Michael McShane | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chief Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Oregon | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Marco A. Hernandez |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Oregon | |
| Assumed office May 30, 2013 | |
| Appointed by | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Michael Robert Hogan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Jerome McShane 1961 (age 63–64) Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | Gonzaga University (BA) Lewis and Clark College (JD) |
Michael J. McShane (born 1961) is an American lawyer serving as thechief United States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Oregon. He previously served as a state court judge on the OregonMultnomah County Circuit Court from 2001 to 2013.
McShane was born in 1961 inPittsburgh, in a conservativeCatholic family. He grew up inKennewick, Washington, where he attended high school.[1]
McShane graduated fromGonzaga University in 1983 with aBachelor of Arts degreemagna cum laude. He then joined theJesuit Volunteer Corps and spent two years inPortland, Oregon, as a corrections counselor.[2] He left the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in 1985 to attendLewis & Clark Law School, graduating in 1988 with aJuris Doctorcum laude.[3]
He had worked for theClark County District Attorney's office during law school but, on graduating, McShane joined the Office of the MetropolitanPublic Defender inPortland, where he worked from 1988 to 1997.[4]
He served as a full-time Judge Pro Tempore on theMultnomah CountyCircuit 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]
On September 19, 2012, PresidentBarack 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 JudgeMichael R. Hogan who assumedsenior 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 theSenate Judiciary Committee on March 7, 2013, byvoice vote.[6] The Senate confirmed his nomination on May 20, 2013, byvoice vote. He received his commission on May 30, 2013.[4] He became chief judge on January 1, 2024.[7]
On May 19, 2014, McShane struck down Oregon's same-sex marriage ban inGeiger v. Kitzhaber. He ordered that the state immediately issue licenses to same-sex couples.[8] The State of Oregon did not appeal (Oregon Attorney GeneralEllen Rosenblum declined to defend the state's ban on same-sex marriage);same-sex marriage in Oregon was legalized as a result.[9]
On August 15, 2023, McShane ordered theWashington 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]
McShane isopenly 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]
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.
Media related toMichael J. McShane at Wikimedia Commons
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Oregon 2013–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Chief Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Oregon 2024–present | |
