Adrienne Nelson

Adrienne Camille Nelson (born 1967) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon since 2023. She previously served as a justice of the Oregon Supreme Court from 2018 to 2023 and as a judge on the Multnomah County Circuit Court from 2006 to 2018.

Early life and education Nelson was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1967, and grew up in southwestern Arkansas. She graduated from Gurdon High School in Gurdon, Arkansas, in 1985. Nelson's mother, a former guidance counselor,

Nelson graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in English literature and criminal justice. At the University of Arkansas, Nelson served as president of Phi Beta Kappa, tutored student athletes, sang in the gospel choir, and was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

As a single mother, Nelson attended and graduated from the University of Texas School of Law, where she earned a Juris Doctor in 1993.

Legal career

Nelson moved to Portland, Oregon, in 1993, to be closer to her mother, who had previously relocated to the state. with Multnomah Defenders Inc, a non-profit public interest law firm, from 1996 to 1999, and for the law firm Bennett, Hartman, Morris & Kaplan LLP from 1999 to 2004. Nelson was a senior attorney in Student Legal and Mediation Services for Portland State University from 2004 to 2006.

In 2021, a school in Happy Valley, Oregon was named after Nelson.

Judicial service Oregon circuit court Governor Ted Kulongoski appointed Nelson as a judge on the Multnomah County Circuit Court in February 2006, to replace Sidney Galton.

Oregon Supreme Court Governor Kate Brown appointed Nelson to the Oregon Supreme Court in January 2018, to replace justice Jack Landau, who retired on December 31, 2017.

Nelson is the first African-American to serve on the Oregon Supreme Court, or on any state appellate court in Oregon. President Biden nominated Nelson to the seat vacated by Judge Michael W. Mosman, who assumed senior status on December 27, 2021. On October 12, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On December 1, 2022, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. On January 3, 2023, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate; she was renominated later the same day. On February 2, 2023, her nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–9 vote. On February 14, 2023, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 53–44 vote. On February 15, 2023, she was confirmed by a 52–46 vote. She received her judicial commission on February 23, 2023. She is the first African-American woman to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.

Notable cases On December 10, 2024, Nelson issued an injunction blocking a merger between Kroger and Albertsons. The FTC sought to block the merger as a violation of antitrust law, arguing that a merger between the two companies would stifle competition.