Judge Cynthia Kaufman Noble is an east coast native. She was born in Florida and grew up in Keene, New Hampshire; she received a Performing Arts BFA from Syracuse University in 1981. After moving to Oregon in 1986, she received her J.D. and Alternative Dispute Resolution Certificate from Willamette University College of Law, Salem, Oregon, in 1992. Since that time, she has lived in Yamhill County and served as a lawyer, mediator, Municipal Judge, and Tribal Court Chief Judge in what has been a varied and rewarding career of legal service dedicated to serving the greater Yamhill Community.
Before beginning her legal career as an attorney, she served as a Yamhill County Crime Victims Assistant volunteer. While in law school, clerked for Samuel Blair in civil law firm of Blair, Jensen, Pagel & Jones in Salem, Oregon. Living in the west valley, she came to know and love the people of Yamhill County; this led to a choice to stay in Oregon and serve the legal needs of the people living here.
Following graduation from Law School, she opened a civil law practice with a focus on Family, Employment, and Corporate Law. During that time, she also served as a volunteer Legal Aid attorney, with a wide variety of cases referred from the county’s domestic violence shelter, Henderson House. In 2003, she became a partner with the law firm of Fredrick, Finch & Noble, LLP, and in addition to civil litigation, served on the Indigent Defense Court Appointed Attorney list of criminal defense attorneys for Yamhill Circuit Court, and as a mental health (CCS) Treatment Court attorney. Additionally, Ms. Kaufman Noble served as the City Prosecutor for the City of McMinnville in McMinnville Municipal Court prosecuting traffic, violations, ordinance, and criminal cases, including appeals to Circuit Court from May of 2000 to December of 2013.
Cynthia Kaufman Noble reopened a sole law practice to focus on family law cases at the end of 2007, and in 2012, expanded her law practice to include representation of Oregon children and families involved in delinquency and dependency cases; she served as the first defense attorney for the Juvenile Drug Court team until her appointment. In 2014, Ms. Kaufman Noble and the Yamhill Circuit Court juvenile defense team of attorneys participated in a pilot project for the first Parent Child Representation Program that would become the model program for other juvenile courts in the State of Oregon. With a passion for helping families in crisis and recognizing the value of alternative dispute resolutions to settle family matters instead of high-conflict litigation, Ms. Kaufman Noble transitioned her family law practice to include collaborative and mediation services. In 2020, she transitioned the family law practice away from the litigation model for families in crisis to begin her work as a family law Mediator.
Judge Kaufman Noble became the first woman appointed to serve as the Municipal Court Judge for the City of McMinnville on January 8, 2014. In 2019, the Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, appointed Judge Kaufman Noble as the Chief Judge of the Tribal Court. Cynthia Kaufman Noble continued to serve as a Judicial Officer in both Tribal Court and Municipal Court, as a Family Law Mediator, and a Juvenile Defense attorney until her appointment to the Circuit Court Bench.
On February 7, 2022, Governor Kate Brown appointed Judge Cynthia Kaufman Noble to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge John L. Collins, with her term officially beginning in January 2023.
Civic & Community Activities include serving on the Tribal Court State Court Forum; Ensuring Racial Justice Committee; Oregon Municipal Judges Association, Board Member; Yamhill County Bar Association Board member & former Vice President; Juvenile Excellence Committee member; Juvenile Delinquency Improvement Committee member; Yamhill Justice Alliance Center Board member; Yamhill County Family Law Committee; School Attendance Improvement Court Committee; Classroom Law Project, coach & judge; Oregon Legal Aid Services referral attorney, Women’s Domestic Violence Shelter referral attorney, Yamhill County Peer Court volunteer referee; Yamhill County Law Library Committee; Yamhill County Commission on Children & Families, member Steering Committee, Community Progress Team Committee, Child Abuse Prevention Team, and Chair of Healthy Start Committee; Collective Community Outreach with community partners; coaching and choreography for local high school swing choir and music theatre performances; Crime Victim Assistant, 1988-1989.
When she is not in court, Judge Kaufman Noble enjoys a rich family life. She is married with three grown children, three grandchildren, and a number of family pets. She enjoys the beauty of Oregon and the challenge of raising Alaskan Malamutes.
Other:
Guest Speaker, Ensuring Racial Justice, Local Judge
Guest Speaker, Emancipation Day
Guest Speaker, Linfield Law Careers/ Law Day.
Guest Speaker, CART Academy, Courtroom Testimony for Police Officers
Cynthia Kaufman Noble was recognized as an Outstanding Community Partner, by Legal Aid Services of Oregon, 2006 and is a recipient of Commission on Children & Families Award of Excellence, 1998.