She entered private legal practice in 1980 and remained there until 1982. She served in that capacity until January 31, 2016. In the decision, Aiken held that those provisions of the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act violate the
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. On October 7, 2015, Judge Aiken resentenced
Dwight L. Hammond and his son Steven D. Hammond to five years in prison with credit for
time served for federal
arson, the
mandatory minimum for that crime. The Hammonds had illegally set fires on their ranch which burned of federal land. U.S. District Judge
Michael R. Hogan had sentenced the Hammonds to 3 months and 1 year in prison respectively, but Judge Aiken ruled that the minimum sentences must be followed. Armed
militiamen led by
Ammon Bundy occupied the Malheur Wildlife Refuge near the Hammonds' ranch in protest of the ruling, demanding that the Hammonds be released and that the hundred-year-old wildlife refuge be given over to local control. The defendants in the case were granted a full Presidential pardon by President Donald J. Trump on July 10, 2018. Judge Aiken made a key decision in the case
Juliana v. United States, a suit brought by 21 youths against the U.S. government stating their rights to a clean environment were violated due to actions that the government had taken. While several similar suits at state and federal level had been dismissed, Judge Aiken instead was compelled by the argument that access to a clean environment was a fundamental right, allowing the case to proceed. This decision was reversed by the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which remanded the case with instructions to dismiss it. Nevertheless, on remand, Judge Aiken allowed Plaintiffs to amend their complaint and allowed the case to continue. Once back before the Court of Appeals on a petition for
writ of mandamus, the Ninth Circuit granted the petition and again instructed Judge Aiken "to dismiss the case forthwith." ==Personal==