--- title: "Michael H. Simon | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-h-simon" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Michael H. Simon U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon - State: Oregon - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, D. Oregon, 2011-present - Michael Howard Simon is a United States District Judge for the District of Oregon, serving since June 22, 2011, after confirmation by the U.S. Senate - In 1986, he joined Perkins Coie in Portland, where he became a partner and head of litigation for the firm’s Portland office - From 1981 to 1986, Simon was a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division in Washington, D.C - He also held the role of a special assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in 1985 ### Education - Harvard University — J.D. (1981) - University of California, Los Angeles ### Additional information - Simon is an elected Member of the American Law Institute (since 2025) and Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (since 2006). - He has served on the Ninth Circuit Jury Instructions Committee (2012–2024) and the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference Executive Committee. - Private practice, Portland, OR, 1986-2011 - President Barack Obama nominated Simon on July 14, 2010, to replace Ancer L. Haggerty, who had assumed senior status in 2009. - Date of birth: 1956-01-01 - handling civil and criminal antitrust cases. - handling high-profile First Amendment cases on a pro bono basis - Birth place: New York, NY ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: . Evidence Presentation Systems (EPS): . Each courtroom is equipped with an EPS which may be used for presenting evidence in court proceedings. [Technology Available in District Courtrooms](https://www.ord.uscourts.gov/index.php/visitors/courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393726) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393726) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393726) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2971/michael-howard-simon/) - [Technology Available in District Courtrooms](https://www.ord.uscourts.gov/index.php/visitors/courtroom-technology) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2971/michael-howard-simon/) - [Wikidata: Michael H. Simon](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6830879) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-h-simon", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-h-simon", "name": "Michael H. Simon | KnowJudges", "description": "Michael H. Simon, U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-h-simon#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-h-simon#judge", "name": "Michael H. 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Simon", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-h-simon" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 166 | 9 | Not available | 9 | | 2y | 315 | 66 | 3.5 | 66 | | 5y | 774 | 453 | 8 | 453 | | 10y | 1633 | 1300 | 10.3 | 1300 | Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/ ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.