Marco A. Hernandez
| Marco Antonio Hernandez | |
|---|---|
| Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office February 9, 2011 |
|
| Appointed by | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Garr King |
| Circuit Court judge in Washington County, Oregon | |
| In office 1995–2011 |
|
| Appointed by | Barbara Roberts |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1957 Nogales, Arizona |
| Alma mater | Western Oregon State College (B.A.) University of Washington School of Law (J.D.) |
Marco Antonio Hernandez (born 1957) is an American attorney and judge in the state of Oregon. A native of Arizona, he served as a Circuit Court judge in Washington County from 1995 until 2011, including as presiding judge for three years. He was nominated for a federal judgeship with the United States District Court for the District of Oregon three times under two U.S. Presidents, and confirmed as judge in February 2011.
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[edit] Early life and education
Hernandez was born in Nogales, Arizona, in 1957 and is of Hispanic descent.[1][2][3] He moved to Oregon at 17 and began work as a dishwasher, and then as a janitor before working his way through community college while working as a teacher's aide.[4] Hernandez then moved on to a four-year school and received a B.A. degree from Western Oregon State College (now known as Western Oregon University) in 1983.[5][4] He then attended the University of Washington School of Law and earned his J.D. in 1986.[5]
[edit] Legal career
After law school he returned to Oregon where he spent three years working for Legal Aid Services of Oregon where he often represented farm workers.[2][6] Hernandez himself had picked crops in the field in his youth.[2] Following his time with legal aid, Hernandez the joined the Washington County District Attorney's office as a deputy prosecutor in 1989.[7]
Shortly before leaving office in January 1995, Governor Barbara Roberts appointed Hernandez to be a Circuit Court judge in Washington County, Oregon.[3] In 2001, he allowed a claim for loss of companionship in a pet case to go to trial, the first time such as claim was allowed to go to trial in the United States.[8] Hernandez served as presiding judge of the County's Circuit Court from 2002 to 2005.[5][7] He won re-election to a new six-year term on the court in May 2008.[2] He has also served as the judge for the county's Mental Health Court,[9] and as presiding judge from 2002 until 2005.[10]
[edit] Federal judicial nominations
In January 2008, Hernandez was one of three candidates recommended by a six-member judicial selection committee to replace Garr King on the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.[11] President George W. Bush selected Hernandez to fill the vacancy on the District Court of Oregon and submitted his nomination on July 23, 2008.[2] Senators Gordon H. Smith and Ron Wyden supported the nomination, but it was made with less than six months remaining in the Bush Presidency.[2][12] The nomination was not acted upon by the 110th Congress and was thus returned.[13]
Republican Gordon Smith was defeated for re-election in 2008, and newly-elected President Barack Obama restarted the judicial selection process for the District of Oregon.[3] Democrat Ron Wyden recommended Hernandez in addition to five other candidates selected by a thirteen-member judicial selection committee.[12] On July 14, 2010, Obama renominated Hernandez to replace Garr King.[14] He is one of few people to be nominated to the federal bench by presidents from two different political parties.[7] The Senate failed to act on Obama's nomination, and President Obama nominated Hernandez again in January 2011.[4] On February 7, 2011, the Senate unanimously confirmed Hernandez as the newest judge for the District of Oregon,[4] and he received his commission on February 9.[10]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Marco A. Hernandez". Office of Legal Policy. United States Department of Justice. http://www.justice.gov/archive/olp/ma-hernandez-resume.htm. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f Holly Danks, Politics could sink local judge's federal nomination, The Oregonian (July 24, 2008).
- ^ a b c Peter Wong, Obama names two as federal judges in Oregon, Statesman Journal (July 14, 2010).
- ^ a b c d Pope, Charles (February 7, 2011). "Senate unanimously approves Marco Hernandez to be federal judge". The Oregonian. http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/02/senate_unanimously_approves_ma.html. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
- ^ a b c President Obama Names Five to United States District Court, whitehouse.gov (July 14, 2010).
- ^ Tomlinson, Stuart (July 14, 2010). "Obama nominates two for U.S. District Court judgeships in Oregon". The Oregonian. http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/obama_nominates_two_men_as_jud.html. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
- ^ a b c Christensen, Nick (July 17, 2010). "County judge nominated to federal bench – again". The Hillsboro Argus. http://blog.oregonlive.com/hillsboroargus/2010/07/county_judge_nominated_to_fede.html. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
- ^ Duckler, Geordie L.; Dana M. Campbell (June 2001). "Nature of the Beast". Oregon State Bar Bulletin (Oregon State Bar). http://www.osbar.org/publications/bulletin/01june/beast.htm.
- ^ Gregory, Roger (March 28, 2008). "Washington County Mental Health Court gives some a chance to turn their lives around". The Oregonian. http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/03/court_of_hope.html. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
- ^ a b "Hernandez, Marco Antonio". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Federal Judicial Center. http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/nGetInfo?jid=3352&cid=999&ctype=na&instate=na. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
- ^ James Pitkin, Immergut’s Out: The Final Three Who Are In For A Federal Judge Appointment, Willamette Week (January 25, 2008).
- ^ a b James Pitkin, Ron Wyden Adds Marco Hernandez As The Sixth Name to Judges’ List, Willamette Week (July 28, 2009).
- ^ "Marco A. Hernandez". Judicial Nominations. Yale Law School. http://judges.law.yale.edu/?q=content/marco-hernandez. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
- ^ Presidential Nominations and Withdrawal Sent to the Senate, 7/14/10, whitehouse.gov (July 14, 2010).
[edit] External links
- Marco A. Hernandez at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- Oregon Health News article
- Woman who called 911 for a date gets probation - KATU
- 1957 births
- Living people
- People from Nogales, Arizona
- University of Washington alumni
- Hispanic and Latino American judges
- Oregon state court judges
- Western Oregon University alumni
- People from Washington County, Oregon
- Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon
- United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama