Education
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, McShane spent his childhood in a conservative Catholic family in Kennewick, Washington, where he attended high school.
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Michael Jerome
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He received his Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, in 1983 from Gonzaga University. He had worked for the Clark County District Attorney"s office during law school but, on graduating, McShane joined the Office of the Metropolitan Public Defender in Portland, where he worked from 1988 to 1997. He served as a full-time Judge Pro Tempore on the Multnomah County Circuit Court from 1997 to 2001 and as a Judge on the same court from 2001 to 2013.
He handled civil, criminal and family court cases.
Nomination to United States. District Court
On September 19, 2012, President Obama nominated McShane to serve as a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, to the seat vacated by Judge Michael R. Hogan who took senior status on September 24, 2011. On January 2, 2013, his nomination was returned to the President, due to the sine die adjournment of the Senate.
On January 3, 2013, he was renominated to the same office. His nomination was reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 7, 2013, by voice vote.
The Senate confirmed his nomination on May 20, 2013, by voice vote.
He received his commission on May 30, 2013. On May 19, 2014, Judge McShane struck down Oregon"s same-sex marriage ban in Geiger v. Kitzhaber. He ordered that marriages begin immediately and the state of Oregon refused to appeal the ruling.
This resulted in the legalization of Same-sex marriage in Oregon.
McShane is openly gay, and he is the first openly gay federal judge in Oregon. McShane sits on the board of Saint Andrew Nativity School, an inner city middle school for disadvantaged youth.
In addition, he teaches at Lewis & Clark Law School.
