Ann L. Aiken (born December 29, 1951) is an American attorney and jurist in the state of Oregon. A native Oregonian, she has served as a state court judge of the Oregon circuit courts and worked in private legal practice. She is currently a United States District Court judge for the District of Oregon.

Early years

Aiken was born in Salem, Oregon, on December 29, 1951.^[1] In 1974, she graduated from the University of Oregon in Eugene with a bachelors of science degree, and then from Rutgers University in New Jersey in 1976 with a masters degree.^[1] Aiken returned to Oregon and graduated with a juris doctorate degree in 1979 from the University of Oregon School of Law. After law school she worked as a law clerk for judge Edwin Allen of the Lane County Circuit Court from 1979 to 1980.^[1]

She entered private legal practice in 1980 and remained there until 1982.^[1] In 1982, Aiken worked as a fundraiser and field staffer for Ted Kulongoski's unsuccessful campaign for Governor of Oregon in 1982, and then worked as the chief clerk of the Oregon House of Representatives from 1982 to 1983.^[1] Aiken returned to private practice that year and remained there until she became a district judge in Lane County in 1988.^[1] Based in Eugene, she then became an Oregon circuit court judge in 1992 for Lane County, remaining on the bench until 1997.^[1]

Federal judge

President Bill Clinton nominated her to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Oregon vacated by James A. Redden on January 7, 1997.^[1] Aiken was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 28, 1998, receiving her commission on February 4, 1998.^[1]

Decisions

On September 26, 2007, Judge Aiken declared unconstitutional two portions of the USA PATRIOT Act that deal with the government's power to conduct certain surveillance without first obtaining a warrant. The decision received national attention and came in the case of the Brandon Mayfield lawsuit against the federal government for false detainment following the 2004 Madrid train bombings, in which Mayfield was uninvolved in the bombings.^[2] In the decision, Aiken held that those provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act violate the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.^[3]

References