Adrienne Nelson

Adrienne Camille Nelson (born 1967)[1] is an American lawyer who is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. She previously served as a judge on the Multnomah County Circuit Court from 2006 to 2018 and a justice of the Oregon Supreme Court from 2018 to 2023.[2]

Adrienne Nelson
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon
Assumed office
February 23, 2023
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byMichael W. Mosman
Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
In office
January 2, 2018 – February 23, 2023
Appointed byKate Brown
Preceded byJack Landau
Succeeded byAruna Masih
Personal details
Born
Adrienne Camille Nelson

1967 (age 55–56)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Arkansas (BA)
University of Texas at Austin (JD)

Early life and career

Nelson was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1967, and grew up in southwestern Arkansas.[3] She graduated from Gurdon High School in Gurdon, Arkansas, in 1985.[4] Nelson's mother successfully sued her school district to allow Nelson to be valedictorian after her high school initially named a white student with a lower GPA to be valedictorian instead.[5]

Nelson graduated summa cum laude from the University of Arkansas in 1990, with a BA in criminal justice and English.[6] She completed a J.D. degree at the University of Texas School of Law in 1993.[7][8]

Nelson moved to Portland, Oregon, in 1993, to be closer to her mother, who had previously relocated to the state.[4][8] Nelson was a contract analyst for an insurance company for two years.[8] She then worked as an attorney in private practice in Portland as a public defender,[9] with Multnomah Defenders Inc, a non-profit public interest law firm, from 1996 to 1999, and for the law firm Bennett, Hartman, Morris & Kaplan LLP from 1999 to 2004. Nelson was a senior attorney in Student Legal and Mediation Services for Portland State University from 2004 to 2006.[7] Nelson served as an adjunct professor at Lewis & Clark Law School from 2002 to 2005.[1]

Nelson has been a member of the American Bar Association House of Delegates and the ABA Commission on Disability Rights. She received the Oregon Women Lawyers (OWLs) Judge Mercedes Deiz Award in 2003, and the Oregon State Bar President's Public Service Award in 2007.[3] She has also served as president of the Multnomah Bar Foundation and president of the Oregon State Bar Foundation Board.[10]

Judicial service

Oregon circuit court

Governor Ted Kulongoski appointed Nelson as a judge on the Multnomah County Circuit Court in February 2006, to replace Sidney Galton.[3][8] She was re-elected to a new six-year term in 2012.[11]

Oregon Supreme Court

Governor Kate Brown appointed Nelson to the Oregon Supreme Court in January 2018, to replace justice Jack Landau, who retired on December 31, 2017.[2] Nelson's term on the Supreme Court ended in January 2019, but she was elected to a full six year term in November 2018.[12]

Nelson is the first African-American to serve on the Oregon Supreme Court, or on any state appellate court in Oregon.[2]

United States district court

On July 14, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Nelson to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.[13] President Biden nominated Nelson to the seat vacated by Judge Michael W. Mosman, who assumed senior status on December 27, 2021.[14] On October 12, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[15] On December 1, 2022, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote.[16] On January 3, 2023, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate; she was renominated later the same day.[17] On February 2, 2023, her nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–9 vote.[18] On February 14, 2023, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 53–44 vote.[19] On February 15, 2023, she was confirmed by a 52–46 vote.[20] She received her judicial commission on February 23, 2023.[21] She is the first African-American woman to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.[22]

Personal life

Adrienne C. Nelson High School, named after Nelson, opened in 2021 in the North Clackamas School District.[23]

See also

References
  1. "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  2. Woodworth, Whitney (January 2, 2018). "First African-American, Adrienne Nelson, appointed to Oregon Supreme Court". Statesman Journal. Salem, Oregon. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  3. "Biography: Adrienne Nelson" (PDF). ABA Commission on Disability Rights. American Bar Association. 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 3, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  4. Dawn, Eden (September 13, 2017). "Meet Adrienne Nelson, the Second Black Female Judge in Oregon History". Portland Monthly. Portland, Oregon. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  5. "Governor Brown Appoints Adrienne Nelson to Oregon Supreme Court". Governor's Office Newsroom. State of Oregon. January 2, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  6. Zhong, Michelle (2018-05-20). "Adrienne C. Nelson (1967- )". Black Past. Archived from the original on 2020-05-26. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  7. Brown, Kate (January 27, 2012). "Candidate Information 2012". Oregon Secretary of State. State of Oregon. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  8. Lewton, Michael (July 2006). "Judge Adrienne Nelson". Multnomah Lawyer. Portland, Oregon. Archived from the original on January 3, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  9. Miller, Cheryl (July 14, 2022). "Biden's Flurry of Judicial Nominations Continues With a Third Batch in One Week". The National Law Journal. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  10. "New Faces". Reed magazine. Reed College. June 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  11. Brown, Kate (May 2012). "Official Results, May 15, 2012, Primary Election". Oregon Secretary of State. State of Oregon. p. 55. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  12. "Oregon Supreme Court". October 9, 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  13. "President Biden Names Twenty-Third Round of Judicial Nominees" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  14. "PN2381 - Nomination of Adrienne C. Nelson for The Judiciary, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  15. "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. October 9, 2022.
  16. "Results of Executive Business Meeting – December 1, 2022" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  17. "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. January 3, 2023.
  18. "Results of Executive Business Meeting – February 2, 2023" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  19. "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Adrienne C. Nelson to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Oregon)". United States Senate. February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  20. "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Adrienne C. Nelson, of Oregon, to be United States District Judge for the District of Oregon)". United States Senate. February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  21. Adrienne Nelson at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  22. Bernstein, Maxine (July 14, 2022). "Oregon Supreme Court Justice Adrienne Nelson nominated to federal bench". oregonlive. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  23. Ogadhoh, Jaelen (August 18, 2021). "High school named after Oregon Supreme Court justice now open". Clackamas Review. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
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