By LYNNE TERRY/Oregon Capital Chronicle
Gov. Kate Brown on Wednesday picked appeals court Judge Roger DeHoog as her sixth appointment to the Oregon Supreme Court, and the only one from outside the Willamette Valley.
DeHoog will replace Brown appointee Lynn Nakamoto, who retired at the end of 2021. He joins fellow Brown appointees Rebecca Duncan, Meagan Flynn, Chris Garrett and Adrienne Nelson, as well as Thomas Balmer and Chief Justice Martha Walters on the seven-member court.
It’s DeHoog’s second time succeeding Nakamoto. When Brown appointed Nakamoto to the Supreme Court in 2015, she picked DeHoog, then a circuit court judge in Deschutes County, to fill the open spot on the court of appeals.
He’s the only judge on either the state appeals court or the Supreme Court from outside of the Willamette Valley, according to Brown’s office.
After receiving his law degree from the University of Oregon, DeHoog began his legal career as a Deschutes County public defender in 1993. He entered private practice in 2000, then joined the Oregon Justice Department’s special litigation unit in 2008.
Former Gov. John Kitzhaber appointed him to the Deschutes County Circuit Court in 2012, and he presided over cases for nearly four years before Brown appointed him to the state appeals court.
Also on Wednesday, Brown appointed Washington County Circuit Court Judge Ramón Pagán to fill the appeals court vacancy created by DeHoog’s elevation, and announced that attorneys Kristina Hellman and Anna Joyce will fill two other vacancies on the appeals court.
“Each of these highly qualified individuals brings a skill set and perspective informed by years of legal experience,” Brown said in a statement. “I am grateful to this talented, diverse group of judges and lawyers, for stepping up to serve our state and administering justice on behalf of the people of Oregon.”
