| Marco Antonio Hernandez | |
| Office: | Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon |
| Term Start: | August 21, 2024 |
| Office1: | Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon |
| Term Start1: | December 23, 2019 |
| Term End1: | January 1, 2024 |
| Predecessor1: | Michael W. Mosman |
| Successor1: | Michael J. McShane |
| Office2: | Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon |
| Term Start2: | February 9, 2011 |
| Term End2: | August 21, 2024 |
| Appointer2: | Barack Obama |
| Predecessor2: | Garr King |
| Successor2: | Amy M. Baggio |
| Office3: | Judge of the Washington County Circuit Court |
| Appointer3: | Barbara Roberts |
| Term Start3: | 1998 |
| Term End3: | February 9, 2011 |
| Successor3: | Janelle F. Wipper |
| Birth Name: | Marco Antonio Hernandez |
| Birth Place: | Nogales, Arizona, U.S. |
| Education: | University of Washington (JD) |
Marco Antonio Hernandez (born 1957) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.
Hernandez was born in Nogales, Arizona, in 1957 and is of Hispanic descent.[1] 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. Hernandez then moved on to a four-year school and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Oregon State College (now known as Western Oregon University) in 1983.[2] He then attended the University of Washington School of Law and earned his Juris Doctor in 1986.[2]
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.[3] Following his time with legal aid, Hernandez then joined the Washington County District Attorney's office as a deputy prosecutor in 1989.[4] Shortly before leaving office in January 1995, Governor Barbara Roberts appointed Hernandez to be Washington County Circuit Court Judge.[5] In 2001, he allowed a claim for loss of companionship in a pet case to go to trial, the first time such a claim was allowed to go to trial in the United States.[6] Hernandez served as Presiding Judge of the County's Circuit Court from 2002 to 2005.[2] [4] He won re-election to a new six-year term on the court in May 2008. He has also served as the judge for the county's Mental Health Court,[7] and as presiding judge from 2002 until 2005.
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.[8] President George W. Bush selected Hernandez to fill the vacancy on the District Court of Oregon and submitted his nomination on July 23, 2008.[9] Senators Gordon H. Smith and Ron Wyden supported the nomination, but it was made with less than six months remaining in the Bush presidency.[9] [10] The nomination was not acted upon by the 110th Congress and was thus returned.[11] Republican Gordon Smith was narrowly defeated for re-election in 2008, and newly elected President Barack Obama restarted the judicial selection process for the District of Oregon.[5] Democrat Ron Wyden recommended Hernandez in addition to five other candidates selected by a thirteen-member judicial selection committee.[10] On July 14, 2010, Obama renominated Hernandez to replace Garr King.[12] He is one of few people to be nominated to the federal bench by presidents from two different political parties.[4] The Senate again failed to act on Hernandez's nomination, and President Obama nominated Hernandez again in January 2011.[13] On February 7, 2011, the Senate unanimously confirmed Hernandez as the newest judge for the District of Oregon,[13] and he received his commission on February 9. He became chief judge on December 23, 2019[14] and served until January 1, 2024, when he was succeeded by Judge Michael J. McShane.[15] He assumed senior status on August 21, 2024.