Amy M. Baggio

Amy M. Baggio
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon
Incumbent
Assumed office
August 22, 2024
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byMarco A. Hernandez
Judge of the Multnomah County Circuit Court
In office
March 19, 2019 – August 22, 2024
Appointed byKate Brown
Preceded byMarilyn Litzenberger
Succeeded byJeff Auxier
Personal details
Born
Amy Margaret Baggio

1973 (age 50–51)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
EducationWake Forest University (BA)
Lewis & Clark College (JD)

Amy Margaret Baggio (born 1973)[1] is an American lawyer who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon since 2024. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, prior to appointment to the bench, she had a career in criminal defense, including as a federal public defender. She also previously served as a judge of the Multnomah County Circuit Court from 2019 to 2024.

Early life and education

Baggio was born in Pittsburgh.[2] Baggio received a Bachelor of Arts in speech communication, cum laude, in 1995 from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and a Juris Doctor in 2001 from Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon.[3][4]

Early life and career

From 2001 to 2002, Baggio served as a staff attorney in the Portland Office of the Metropolitan Public Defender. From 2002 to 2005, she served as a research and writing attorney and then from 2005 to 2012 as an assistant federal public defender, both within the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Oregon. From 2013 to 2019, she worked as a sole practitioner at her own criminal law defense firm, Baggio Law, also in Portland.[3] On March 19, 2019, Governor Kate Brown appointed Baggio to serve as a judge of the Multnomah County Circuit Court in Portland, to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Judge Marilyn Litzenberger.[2]

In 2021, Baggio presided over a case that raised questions about the quality of medical care at the Snake River Correctional Institution. Baggio ruled that the prison's masking compliance had been inadequate and "creates an unjustifiable risk" throughout the prison.[5][6]

Federal judicial service

On June 1, 2023, Baggio was one of six names U.S. senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley submitted to the White House.[7] On November 15, 2023, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Baggio to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. On November 27, 2023, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Baggio to the seat being vacated by Judge Marco A. Hernandez, who subsequently assumed senior status on August 21, 2024.[8]

On December 13, 2023, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[9] On January 3, 2024, her nomination was returned to the president under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate[10] and she was renominated on January 8, 2024.[11] On January 18, 2024, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–9 vote.[12][13] On February 6, 2024, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 54–43 vote.[14] Later that day, her nomination was confirmed by a 54–44 vote.[15] She received her judicial commission on August 22, 2024,[16] and was sworn in the next day.[17]

Notable cases

Baggio and Ruben Iniquez, who also worked as an assistant federal public defender, were appointed to represent Nazar Chaman Gul in his case filed in U.S. District Court. Baggio and Iniquez helped secure the release of Gul, an Afghan imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay Prison since 2003, in what turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.[18]

In 2023, Baggio sentenced Tusitala "Tiny" Toese, a member of the Proud Boys, to an additional two years in prison beyond the minimum sentence for his role in a 2021 brawl in east Portland.[19][20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "The Honorable Amy Baggio: Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge". mbabar.org. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "President Biden Names Forty-Second Round of Judicial Nominees" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. November 15, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ Wong, Peter (15 November 2023). "Multnomah judge named to U.S. District Court". PortlandTribune.com. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Oregon prison COVID-19 lawsuit ruling hailed as a landmark". April 19, 2021.
  6. ^ "President Biden nominates Oregon judge for the federal bench". November 15, 2023.
  7. ^ Names of 6 finalists forwarded to White House for upcoming federal court vacancy in Oregon, retrieved 2023-06-01
  8. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. November 27, 2023.
  9. ^ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. December 12, 2023.
  10. ^ "PN1155 — Amy M. Baggio — The Judiciary". congress.gov. January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  11. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. January 3, 2024.
  12. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – January 18, 2024" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  13. ^ "Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Twenty Judicial Nominations, One Executive Nomination to the Full Senate" (Press release). United States Senate Judiciary Committee. January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  14. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Amy M. Baggio to be United States District Judge for the District of Oregon)". United States Senate. February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  15. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Amy M. Baggio, of Oregon, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Oregon)". United States Senate. February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  16. ^ Amy M. Baggio at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  17. ^ "Hon. Amy Baggio Appointed as a U.S. District Judge for the District of Oregon". ord.uscourts.gov (Press release). Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  18. ^ "Multnomah judge named to District Court". November 16, 2023.
  19. ^ "Tusitala 'Tiny' Toese hit with more prison time for 2021 Proud Boys clash in Portland; 'You lose,' victim taunts". July 21, 2023.
  20. ^ "President Biden nominates Oregon judge to federal bench". November 15, 2023.
Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon
2024–present 		Incumbent