Title 14, Procedure in Criminal Matters Generally

A grand jury is a body of seven persons drawn from the jurors in attendance upon the circuit court at a particular jury service term, having the qualifications prescribed by ORS 10.030 and sworn to inquire of crimes committed or triable within the county from which they are selec…

(1) Under the direction of the court, the clerk shall draw names at random from the names of jurors in attendance upon the court until the names of seven jurors are drawn and accepted by the court. The seven persons thus chosen shall constitute the grand jury. (2) When the court,…

Neither the grand jury panel nor any individual juror may be challenged. A judge of the court or clerk of court, as defined in ORS 10.010, may at any time after a juror is drawn and before the juror is sworn excuse the juror from jury service for any reason prescribed in ORS 10.0…

The court shall appoint a foreman and an alternate foreman of the grand jury from the persons chosen to constitute that body. The alternate foreman shall have the duties and powers of the foreman in the absence of the foreman. [Amended by 1973 c.836 §37]

(1) Before the members of the grand jury enter upon the discharge of their duties, the following oath must be administered to them by or under the direction of the court: ______________________________________________________________________________ You, as grand jurors for the C…

When the grand jury is formed, the court shall charge it and give it such information as the court deems proper concerning the nature of its powers and duties, or charges for crime returned to the court or likely to come before the grand jury.

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section and ORS 132.250 and 132.260, no person other than the district attorney or a witness actually under examination shall be present during the sittings of the grand jury. (2) Upon a motion filed by the district attorn…

The foreman of the grand jury or, in the absence of the foreman, any other grand juror shall administer an oath to any witness appearing before the grand jury. [Amended by 1973 c.836 §40]

After the formation of the grand jury and before it is discharged, the court may: (1) Discharge a grand juror who: (a) Becomes sick, is out of the county or fails to appear when the grand jury is summoned to reconvene; (b) Is related, by affinity or consanguinity within the third…

When the jury service term is completed the grand jury must be discharged by the court; but the judge may, by an order made either in open court or at chambers anywhere in the judicial district and entered of record, stating the reasons, continue the grand jury in session for suc…

A grand juror cannot be questioned for anything the grand juror says or any vote the grand juror gives, while acting as such, relative to any matter legally pending before the grand jury, except for a perjury or false swearing of which the grand juror may have been guilty in givi…

A member of a grand jury may be required by any court to disclose: (1) The testimony of a witness examined before the grand jury, for the purpose of ascertaining whether it is consistent with that given by the witness before the court. (2) The testimony given before such grand ju…

(1)(a) The district attorney of a county shall ensure that proceedings before the grand jury are recorded in the manner described in this section and ORS 132.260. (b) The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall designate the types of audio electronic recording devices suitable f…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the grand juror described in ORS 132.250 (2)(a), or the shorthand reporter described in ORS 132.250 (2)(b), who is recording grand jury proceedings shall record all testimony given before the grand jury, including: (a) The…

(1) Audio recordings and the notes or report of a shorthand reporter produced pursuant to ORS 132.250 and 132.260 are confidential and may not be released except as described in this section. (2) When an indictment resulting from grand jury proceedings is indorsed “a true bill,” …

The grand jury shall retire into a private room and may inquire into crimes committed or triable in the county and present them to the court, either by presentment or indictment, as provided in ORS 132.310 to 132.390. [Amended by 1973 c.836 §45]

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) to (13) of this section, in the investigation of a charge for the purpose of indictment, the grand jury shall receive no other evidence than such as might be given on the trial of the person charged with the crime in question. (2) A repor…

The district attorney may submit an indictment to the grand jury in any case when the district attorney has good reason to believe that a crime has been committed which is triable within the county. [Amended by 1973 c.836 §47]

The district attorney, when required by the grand jury, must prepare indictments or presentments for it and attend its sittings to advise it in relation to its duties or to examine witnesses in its presence.

(1) If a grand juror knows or has reason to believe that a crime which is triable in the county has been committed, the grand juror shall disclose the same to the fellow jurors, who may thereupon investigate the same. (2) An indictment or presentment must not be found upon the st…

A grand jury may indict or present facts to the court for instruction as provided in ORS 132.370, with the concurrence of five of its members, if at least five jurors voting for indictment or presentment heard all the testimony relating to the person indicted or facts presented. …

(1) When the grand jury is in doubt whether the facts, as shown by the evidence before it, constitute a crime in law or whether the same has ceased to be punishable by reason of lapse of time or a former acquittal or conviction, it may make a presentment of the facts to the court…

The grand jury may indict a person for a crime when it believes the person guilty thereof, whether such person has been held to answer for such crime or not. [Amended by 1973 c.836 §50]

The grand jury may find an indictment when all the evidence before it, taken together, is such as in its judgment would, if unexplained or uncontradicted, warrant a conviction by the trial jury. [Amended by 1973 c.836 §51]

An indictment, when found, shall be indorsed “a true bill,” and such indorsement signed by the foreman of the jury.

An indictment, when found and indorsed, as provided in ORS 132.400 and 132.580, shall be filed with the clerk of the court, in whose office it shall remain as a public record. Upon being designated by the district attorney as confidential and until after the arrest of a defendant…

No grand juror, reporter or other person except the district attorney or a peace officer in the exercise of duties in effecting an arrest shall disclose any fact concerning any indictment while it is not subject to public inspection. [Amended by 1973 c.836 §53]

(1) When a person has been held to answer a criminal charge and the indictment in relation thereto is not found “a true bill,” the indictment must be indorsed “not a true bill,” which indorsement must be signed by the foreman and filed with the clerk of the court, in whose office…

(1) At least once yearly, a grand jury shall inquire into the condition and management of every correctional facility and youth correction facility as defined in ORS 162.135 in the county. (2) The grand jury is entitled to free access at all reasonable times to such correctional …

The forms of pleading, and the rules by which the sufficiency of pleadings is to be determined, are those prescribed by the statutes relating to criminal procedure. [Amended by 1973 c.836 §56]

(1) The indictment is sufficient if it can be understood therefrom that: (a) The defendant is named, or if the name of the defendant cannot be discovered, that the defendant is described by a fictitious name, with the statement that the real name of the defendant is to the jury u…

The indictment shall contain substantially the following: (1) The name of the circuit court in which it is filed; (2) The title of the action; (3) A statement that the grand jury accuses the defendant or defendants of the designated offense or offenses; (4) A separate accusation …

(1) When a person is charged with a crime committed on or after November 1, 1989, that includes subcategories under the rules of the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission, the state is required to plead specially in the indictment, in addition to the elements of the crime, any subca…

(1) A charging instrument must charge but one offense, and in one form only, except that: (a) Where the offense may be committed by the use of different means, the charging instrument may allege the means in the alternative. (b) Two or more offenses may be charged in the same cha…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, when an indictment is found, the names of the witnesses examined before the grand jury that returned the indictment, either by testimony in the presence of the grand jury, by affidavit, by means of simultaneous television …

(1) As used in this section, “domestic violence” has the meaning given that term in ORS 135.230. (2) When a crime involves domestic violence, the accusatory instrument may plead, and the prosecution may prove at trial, domestic violence as an element of the crime. When a crime is…

Violation of ORS 132.420 or the prohibitions of ORS 132.410 is punishable as contempt. _______________