Profile

Karsten H. Rasmussen has been a judge with the Lane County Circuit Court since 1999 and Presiding Judge since 2012. Previously, Judge Rasmussen was the Court’s Civil Motions Judge, hearing hundreds of civil motions including dispositive motions for summary judgment and motions filed pursuant to ORCP 21. Currently Judge Rasmussen chairs the Chief Justice’s Work Group on Statewide Commercial Courts, as well as the Chief Justice’s Court Re-Engineering and Efficiencies Workgroup. He is a member of the statewide managing panel for the Oregon Complex Litigation Court and co-creator and member of the 2nd Judicial District Commercial Court. Judge Rasmussen has adjudicated complex commercial matters in; personal injury, medical malpractice, land use, Indian gaming, mold, business, employment, and construction cases. He has held over 750 formal mediations where parties reached a successful resolution, including multi-million dollar settlements in major neonatal medical malpractice claims, products liability cases, and personal injury claims. Prior to joining the Circuit Court, he practiced civil litigation for 16 years throughout Oregon. Judge Rasmussen graduated with a B.A. from the University of Oregon in 1978, Phi Beta Kappa, MA University of Chicago with honors 1980, and a J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1983.

http://courts.oregon.gov/Lane/AboutUs/pages/judgesbios.aspx