Jake Kamins is a Senior Assistant Attorney General and Animal Cruelty Resource Prosecutor at the Oregon Department of Justice. Jake started his legal career in 2009 at the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, where he first learned how complex and underfunded animal cruelty prosecution can be. In 2013, Jake left Multnomah County to become the nation’s first statewide animal cruelty prosecutor, working throughout Oregon from the Benton County District Attorney’s Office.
Since 2013, Jake has prosecuted hundreds of cases of animal cruelty, and has trained law enforcement, animal services, and animal rescue agencies throughout Oregon and the United States. Jake also teaches the “Crimes Against Animals” class at Lewis & Clark Law School.
In 2023, the Oregon legislature created the Animal Cruelty Resource Prosecutor position at Oregon DOJ, largely due to Jake’s advocacy.
In 2012, Jake was named one of the nation’s Top Ten Animal Defenders by the Animal Legal Defense Fund. In 2022, Jake received NACA’s Bill Lehman Memorial Award.
Jake lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Jackie, his children Mason and Molly, his cats Scarf and Sophie, a saltwater fish tank, and two guinea pigs.
Animal cruelty impacts the most vulnerable members of our society but the issue is often overlooked by law enforcement and prosecutors. I am proud to have helped make our state an exemplar in the fight against animal cruelty.