Darleen Ortega

Darleen Ortega (born 1962) is an American attorney and judge in the state of Oregon. A native of California, she has served on the Oregon Court of Appeals since 2003. She is the first woman of Hispanic heritage and the first woman of color to serve on that court. She grew up in the Los Angeles area until age 10 when her family moved to Banks, Oregon, west of Portland. Ortega joined the court on October 13, 2003, and won election to a full six-year term on the court in 2004. In 2005, she signed off on an opinion of the court that determined that under the Oregon Constitution, law enforcement must obtain a search warrant prior to searching trash placed on the curb for pick-up.

Ortega was re-elected to the Court of Appeals in 2010 and 2016, and her current term ends on January 1, 2023.

In 2017, Oregon Supreme Court justice Jack Landau announced his retirement. The Oregon State Bar included Ortega on its list of nine high-qualified candidates that Governor Kate Brown could pick from when filling the Supreme Court vacancy.

In 2022, Ortega faced an opponent in the primary election for the first time.