U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon Wants Trial Held Next Summer Regarding Portland Police Excessive Force against Individuals with Mental Illness

Michael Howard Simon was born in 1956 in New York City. He was born to Danny Simon and Arlene Friedman. Simon's uncle, Neil Simon, is an acclaimed scriptwriter and his father was a television comedy writer. Simon graduated with a B.A. summa cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles. He also earned his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School. Simon is married to Democratic U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici.

Simon served as a Trial Attorney at the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division, in Washington, D.C. from 1981 to 1986. During his time with the DOJ, Simon handled both criminal and civil antitrust issues. He also assisted the DOJ as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in 1985.


Simon joined the law firm of Perkins Coie in 1986. He specialized in business litigation in both federal and state court. Simon also acted as head litigation for the firm's Portland office. In 1990, he became partner with the firm and subsequently handled numerous high-profile First Amendment cases on a pro bono basis.

President Barack Obama appointed Simon to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon on July 14, 2010. The U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary reported the judge's nomination to the full U.S. Senate in a 14-4 vote. In Simon's committee questionnaire, he confronted questions from Republican senators regarding his past work as a volunteer attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union. The U.S. Senate confirmed the judge in a 64-35 vote on June 21, 2011. Simon received his commission the following day.

According to Oregon Live editorial, "Federal judge says he's inclined to set a trial next summer for federal justice complaint on Portland police excessive force," on Thursday July 18, 2013, U.S. District Judge Simon stated that he wants to hold a trial next summer to determine if Portland law enforcement used excessive force against individuals with mental illness. The judge expects a trial in 2014 unless the police union, city of Portland and federal investigators can reach an agreement on a package of reforms. Simon did not set a trial date. He provided time for the city, police union and federal justice official to file legal briefs this fall. The briefs will cover issues concerning whether the Portland Police Association should be permitted to defend against the U.S. Department of Justice's extreme force accusations at trial.

The AP article mentioned that Simon emphasized to each party involved in the case not to lose sight of the seriousness of the federal grievance filed earlier this year. The complaint contends that constitutional violations had been caused by Portland law enforcement. Simon claimed, "I want an early trial date because I do want to move this to conclusion. There will be a trial on the merits."

The AP column pointed out that after hearing the judge's ruling on Thursday, Mayor Charlie Hales, who serves as police commissioner, stated he wasn't anticipating a delay in settling the federal justice complaint. The mayor said, "Summer? Really? Oy vey."

The AP editorial noted that Simon reached his decision after the city, federal prosecutors and police union admitted in June 2013 that they were unable to reach an agreement during mediation. Mediation did not run smoothly since the parties involved couldn't agree on reforms that should be made by the Portland law enforcement bureau to address a scornful federal investigation. The fifteen-month investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2012 revealed that Portland law enforcement had been involved in extreme force against individuals either suffering from or alleged to have a mental illness.

The AP article reported that a settlement agreement between the city and federal investigators, which was approved by the City Council on November 14, 2012, called for extensive changes to Portland law enforcement policies on the use of force, discipline, tasers, training, supervision and oversight. The agreement also required reorganizing Portland's law enforcement crisis intervention training and quicker internal investigations into apparent police misconduct.

The AP column stated that Simon doesn't believe he has judicial authority to instruct the city to implement reforms that may clash with Portland's law enforcement union's contract. However, Simon said he could make a judgment based on the merits of the U.S. Department of Justice's complaint. The judge can also determine if the city's authorities used extreme force against individuals who have mental illness. Simon expressed, "It seems we have to make a judicial determination whether there is or there's not liability."

Anil S. Karia, attorney for the Portland Police Association, told Oregon Live that the union is looking forward to trial and would request the right to intervene as a defendant, permitting the union to defend against the federal grievance that was filed.

The AP editorial disclosed that U.S. Department of Justice civil rights attorney Jonas Geissler, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian L. Brown, asserted that the federal government would object to the union being permitted to defend against the federal extreme force accusations against Portland. Brown said, "This is not a case against individual members of the police union. We've always seen this as a case against the city."

Karia told Oregon Live that if Simon finds Portland law enforcement liable for extreme force, he should have the authority to instruct the city to implement reforms, even if they disagree with the union's contract. Oral arguments on whether the union will be able to defend against the extreme force complaint have been set for December 3, 2013.

The AP column explained that Deputy City Attorney Ellen Osoinach asked Simon not to set a trial date because the city is currently involved in negotiations with the police union on a new contract. Osoinach stated that the new contract could settle some of the areas of disagreement. She also revealed that the negotiations could last for six months. When Simon asked Osoinach if the city would defend against the federal justice accusations of extreme force at trial, she answered, "It's too soon to tell."

According to the AP editorial, the federal prosecutor also asked Simon not to set a trial date. The attorney stated that federal justice officials did not know that the settlement agreement would be pending while the city of Portland and the union are discussing their contract.

The AP article quoted Brown when he acknowledged, "We continue to hold out hope that we'll get this resolved, without trial. We understand we can't wait forever."

The AP column also received comment from Jason Renaud, of the Mental Health Association of Portland, on Thursday. He was frustrated by how long it was taking to get a settlement implemented so reforms could be put in place. Renaud said, "Justice delayed is justice denied."