrini. Johnson is an attorney in private practice, and will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Susan Tripp. Both appointments are effective immediately.
“Both of these talented individuals bring deep legal experience to the bench, as well as important perspectives on the different ways judges can work to improve access to justice and reduce systemic barriers in our legal system,” said Governor Brown. “I am excited to see them take their places on the Marion County bench.”
Jennifer Gardiner
Gardiner was born in Klamath Falls and earned her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in 1994. After college, Gardiner worked as a staff and legislative assistant for Congressman Esteban Torres of California. She then went on to earn her law degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 2000. Upon graduation, Gardiner worked for two years as a litigation associate for the San Francisco law firm of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton. She then moved to Oregon, where she served as a deputy district attorney in Yamhill County for six years, as a senior assistant attorney general at the Oregon Department of Justice Criminal Justice Division for one year, and as a deputy district attorney in Marion County for seven years.
Since 2018, Gardiner has served as one of Marion County’s hearings referees, presiding over thousands of cases, making her well positioned to hit the ground running in her new role. As part of her work as a referee, Gardiner presides over the TOT treatment court, which strives to connect pregnant mothers with a history of drug addiction to services to help support healthy pregnancies. Gardiner is active in the community, serving on the bench’s LGBTQ Workgroup, the State Family Law Advisory Committee, as a Willamette Law Student Mentor, and has served as a Mock Trial Team Instructor at West Salem High School. Gardiner is a member of the Marion County Bar Association, the local Inn of Court, and Oregon Women Lawyers, and has given a number of training presentations for the Department of Justice, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, and the Salem and Keizer police departments.
Erious Johnson
Johnson grew up in Queens, New York, and graduated from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 1991. After receiving his law degree with honors from Howard University School of Law in 2002, Johnson spent two years as a litigation associate at the major New York law firm of Sullivan and Cromwell, then went on to work for four years as a litigator and trial attorney in the New York City Law Department in the torts division. Johnson then clerked for the New York State Supreme Court (the trial-level court for that state) for nearly three years before moving to his wife’s hometown of Salem, Oregon and opening a solo practice. He went on to work as the Civil Rights Director for the Oregon Department of Justice for three years, and then resumed his solo practice in Salem in 2017, which he has maintained ever since, doing primarily criminal defense and plaintiff-side civil rights cases. He also served as chief legislative director for Representative Janelle Bynum during the 2018 legislative session.
Johnson is active in the community. He mentors law students, volunteers for the classroom law project, serves as a volunteer fee arbitrator through the Oregon State Bar, and is a frequent speaker and writer on topics related to civil rights. Johnson is a member of the Willamette Valley American Inn of Court, the Marion County Bar Association, the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the Marion County Association of Defenders, and the OSB board of delegates. Johnson is also a board member for the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, and co-chairs that organization’s civil rights section. He lives with his wife in Salem, where in their spare time they raise chickens.
Governor Kate Brown Appoints Maurisa Gates to the Multnomah County Circuit Court
(Salem, OR) — Governor Kate Brown announced today that she will appoint Maurisa Gates to the Multnomah County Circuit Court. Gates will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Kathleen M. Dailey. Her position will be assigned to the court’s Family Law Department. Gates’ appointment is effective immediately.
“Maurisa Gates is a skilled attorney who has spent decades working with the most vulnerable in our community—particularly children—as they navigate the justice system,” Governor Brown said. “I look forward to seeing her bring her compassion, empathy, and commitment to procedural fairness to her work as a judge on the family law bench.”
Gates has served as a public defender for more than 25 years, spending much of that time representing juvenile clients. She grew up in Detroit, Michigan, attending school in the Detroit Public Schools Community District. Gates attended Wayne State University for her undergraduate degree, and then went on to earn her law degree from the same university with a full scholarship. After graduating from law school, she worked in Detroit representing juveniles in delinquency and dependency cases for nearly five years before moving to Portland in 2000 and joining the Metropolitan Public Defender office (MPD). In 2006, Gates moved to the juvenile unit of MPD, and has remained there ever since. She currently serves as a senior attorney in that office, where in addition to her casework she is responsible for training and mentoring newer attorneys.
Active in her community, Gates has acted as a co-trainer for the Juvenile Immersion Training Program at the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association juvenile conference and as the Western Division Board Member for the State of Oregon for the National Juvenile Defender Center. She has served on the Multnomah Bar Association’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, participated in Portland State University’s Explore the Law program, and currently volunteers as a pro tem judge with the Multnomah County Family Law Judicial Settlement Program, presiding over judicial settlement conferences in domestic relations matters.
Governor Kate Brown Appoints Miranda Summer to the Washington County Circuit Court
(Salem, OR) — Governor Kate Brown announced today that she will appoint Beaverton Municipal Court Judge Miranda S. Summer to the Washington County Circuit Court. Summer will fill the Washington County vacancy created by Judge Ramón Pagán’s recent elevation to the Oregon Court of Appeals. Her appointment is effective immediately.
“Miranda Summer is a talented and compassionate judge, who has earned the respect of litigants and lawyers alike,” Governor Brown said. “She brings an invaluable set of professional and lived experiences to the bench, and will serve the people of Washington County well.”
Summer currently serves as a judge on the Beaverton Municipal Court, where she adjudicates criminal and traffic violation cases. She also has served as a pro tem judge on the Washington County Circuit Court and as an administrative law judge for the Office of Administrative Hearings. Previously, Summer practiced as a family law attorney, representing individuals in domestic relations and dependency cases. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Regis University, and her law degree from the University of Oregon.
In addition to her judicial experience and legal practice, Summer is involved in her community and the bar. Among other things, she currently serves on the boards of the Washington County Bar Association and the Oregon Minority Lawyers Association, and has served as a member of the Oregon State Bar’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Summer was interviewed and fully vetted last year by the Governor’s Office and the local bar association as a finalist for Governor Brown’s most recent judicial appointment on the Washington County Circuit Court.