The Multnomah County Circuit Court, which composes the 4th Judicial District of the Oregon Circuit Court system, is the general jurisdiction trial court of Multnomah County, Oregon. Judith Matarazzo is the presiding judge of the Court, serving with 37 others. The chief prosecutor is Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez.

The four court locations are

The Multnomah County Courthouse in 2021
East County Courthouse building in 2022
  • Multnomah County Courthouse (Central Courthouse), located at 1200 SW 1st Ave, Portland
  • Justice Center, located on the third floor of the County Jail / Police HQ building, 1120 SW 3rd Ave, Portland
  • Juvenile Justice Center, 1401 NE 68th Ave, Portland
  • East County Courthouse, 18480 SE Stark St, Portland

Judiciary

As of August 2023, the following are currently serving judges in the Circuit Court:

  • Judith Matarazzo, Presiding Judge
  • Cheryl Albrecht, Chief Criminal Judge
  • Christopher Marshall, Chief Civil Court Judge
  • Steffan Alexander
  • Amy Baggio
  • Eric Bloch
  • Leslie Bottomly
  • Adrian Brown
  • Eric Dahlin
  • Bryan Francesconi
  • Rima Ghandour
  • Michael Greenlick
  • Celia Howes
  • Andrew Lavin
  • Angela Lucero
  • Heidi Moawad
  • Melvin Oden-Orr
  • Jenna Plank
  • Christopher Ramras
  • David Rees
  • Shelley Russell
  • Thomas Ryan
  • Chanpone Sinlapasai
  • Kelly Skye
  • Benjamin Souede
  • Katharine von Ter Stegge
  • Nan Waller

Family and juvenile judges

  • Patrick Henry, Chief Probate Judge
  • Susan Svetkey, Chief Family Court Judge
  • Jacqueline Alarcón
  • Maurisa Gates
  • Amy Holmes Hehn
  • Morgan Long
  • Michael Loy
  • Patricia McGuire
  • Susan Svetkey
  • Xiomara Torres
  • Francis Troy
  • Kathryn Villa-Smith

List of District Attorneys

State's attorneyTerm in officeNotes
John M. Gearin1884–1886
Unknown1886–1900
George E. Chamberlain1900–1903Resigned. Elected Governor in 1902.
Unknown1903–1931
William Langley1954–1957Removed from office by Judge Frank J. Lonergan after being found guilty by a jury for refusing to prosecute gambling.
F. Leo Smith1957–1958Appointed in 1957. Did not seek re-election.
Unknown1958–1962
George Van HoomissenDid not seek re-election. Ran for Secretary of State instead (lost).
Harl H. Haas Jr.1972–1981Did not seek re-election. Ran for Attorney General instead (lost).
Mike Schrunk1981–2012Longest serving District Attorney in county's history
Rod Underhill2012–2020Resigned in 2020
Mike Schmidt2020–2025Appointed in 2020 Elected in 2020
Nathan Vasquez2025–presentElected in 2024

Architecture

The new Multnomah County Courthouse on SW 1st Ave opened October 2020. The 17-story building spans 450,000 square feet and cost $324 million. SRG Partnership was the lead architect, and Hoffman Construction Company lead contractor, both Portland based.

The previous building, a century-old courthouse, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It was sold in 2018 to NBP Capital for $28 million, who said it was "considering various creative uses" that would preserve the historic building. The county assessor valued it at $40 million, but estimated necessary upgrades for earthquake resistance at $70 million.

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