Local

Judicial Districts

1. Jackson
2. Lane
3. Marion
4. Multnomah
5. Clackamas
6. Umatilla
7. Sherman/Wasco/Hood River/Grant/Wheeler
8. Baker
9. Malheur
10. Union and Wallowa
11. Deschutes
12. Polk
13. Klamath
14. Josephine
15. Coos/Curry
16. Douglas
17. Lincoln
18. Clatsop
19. Columbia
20. Washington
21. Benton
22. Crook/Jefferson
23. Linn
24. Harney/Grant
25. Yamhill
26. Lake
27. Tillamook

Local Page Template

Welcome to ______ County

[Write a few introductory sentences about your county —e.g., Welcome to Lane County, where the courthouse is not a patchouli-free zone.  Feel free to include a photo.]

Circuit Court                                                                         Municipal and Justice Courts

Address                                                           (link to muni and justice courts in your county.)

Helpful phone number

• (e.g., the criminal clerk who knows All of the Answers)

Link to Local Rules

Jail Information

• Address(es)
• Phone numbers
• Inmate information:  link to county’s inmate locator page.
• Attorney Visiting Hours
• How to Call an Inmate
• Do you need an appointment, and how do you get one?
• What You Should Know:  No bags/purses/cell phones, etc.

 Bail/Release

• Pretrial Services
  • Contact info
  • If there is no pretrial services office, how does the court set/modify/enforce release?
  • Bail Hearings:
    • How to schedule.
    • When held
    • Other local tips

Arraignments

• In Custody
  • where
  • when
  • Out of Custody:
    • where
    • when

Recalling/Surrendering On Warrants

• Describe the process for getting a warrant recalled.
• Will you client have to go to jail.
• Is there a best time to surrender.

Special Court Programs

• Drug Court
  • When does drug court meet
  • Who is the coordinator
  • Eligibility requirements
  • How do you get your client in?
  • Mental Health Court
  • Any other special diversion/deferred prosecution, etc. courts.

Call

This section is to describe all settings between arraignment and trial.  Describe the next appearance after arraignment; how far out is it set; what happens at the next setting until you get to trial.

Omnibus Hearings

• How to get one.
• Who will be your judge
• Do the DA’s in your counties file responsive pleadings?  Do they file them the day of or the day before the hearings?

Complex/Notorious Cases

In this section describe how big, complex, or notorious cases are handled in your county.  Can you be assigned to a judge for all purposes early in the process?  How does the courthouse handle the press?

Binding Judges

What is the process of binding a judge to a particular disposition?

Trial

• Settings: when do you get your first trial date?
• Set overs
  • Do you need a written motion to continue;
  • How backed up is the trial docket in your county—in other words, if you are set for trial, are you really going to go?
  • Trial Call
    • When do you learn the identity of your trial judge?
    • When do you file your motions in limine?
    • Process for challenging judges

Sentencing

• When
• Where
• In front of the same judge who took the change of plea?

Judges

The purpose of this section is to provide counsel with the nuts and bolts about how each judge runs his or her courtroom.  For each judge, link to the Judge’s official biography and include any information about how that judge runs his or her courtroom.   For example, how does the judge conduct voir dire?  Does he or she require that you sit when examining witnesses?  Things you wish you knew before you tried your first case in front of that judge.  Also, provide the name and phone number for the judge’s JA, and whether it is acceptable in your county for counsel to call the JA.

The purpose of this section is not to write negative or snarky comments about judges.  We presume that everything said about a judge on this site will somehow get back to him or her.  It is a violation of the ethical rules to talk trash about a judge. See ORPC 8.2(a).