This oral history interview with Thomas M. Coffin was conducted by Makaela Kroin in Coffin’s chambers at the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse in Portland, Oregon, from May 2, 2018, to November 1, 2019, as part of the United States District Court of Oregon Oral History Project. The interview was conducted in six sessions.

In this interview, Coffin discusses his family background and early life in St. Louis, Missouri. He talks about his college experiences at a Catholic seminary, at St. Benedict College in Atchinson, Kansas, and at Harvard Law School. He speaks at length about working as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. attorney’s office in San Diego, California, from 1971 to 1980, and at the U.S. attorney’s office in Eugene, Oregon, from 1980 to 1992. He then speaks at length about his service as a magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court of Oregon.