This Portland Judge Has an Arm-Length Doctor Strange Tattoo Under His Robes

Bronson James’ geek credentials go below the surface.

By Aaron Mesh

Nervous about appearing before a judge? Try imagining he's got an arm-length Doctor Strange sleeve tattoo under his robes. That's the case for Multnomah County Circuit Judge Bronson James, appointed in February. "I'm a huge comic book nerd," he says of the Marvelous tat along his left arm. "I would like to say it's all one consistent comic artist, but it's not."

James' geek credentials go below the surface. In 2014, he wrote a legal brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing against warrantless searches of cell phones. (Among his assertions: 12 percent of Americans use their smartphones in the shower.) The Supremes agreed, ruling that police need a warrant to search your cell phone. James plans to make digital search and seizure law a specialty on the bench. "I remain very much engaged with it," he says. "I'm enjoying the fact that I'm no longer an advocate for just one side. We all have an interest in getting this right."

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