Title 1, Courts of Record; Court Officers; Juries

(1) The State Court Administrator shall establish a registry of municipal courts and justice courts of this state. The registry shall include all information required to be provided by counties and cities to the State Court Administrator under this section. (2) Upon creation of a…

(1) Once every two years, the League of Oregon Cities and the Association of Oregon Counties shall report to the Legislative Fiscal Officer information identified by the Legislative Fiscal Officer relating to the caseload, revenues and expenditures of municipal courts and justice…

The Supreme Court shall consist of seven judges.

(1) The judges of the Supreme Court shall be citizens of the United States, and shall have resided in this state at least three years next preceding their election or appointment. (2) All persons elected judges of the Supreme Court must, at time of their election, have been admit…

The positions of the members of the Supreme Court shall be designated by the numbers 1 to 7, following the designation made by section 1, chapter 241, Laws of Oregon 1929, and each incumbent shall be designated by the same position number as the judge whom the incumbent succeeds …

(1) The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall be a judge of the court selected by vote of a majority of the judges of the court. The judges of the court shall endeavor to select a judge who is well qualified to act as the administrative head of the judicial department of gover…

Subject to ORS 2.111, the presence of a majority of all the judges of the Supreme Court is necessary for the transaction of any business, except that less than a majority of the judges may meet and adjourn from day to day, or for the term, with the same effect as if all the judge…

(1) In hearing and determining causes, the Supreme Court may sit all together or in departments. (2) A department shall consist of not less than three nor more than five judges. For convenience of administration, each department may be numbered. The Chief Justice shall from time …

The Supreme Court shall have power to make and enforce all rules necessary for the prompt and orderly dispatch of the business of the court, and the remanding of causes to the court below.

The Supreme Court is empowered to prescribe and make rules governing the conduct in that court of all causes of original jurisdiction therein.

The judges of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals shall cause their decisions to be prepared, in such number and manner as they may determine, and delivered to the State Court Administrator. The administrator shall file a copy of each decision in the office of the administrato…

(1) The Supreme Court shall arrange for the publication and distribution of physical copies of reports of decisions of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals and the Oregon Tax Court determined to be of general public interest under ORS 305.450 and press summaries, rules and oth…

There is established in the General Fund an account to be known as the Court Publications Account. All moneys in the account are appropriated continuously to the Supreme Court for the purpose of paying expenses incurred by the court under ORS 2.150 and for the purpose of paying a…

As part of the judicial branch of state government, there is created a court of justice to be known as the Court of Appeals. [1969 c.198 §1; 1969 c.591 §262a; 1971 c.567 §1; 1971 c.734 §33; 1975 c.611 §22; 1977 c.158 §4]

Except where original jurisdiction is conferred on the Supreme Court by the Oregon Constitution or by statute and except as provided in ORS 19.405 and 138.255, the Court of Appeals shall have exclusive jurisdiction of all appeals. [1977 c.158 §2; 1981 c.550 §5]

Any party aggrieved by a decision of the Court of Appeals may petition the Supreme Court for review within 35 days after the date of the decision, in such manner as provided by rules of the Supreme Court. [1969 c.198 §2; 1973 c.516 §1; 1983 c.774 §2]

(1) The Court of Appeals shall consist of 13 judges. (2) A judge of the Court of Appeals shall be an elector of the county of the residence of the judge and be admitted to the practice of law in this state. (3) Each judge of the Court of Appeals shall hold office for a term of si…

(1) The Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals shall be a judge of the court appointed as provided in ORS 1.003. (2) The Chief Judge may designate another judge of the court to perform the functions of the office of Chief Judge when the Chief Judge is temporarily unable to perform t…

(1) The Court of Appeals shall sit primarily in Salem, but also may sit in other locations designated under ORS 1.085 (2). (2) The Court of Appeals may make and enforce all rules necessary for the prompt and orderly dispatch of the business of the court, and the remanding of caus…

(1) In hearing and determining causes, the judges of the Court of Appeals may sit together or in departments. (2)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, a department shall consist of three judges. For convenience of administration, each department may be numbe…

When a judge of the Court of Appeals holds court or performs any other official function away from the state capital, hotel bills and traveling expenses necessarily incurred by the judge in the performance of that duty shall be paid by the state. Such expenses are to be paid upon…

In any program established by the Oregon appellate courts to promote settlement of cases that have been filed with that court, persons assigned to a case through the program to assist and facilitate in working toward a settlement for the case are immune from civil liability for o…

(1) The judicial districts, the counties constituting the judicial districts and the number of circuit court judges for each judicial district are as follows: (a) The first judicial district consists of Jackson County and has 11 judges. (b) The second judicial district consists o…

For the purposes of 15 U.S.C. 1692i, the state shall be considered a single judicial district. [1997 c.340 §7]

(1) One of the judges of the fourth judicial district shall hold court in the City of Gresham, Multnomah County, as directed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court but in no event less than one day a week. All proceedings resulting from alleged state misdemeanor traffic offens…

In the sixth judicial district, the judges of the district shall hold court in Pendleton, Hermiston, Milton-Freewater and Heppner as required by caseload. [1995 c.658 §6c; 2005 c.800 §2]

