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Michael J. McShane

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Michael J. McShane
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2024
Preceded byMarco A. Hernandez
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon
Incumbent
Assumed office
May 30, 2013
Appointed byBarack Obama
Preceded byMichael Robert Hogan
Personal details
Born
Michael Jerome McShane

1961 (age 62–63)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
EducationGonzaga University (BA)
Lewis & Clark College (JD)

Michael J. McShane (born 1961) 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.

Early life, education and career

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McShane was born in 1961 in Pittsburgh, in a conservative Catholic family. He grew up in Kennewick, Washington, where he attended high school.[1]

McShane graduated from Gonzaga University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude. He then joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and spent two years in Portland, Oregon, as a corrections counselor.[2] He left the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in 1985 to attend Lewis & Clark Law School, graduating in 1988 with a Juris Doctor cum laude.[3]

He had worked for the Clark County District Attorney's office during law school but, on graduating, McShane joined the Office of the Metropolitan Public Defender in Portland, where he worked from 1988 to 1997.[4]

Judicial service

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State judicial service

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He served as a full-time Judge Pro Tempore on the Multnomah County Circuit Court from 1997 to 2001 and as a Judge on the same court from 2001 to 2013. He handled civil, criminal and family court cases. He received the Oregon State Bar President's Public Service Award in 2012.[5][4]

Federal judicial service

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On September 19, 2012, President Barack Obama nominated McShane to serve as a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, to the seat vacated by Judge Michael R. Hogan who assumed senior status on September 24, 2011.[5] On January 2, 2013, his nomination was returned to the President, due to the sine die adjournment of the Senate. On January 3, 2013, he was renominated to the same office. His nomination was reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 7, 2013, by voice vote.[6] The Senate confirmed his nomination on May 20, 2013, by voice vote. He received his commission on May 30, 2013.[4] He became chief judge on January 1, 2024.[7]

Same-sex marriage ruling

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On May 19, 2014, McShane struck down Oregon's same-sex marriage ban in Geiger v. Kitzhaber. He ordered that the state immediately issue licenses to same-sex couples.[8] The State of Oregon did not appeal (Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum declined to defend the state's ban on same-sex marriage); same-sex marriage in Oregon was legalized as a result.[9]

Public defense crisis

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On August 15, 2023, McShane ordered the Washington County sheriff to release all defendants from jail if they had been held for 10 days without a lawyer.[10] This was amidst a long-standing crisis in the state's unique public defender system whereby the state and not the county paid for and contracted for public defense services via third party nonprofits creating a shortage of public defenders.[citation needed]

Personal

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McShane is openly gay,[11] and he is the first openly gay federal judge in Oregon.[12] His partner is Gregory Ford,[1] and they have a son.[13]

McShane sits on the boards of The Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics at the University of Oregon and the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest. He previously sat on the board of St. Andrew Nativity School, an inner city middle school in Portland for disadvantaged youth. He taught criminal practice and trial advocacy at Lewis & Clark Law School and is a frequent lecturer at law schools and bar associations in Oregon.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Gay marriage: Openly gay judge, Michael McShane, in spotlight overseeing Oregon case". The Oregonian. April 17, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Michael McShane". Multnomah Bar Association. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  3. ^ Senate Judiciary Committee Questionnaire
  4. ^ a b c Michael J. McShane at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  5. ^ a b "Nomination announcement from". whitehouse.gov. 2012-09-19. Retrieved 2013-12-05 – via National Archives.
  6. ^ "Renomination announcement". whitehouse.gov. 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2013-12-05 – via National Archives.
  7. ^ "Chief Judge Transition" (Press release). United States District Court for the District of Oregon. December 1, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2024. On January 1, 2024, the role of Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon transfers from Judge Marco Hernández to Judge Michael McShane. The Board of Judges extends its gratitude for Judge Hernández's service as Chief Judge and congratulates Judge McShane on his new role.
  8. ^ Jeff Mapes, Judge Michael McShane writes unusually personal decision in Oregon gay marriage case, The Oregonian/OregonLive.com (May 19, 2014).
  9. ^ Oregon's gay marriage ruling further insulated from reversal following Supreme Court action, The Oregonian/OregonLive.com (October 6, 2014).
  10. ^ Crombie, Noelle (August 15, 2023). "National 'embarrassment': Judge sets 10-day deadline to release people held in jail without lawyer". Oregonian.
  11. ^ Oregon Judicial Department (2012-09-19). "Obama nominates Multnomah County Circuit Judge Michael McShane to federal bench". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  12. ^ "President Obama Nominates Openly Gay Judge for Federal Court in Oregon | Human Rights Campaign". Hrc.org. 2012-09-21. Archived from the original on 2014-04-22. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  13. ^ Denniston, Lyle (May 19, 2014). "Oregon's same-sex marriage ban nullified". SCOTUSBlog. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
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Media related to Michael J. McShane at Wikimedia Commons

Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon
2013–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon
2024–present
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