Michael Wise Mosman (born December 23, 1956) is a Senior

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Oregon The United States District Court for the District of Oregon (in case citations, D. Ore. or D. Or.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Oregon. It was created in 1859 when the state was admitted to the Union ...

. He served as Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon from February 1, 2016 to December 23, 2019. He also served a 7-year term on the

FISA Court The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), also called the FISA Court, is a U.S. federal court established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to oversee requests for surveillance warrants agai ...

from May 4, 2013 to May 3, 2020. The Oregon native previously served as the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the same district.

Early life and education

Michael Mosman was born in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the eas ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

in 1956 in the city of Eugene. He grew up in Lewiston,

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

, the son of an attorney and judge with an older sister and three younger brothers. He attended

Ricks College Ricks may refer to: People * Andre Ricks (born 1996), American basketball player * Bob Ricks (21st century), American police chief * Christopher Ricks (born 1933), British literary critic and scholar * Doug Ricks, American politician and member ...

in Idaho, which is now

Brigham Young University–Idaho Brigham Young University–Idaho (BYU–Idaho or BYU–I) is a private college in Rexburg, Idaho. Founded in 1888, the college is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Previously known as Ricks Colleg ...

. He graduated with an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1979 before attending

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah ...

in Logan,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. At Utah State he graduated with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in 1981, and was the

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

of his class.Cannon, Mark W
Record Six New LDS Federal Judges Appointed.
''Meridian Magazine''. Retrieved on February 9, 2008. Mosman then went on to law school at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

's J. Reuben Clark Law School. He graduated there in 1984 with a Juris Doctor. At BYU he was the editor of the law review, and graduated magna cum laude.

Legal career

In 1984, Mosman clerked for Malcolm Richard Wilkey, judge on the

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate co ...

. The following year he entered private legal practice for part of 1985 as an associate at Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge (now Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman). Mosman then was a clerk for

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

justice Lewis F. Powell. While clerking for Powell, he was involved in the justice's voting to uphold

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

's sodomy law in ''

Bowers v. Hardwick ''Bowers v. Hardwick'', 478 U.S. 186 (1986), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that upheld, in a 5–4 ruling, the constitutionality of a Georgia sodomy law criminalizing oral and anal sex in private between consenting adults ...

'', writing ::"The right to privacy calls for the greatest judicial restraint, invalidating only those laws that impinge on those values that are basic to our country" and ::"I do not think that this case involves any such values. I recommend reversal f the Eleventh Circuit decision..Personal sexual freedom is a newcomer among our national values, and may well be, as discussed earlier, a temporary national mood that fades." After leaving Powell's employ, Mosman entered private practice in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, Oregon, in 1986 at Miller Nash (now Miller Nash Graham & Dunn).

United States Attorney

In 1988, he began working as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Oregon, remaining until 2001. That year he became the United States Attorney for the District of Oregon, serving until 2003. He replaced Kristine Olson Rogers who had resigned.

Federal judicial service

On May 8, 2003, President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

nominated Mosman to serve as

of the

to the seat vacated by Robert E. Jones, who had assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on May 1, 2000. On September 25, 2003, he was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in a 93-0 vote. Senators Ron Wyden and

Gordon H. Smith Gordon Harold Smith (born May 25, 1952) is an American politician, businessman, and academic administrator who served as a United States Senator from the state of Oregon. A Republican, he served two terms in the Senate from 1997 to 2009. On Septe ...

spoke at the confirmation hearing, highlighting his prior service in the war on terrorism and that a bipartisan commission established to fill the vacancy left by Robert E. Jones had discovered him.Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate One Hundred Eighth Congress
/ref> He served as Chief Judge for approximately 4 years from February 1, 2016 to December 23, 2019.Chief Judge Transition
/ref> He assumed

on December 27, 2021.

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court & Alien Terrorist Removal Court

He served a full 7-year term as a Judge of the

United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), also called the FISA Court, is a U.S. federal court established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to oversee requests for surveillance warrants a ...

from May 2013 to May 2020. He has also been a Judge of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court since 2018.

Notable cases

Lemons v. Bradbury

On February 1, 2008, in ''Lemons v. Bradbury'', Mosman dismissed the lawsuit and lifted an injunction against Domestic partnership in Oregon, Oregon's new civil union law. Mosman had issued the temporary injunction in December 2007 to prevent Domestic partnership in Oregon, Oregon's new civil union law from taking effect in January.Byron Beck (blogger), Beck, Byron
Domestic Partner Decision: Revisiting Old Wounds?
''Willamette Week'', December 31, 2007. This was in response to a legal challenge by a group that had attempted to place a referendum on the November 2008 ballot to block the civil union law that had been passed by the Oregon Legislative Assembly. The legal issue centered on how the Oregon Secretary of State verified signatures on petitions.

Carter Page Warrant

In 2017, Mosman approved renewal of a

warrant for Carter Page, a former adviser to the Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016, 2016 Trump Campaign. In July 2018, the warrant application was released publicly, marking the first time FISA warrant application materials were made public. The heavily-redacted, 412-page application cites many sources, including confidential informants. Among those many sources, the application cites the Steele dossier, leading a legal commentator to criticize the basis of the warrant.

Kawhi Leonard v. Nike Inc

In April, 2020, Mosman granted Nike, Inc., Nike's motion dismissing Kawhi Leonard's copyright claims over a disputed logo, writing ::"It's not merely a derivative work of the sketch itself...I do find it to be new and significantly different from the design."

Oregon restraining order against Department of Homeland Security (2020)

In July 2020, the Oregon Attorney General, Ellen Rosenblum, requested a restraining order based on the detainment actions of Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Patrol personnel. The AG alleged that unmarked federal agents had unlawfully detained protesters in

without probable cause. Michael Mosman rejected the request for a restraining order, stating that "because it has not shown it is vindicating an interest that is specific to the state itself — I find the State of Oregon lacks standing here and therefore deny its request for a temporary restraining order".

Miss America

In 2021, Mosman dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Miss United States of America pageant’s rules that dictate that their contestants be “natural females.”

Awards/Talks

* In 2018, Mosman received the Alumni Achievement Award from BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School, entitled "How Not To Be stupid" * As part of the Spirit and the Law Series at BYU, Mosman gave a talk on conflict and confrontation in the law

Family

Mosman is married to the former Suzanne Cannon Hogan, and they have five children. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

References

External links

*
Oregon BenchmarksCases filed by MosmanRuling in ''Lemons v. Bradbury''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mosman, Michael Wise 1956 births Living people Utah State University alumni J. Reuben Clark Law School alumni Brigham Young University–Idaho alumni Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States American Latter Day Saints Lawyers from Eugene, Oregon Lawyers from Portland, Oregon People from Lewiston, Idaho United States Attorneys for the District of Oregon Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush 21st-century American judges Assistant United States Attorneys Judges of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court