Oregon judge confirmed for federal judgeship

She will be the first Black woman on the U.S. District Court in Oregon; Gov. Kotek will name her successor on the Oregon Supreme Court.

By PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Insider

Adrienne Nelson finally will take a seat on the U.S. District Court in Portland.

The Senate confirmed President Joe Biden’s nomination of Nelson to a federal judgeship by a 52-46 vote on Wednesday, Feb. 15. It followed action Feb. 2 by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which had cleared her nomination back on Dec. 1. Congress ended its session before the full Senate could vote.

Nelson is a resident of Clackamas County.

In his remarks in support of her nomination, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden said this:

“There is so much to like… about Judge Nelson, but what I like most is that she’s a role model for young people. Young people in my state really look up to Judge Nelson; in fact, there is an Adrienne C. Nelson High School (2021) in Happy Valley. Everybody reports that the students there just love her.”

Nelson, 55, was a Multnomah County circuit judge before Gov. Kate Brown appointed her at the start of 2018 as the first Black justice on the Oregon Supreme Court. Before Gov. Ted Kulongoski named her to the bench in 2006, she worked at Multnomah Defenders Inc., the Portland law firm of Bennett, Hartman, Morris & Kaplan, and Portland State University.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in 1989 from the University of Arkansas and her law degree in 1993 from the University of Texas at Austin.

Breaking barriers

Biden issued a statement the previous day, when the Senate confirmed his 100th appointment to the federal district and appeals courts, anticipating Senate approval of his nomination of Nelson.

He said in part:

“I’m especially proud that the nominees I have put forward — and the Senate has confirmed —represent the diversity that is one of our best assets as a nation, and that our shared work has broken so many barriers in just two years.

“We have made important progress in ensuring that the federal judiciary not only looks more like the nation as a whole, but also includes judges from professional backgrounds that have been historically underrepresented on the bench… Seventy-six percent of the Article III judges confirmed during my administration have been women, and 68% have been people of color.”

Lena Zwarensteyn, senior director of the fair courts program at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said this in a statement after the Senate vote:

“Justice Nelson is committed to protecting the rights of all people, as demonstrated by her experience as a fair-minded jurist on the state bench and her work as a public defender. Diversity, including having judges with diverse and historically underrepresented personal and professional experiences, helps improve judicial decision-making… We celebrate Justice Nelson and this historic confirmation.”

She will be the first Black woman to sit as a federal judge in Oregon. Ancer Haggerty, who served on the court from 1993 until 2014, was the first Black man.

Senate action

Wyden and Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, both Democrats, voted for her nomination. They said this in a joint statement afterward:

“Today’s vote adds to the U.S. District Court an extremely qualified Oregonian who brings her powerful combination of comprehensive legal experience and commitment to justice for all. As the first Black woman to serve on the Oregon Supreme Court, Justice Nelson has amassed an impressive record of accomplishments in our state and we look forward to seeing the contributions she will make from the federal bench.”

On the vote, 46 Democrats were joined by three independents who vote with them to organize the majority – Angus King of Maine, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona – and Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. All other Republicans voted no. Two Democrats were absent.

Wyden noted in his remarks that in her 2022 confirmation hearing, Nelson drew endorsements not only from the other justices on the Oregon Supreme Court, but also from Billy Williams, U.S. attorney for Oregon from 2015 to 2021; Mike Reese, then the Multnomah County sheriff and former Portland police chief, and Max Williams, former Oregon Community Foundation president, former Oregon Department of Corrections director and former Republican state representative from Tigard. There were no negative statements.

Wyden said:

“In addition to these impressive accomplishments and adulations, it’s clear that Justice Nelson has not lost sight of the valedictorian fighting tooth and nail within the American legal system to make ours a better and even stronger country — for everybody. I know that she will bring this dedication and commitment to justice for all to every case that crosses her desk.

“There’s no question that with Justice Nelson’s top-notch qualifications, she will make a superb federal judge.”

Nelson will succeed Michael Mosman, a former U.S. attorney for Oregon who was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2003. Mosman decided at the end of 2021 to take senior status, which enables him to continue to take part in the court’s work but opens up his position.

As for Nelson’s position, her move to the federal court will give Gov. Tina Kotek her first appointment to the Oregon Supreme Court. That person would be up for election to a full six-year term in the nonpartisan position in the statewide primary election on May 21, 2024.

During nearly eight years as governor, Brown appointed all seven justices on the Supreme Court, including two appointees who succeeded justices who retired on Dec. 31, just before Brown left office Jan. 9.