Judge Adrian Brown
Multnomah County Circuit Court | Position 12
Experienced Elected Judge.
Judge Brown is the only candidate with judicial experience. Multnomah County voters first elected her to the bench in 2020, and in just five years she has presided over hundreds of criminal and civil cases, and issued opinions withstanding appellate review.
Protecting Democratic Values.
Let’s be clear, our democratic values are under attack, including the independence of our local courts. Judge Brown holds the line by upholding the rule of law, even under pressure. She is re-doubling her commitment to protect the democratic foundation of an independent judiciary. A vote to re-elect Judge Brown, is a vote re-affirming democracy’s call to action.
A career built for this bench
Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge, 2020 to Present
Elected countywide in 2020 in a contested race. More than five years on the bench. Hundreds of cases presided over across the full range of a circuit court docket: serious felony crimes, domestic violence, crimes against children, civil employment discrimination, contract disputes, tort claims, protective orders, and every kind of case in between.
Oregon State Bar Board of Governors
Adrian served on the governing body of Oregon's legal profession, giving her a statewide view of the bar and the systems that regulate it.
John Marshall Award — from Attorney General Loretta Lynch
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch presented Adrian with the John Marshall Award for Participation in Litigation for her work representing individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who experienced employment discrimination. The John Marshall Award is one of the Department of Justice's highest honors for attorneys.
The Portland Police Bureau case
Adrian was the lead attorney on the first federal class-action civil rights investigation of the Portland Police Bureau. Her work exposed a pattern of unconstitutional use of force against people with mental illness, and it resulted in changes to PPB policies on crisis response, use-of-force investigations, and officer accountability. She has called it the most impactful and humbling case of her 20-year career.
National Civil Rights Coordinator — U.S. Department of Justice
As National Civil Rights Coordinator, Adrian helped create more than 30 civil rights enforcement positions in U.S. Attorney's Offices across the country. She built the infrastructure that protects civil rights in federal offices nationwide.
Assistant U.S. Attorney — 13 years in the District of Oregon
Adrian served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Portland for thirteen years, focused on civil rights enforcement. She advocated for and created the civil rights program in the Portland U.S. Attorney's Office — work so significant the Assistant Attorney General recruited her to serve in a national role.
Air Force JAG Corps Officer — nearly seven years active duty
Adrian served as a Judge Advocate General officer on active duty in the United States Air Force, stationed in Alaska, Washington State, and Germany. She tried more than 40 criminal trials — domestic violence, child abuse, drug offenses, sexual abuse of children, fraud, rape, and negligent homicide. She served as a prosecutor and as a defense counsel. She worked across the Pacific Northwest, the European region, Turkey, and Afghanistan. The military gave her the foundation for everything that came next: discipline, duty, and respect for the Constitution.
Her Judicial Philosophy
Courage on the bench. Compassion in the courtroom
Courage means applying the law to the case in front of her, not the case someone wishes were in front of her. It means holding the government to the standard the Constitution requires, even when that is unpopular. It means making rulings she can defend on the record.
Compassion means remembering that every person who walks into her courtroom is having one of the harder days of their life. Even when the law requires a hard outcome, the process should leave people feeling like they were heard.
That is how Judge Brown runs her courtroom.
Fair and Just Decisions
Judge Brown's rulings have included a precedential appellate decision ruling in a jury trial and child victims from further trauma. She was also upheld on appeal in an opinion to revoke a violent offender from probation. She applies the law to the evidence in front of her. She does not shrink from hard outcomes when the law and the facts require them. Community safety is ever present.
Judge Brown's rulings in cases involving violent offenders have been upheld on appeal. She applies the law to the evidence in front of her. She does not shrink from hard outcomes when the law and the facts require them. Community safety is central to how she approaches criminal matters.
Holding the State to its Burden
Judge Brown holds the state to its burden as the Constitution requires. She does not rubber-stamp. She does not bend to pressure. In every case, the government has to earn its outcome on the facts and the law. She upholds the rule of law, even when facing opposition.
Protecting Individual Rights
Judge Brown runs her courtroom so that every person in it — represented by counsel or not, native English speaker or not, with a disability or not — understands the proceedings, can participate fully, and leaves feeling they were heard. She handles addiction and mental illness cases with the judgment voters elected her to exercise, using the full range of tools the law provides.