Karin Immergut | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Judge of theUnited States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court | |
| Assumed office May 19, 2024 | |
| Appointed by | John Roberts |
| Preceded by | Robert B. Kugler |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Oregon | |
| Assumed office August 5, 2019 | |
| Appointed by | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Anna J. Brown |
| Judge of theMultnomah CountyCircuit Court | |
| In office July 2009 – August 5, 2019 | |
| Appointed by | Ted Kulongoski |
| Preceded by | Dale R. Koch |
| Succeeded by | Steffan Alexander |
| United States Attorney for theDistrict of Oregon | |
| In office October 3, 2003 – July 2009 | |
| President | George W. Bush Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Michael W. Mosman |
| Succeeded by | Dwight Holton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1960-12-22)December 22, 1960 (age 64) New York City, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (Before 1998) Independent (1998–2003) Republican (2003–present) |
| Spouse | James McDermott |
| Education | Amherst College (BA) University of California, Berkeley (JD) |
Karin Johanna Immergut (born December 22, 1960)[1] is an American lawyer who has served as aUnited States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Oregon since 2019. She concurrently serves as a judge of theUnited States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court since 2024.
Immergut was born inBrooklyn, on December 22, 1960.[2][3] Her father was anAustrian chemist and her mother aSwedish mathematician.[3] Her parents married inSweden and then immigrated to the United States where Karin was born.[3]
Immergut graduated fromAmherst College in 1982 with aBachelor of Arts. From 1982 to 1984, Immergut was a special assistant at the New York City Departments of Juvenile Justice and Corrections. She then attended theUC Berkeley School of Law, where she was managing editor of theBoalt Hall Journal of Industrial Relations (nowBerkeley Journal of Employment & Labor Law). She graduated with aJuris Doctor in 1987.[4]
After law school she worked as a litigation associate at the law firm ofCovington & Burling inWashington, D.C., for one year.
Following private practice, Immergut served as anassistant United States attorney for theCentral District of California inLos Angeles for six years. During her tenure in the Central District of California, Immergut prosecuted several large-scale complexnarcotics trafficking andmoney laundering cases and served as a deputy chief of the Narcotics Section and chief of the Training Section.[2] She then moved toBurlington, Vermont, to work for the firm Gravel & Shea for two years.[3]
Immergut served for five years as a deputy district attorney inPortland, Oregon, where she primarily prosecutedwhite collar crimes. In 1998, Immergut was aMultnomah County deputy district attorney when she went to work forIndependent CounselKenneth Starr, who was investigating then-PresidentBill Clinton.[3] Immergut personally questionedMonica Lewinsky in an August 6, 1998, deposition.[5] In 2001, she joined the U.S. Attorney's office in Portland as an assistant U.S. attorney in theDistrict of Oregon. Serving two years in the position, she prosecuted cases involving white collar crime and worked onProject Safe Neighborhoods, a national gun violence reduction initiative.
Immergut was sworn in asinterimUnited States attorney on October 3, 2003, and theUnited States Senate confirmed her nomination on that same date. She was appointed by PresidentGeorge W. Bush to the position.[2] Bush signed her commission to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Oregon on October 4, 2003, and she was sworn in as the United States Attorney on October 8, 2003.[2] She succeededMichael W. Mosman in that role.
As U.S. Attorney, Immergut served as the district's top federal law enforcement official. She managed a staff of approximately 107 people, including 51 assistant U.S. attorneys, who handled civil litigation on behalf of the United States and criminal investigations and prosecutions involving violations of federal law such as white collar crime, narcotics trafficking, violent crime, money laundering and cybercrime.[2] In addition, Immergut served on theAdvisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys.[6]
In January 2008, Immergut applied to succeed JudgeGarr King on theUnited States District Court for Oregon. She was initially considered the leading candidate for the post as the preferred choice of U.S. SenatorGordon H. Smith.[5] But after news reports highlighting her role in the investigation of PresidentBill Clinton's sex scandal, she was not one of the final candidates for the position, which ultimatelyMarco A. Hernandez was appointed to.[7] She re-registered as aRepublican at the beginning of Bush's first term as President, in the same month that she went to work for Mosman.[5] She resigned from the office in July 2009 in order to be appointed asMultnomah CountyCircuit Court Judge.[8]
On June 7, 2018, PresidentDonald Trump announced his intent to nominate Immergut to serve as aUnited States district judge for theUnited States District Court for the District of Oregon.[9] On June 11, 2018, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Immergut to the seat vacated by JudgeAnna J. Brown, who assumedsenior status on July 27, 2017.[10] On October 24, 2018, a hearing on her nomination was held before theSenate Judiciary Committee.[11]
On January 3, 2019, her nomination was returned to the President underRule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of theUnited States Senate. On January 23, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Immergut for a federal judgeship.[12] Her nomination was sent to the Senate later that day.[13] On February 7, 2019, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 20–2 vote.[14] On July 31, 2019, the Senate confirmed her nomination byvoice vote. She received her judicial commission on August 5, 2019.[15]
On June 17, 2021, Immergut granted a preliminary injunction toOlivia Moultrie, ruling that theNational 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 thatMajor 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 asqualified 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 the9th 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 falls in line with “the nation’s history and tradition of regulating uniquely dangerous features of weapons and firearms to protect public safety."[21]
In 1996 Immergut moved toPortland, Oregon, where she married James T. McDermott and was hired byMultnomah County.[3]
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | United States Attorney for theDistrict of Oregon 2003–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Dale R. Koch | Judge of theMultnomah CountyCircuit Court 2009–2019 | Succeeded by Steffan Alexander |
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Oregon 2019–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court 2024–present | |