Each circuit judge shall hold office for the term for which the circuit judge was elected; and at the general election or, if applicable, at the election specified in ORS 249.088 next prior to the expiration of the term of office there shall be elected a circuit judge to succeed …

(1) Each judge of the circuit court shall be a citizen of the United States and a resident of this state. (2) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section, each judge of the circuit court shall be a resident of or have principal office in the judicial district fo…

No person is eligible to the office of judge of the circuit court unless the person is a licensee of the Oregon State Bar. [Amended by 1961 c.724 §3; 2025 c.32 §65]

Each of the judges of the circuit court shall receive such salary as is provided by law. When any judicial district is composed of more than one county a judge thereof is entitled to reimbursement for hotel bills and traveling expenses necessarily incurred by the judge in the per…

Any judge of a circuit court in any judicial district may, in chambers, grant and sign defaults, judgments, interlocutory orders and provisional remedies, make findings and decide motions, demurrers and other like matters relating to any judicial business coming before the judge …

If two or more persons are sitting as judges of the circuit court in a judicial district: (1) Any two or more of them may act in joint session for the trial or determination of any cause, matter or proceeding before the court in the judicial district, including jury cases. If the…

(1) All judicial jurisdiction, authority, powers, functions and duties of the county courts and the judges thereof, except the jurisdiction, authority, powers, functions and duties exercisable in the transaction of county business, are transferred to the circuit courts and the ju…

In addition to other cases over which they have jurisdiction, circuit courts shall have the same criminal and quasi-criminal jurisdiction as justice courts and shall have concurrent jurisdiction with municipal courts of all violations of the charter and ordinances of any city who…

When an offense defined by municipal ordinance is tried in circuit court, it shall be subject to the same statutes and procedures that govern the trial and appeal of a like offense defined by a statute of this state. [Formerly 46.047]

(1) The circuit court for a county within the boundaries of which there is situated the largest part of a city having a population of more than 300,000 shall have all judicial jurisdiction, authority, powers, functions and duties of the municipal court of each such city and the j…

(1) Notwithstanding ORS 1.040, a judge of the Circuit Court for Marion County when hearing matters relating to writs of habeas corpus as provided in ORS 34.310 to 34.730 may direct that the court be held or continued at any location designated under ORS 1.085 and under such condi…

(1) A circuit court may make and enforce all rules necessary for the prompt and orderly dispatch of the business of the court and not inconsistent with applicable provisions of law, the Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure or rules made or orders issued by the Chief Justice of the Sup…

Subject to the approval of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, a circuit court, by rule under ORS 3.220, may establish specialized subject-matter departments of the court, and may modify or abolish departments so established. Any judge of the court may act in any department s…

As used in ORS 3.250 to 3.280, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) “Child” means a person under 18 years of age. (2) “Court services” includes but is not limited to services and facilities relating to intake screening, juvenile detention, shelter care, investigations, stud…

It is declared to be the policy and intent of the Legislative Assembly: (1) Notwithstanding concurrent jurisdiction, that family and family-related matters before the courts be concentrated in a single judicial jurisdiction, the circuit court. (2) The judges of the circuit court …

(1) The circuit courts and the judges thereof shall exercise all juvenile court jurisdiction, authority, powers, functions and duties. (2) Pursuant to ORS 3.275, in addition to any other jurisdiction vested in it by law, the circuit court shall exercise exclusive and original jud…

(1) Notwithstanding ORS 3.260, no transfer of jurisdiction required by ORS 3.260 (1) shall occur in the following counties until the county court approves such transfer either as of July 1, 1968, or thereafter: (a) Gilliam, Sherman, Wheeler, Harney or Morrow County. (b) Any count…

(1) All judicial jurisdiction, authority, powers and duties of the county courts and the judges thereof over matters described in ORS 3.260 (1), are transferred to the circuit courts and the judges thereof. (2) All judicial jurisdiction, authority, powers and duties of the county…

(1) After making a determination that conditions in the judicial district make it desirable to concentrate jurisdiction over all or part of family and family-related matters in the circuit court, the circuit court by its own order shall exercise jurisdiction over any or all of th…

(1) The circuit court may obtain court services by using services available without charge or, with the prior approval of the governing body of each county in the judicial district, by: (a) Employing or contracting for personnel or services; or (b) Contracting or entering into ag…

(1) Subject to the approval of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the presiding judge for a judicial district may establish, and may terminate, the use of a panel of reference judges for the trial and disposition of civil actions in the circuit court under ORS 3.300 to 3.321…

(1) At any time before trial of a civil action in a circuit court for which use of a panel of reference judges is established under ORS 3.300, the parties to the action may file with the presiding judge for the judicial district a written request for referral of the action to a r…

(1) Upon entry of an order of the presiding judge for a judicial district referring an action under ORS 3.305, the clerk of the court shall cause a copy of the order to be delivered to the reference judge. Upon receipt of the copy of the order, the reference judge shall set the a…

(1) Within 20 days after the close of all evidence offered in a trial on reference conducted under ORS 3.311, unless a later time is agreed upon by the parties, the reference judge shall mail to each party a copy of the proposed written report of the reference judge. The proposed…