| James M. Burns | |
| Office: | Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon |
| Term Start: | November 24, 1989 |
| Term End: | December 21, 2001 |
| Office1: | Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon |
| Term Start1: | 1979 |
| Term End1: | 1984 |
| Predecessor1: | Otto Richard Skopil Jr. |
| Successor1: | Owen M. Panner |
| Office2: | Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon |
| Term Start2: | June 2, 1972 |
| Term End2: | November 24, 1989 |
| Appointer2: | Richard Nixon |
| Predecessor2: | Gus J. Solomon |
| Successor2: | Robert E. Jones |
| Birth Name: | James Milton Burns |
| Birth Date: | 24 November 1924 |
| Birth Place: | Portland, Oregon |
| Death Place: | Wilsonville, Oregon |
| Education: | University of Portland (B.A.) Loyola University Chicago School of Law (J.D.) |
James Milton Burns (November 24, 1924 – December 21, 2001) was an American attorney and judge in Oregon. He served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.
Burns was born in Portland, Oregon, on November 24, 1924,[1] and was raised by an aunt after both of his parents had died by the time he was ten years old.[2] After high school at Grant High School he earned scholarship to attend the University of Portland,[3] but left part way through to serve as infantry in the United States Army during World War II from 1943 to 1945.[1] While serving in France he suffered trenchfoot.[3] After leaving the Army he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Portland in 1947 and then a Juris Doctor from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1950.[1] While at Loyola he met Helen Hogan in 1950, and the two were married in November 1950 and had five daughters, two of which became attorneys.[3]
Burns was in private practice in Portland from 1950 to 1952, and again from 1956 to 1966, serving in the interim as a district attorney of Harney County, in Eastern Oregon.[1] He was also a Special Master for the United States District Court for the District of Oregon from 1962 to 1965.[1] He was a judge of the Oregon Circuit Court for Multnomah County from 1966 to 1972, becoming a member of the faculty of the National Judicial College in 1971.[1]
On March 22, 1972, Burns was nominated by President Richard Nixon to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Oregon vacated by Judge Gus J. Solomon.[1] Burns was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 25, 1972, and received his commission on June 2, 1972.[1] He served as Chief Judge from 1979 to 1984 before he assumed senior status on November 24, 1989.[1]
Notable cases Burns heard included where he tossed approval for the Mount Hood Freeway in 1974, a criminal case related to the 1982 escape of prisoners from Rocky Butte Jail, and the 1987 case over construction of the Elk Creek Dam in Southern Oregon.[2]
At the time he took senior status he lived along the Willamette River in Wilsonville, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area with his wife Helen.[3] Burns died on December 21, 2001, in Wilsonville at the age of 77.[2] He was buried at Portland's Mount Calvary Cemetery.[2]