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.[1] The chief prosecutor is Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt.
The four court locations are
As of August 2023, the following are currently serving judges in the Circuit Court:[2]
| State's attorney | Term in office | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John M. Gearin | 1884–1886 | |||
| Unknown | 1886-1900 | |||
| George E. Chamberlain | 1900–1903 | Resigned. Elected Governor in 1902. | ||
| Unknown | 1903–1931 | |||
| William Langley | 1954–1957 | Removed from office by Judge Frank J. Lonergan after being found guilty by a jury for refusing to prosecute gambling. | ||
| F. Leo Smith | 1957–1958 | Appointed in 1957.Did not seek re-election. | ||
| Unknown | 1958–1962 | |||
| George Van Hoomissen | Did not seek re-election. Ran for Secretary of State instead (lost).[3] | |||
| Harl H. Haas Jr. | 1972–1981 | Did not seek re-election. Ran for Attorney General instead (lost).[4] | ||
| Mike Schrunk | 1981–2012 | Longest serving District Attorney in county's history[5] | ||
| Rod Underhill | 2012–2020 | Resigned in 2020 | ||
| Mike Schmidt | 2020-Present | Appointed in 2020Elected in 2020 | ||
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.[6] 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.[7]