Oregon Courts
Oregon
has state trial and appellate courts, other local trial courts that are
not part of the state court system, federal courts, and tribal courts.
These pages contain information about state courts and a registry of other
local trial courts; they do not have information on federal or tribal
courts.
For general information on state
court administration, see the Office of the
State Court Administrator.
For information on state courts'
days and hours of operation, see the following links:
For Statistics and other reports on
the state of Oregon courts and their work, see Statistics
and Other Reports.
2008 Judicial
Elections Information
For information on candidates for judge positions in
state courts, see the 2008
Judicial Candidate Voting Guide on the Oregon State Bar's website. |
Supreme
Court
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the Oregon judicial
branch.The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon
Supreme Court is the United States Supreme Court.
The court has seven elected justices. They choose one of their own to
serve a six-year term as Chief Justice.
For a more detailed description of the Supreme Court, see An
Introduction to the Courts of Oregon.
Court
of Appeals
The Court of Appeals, created in 1969, is the first level
of appeal following trial. The court has jurisdiction to hear all civil
and
criminal appeals from circuit courts, except death penalty cases, and
to review most state administrative agency actions. The Chief Justice
of
the Supreme Court appoints the Chief Judge from among the ten judges
on the Court of Appeals.
For a more detailed description of the Court of Appeals, see An
Introduction to the Courts of Oregon.
Tax Court
The Tax Court is a special court that has exclusive, statewide
jurisdiction to hear only cases that involve Oregon's tax laws, including
income taxes, corporate excise taxes, property taxes, timber taxes, cigarette
taxes, local budget laws, and property tax limitations.
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State
Trial Courts
Oregon has two types of state trial courts:
- Circuit courts, which are "general
jurisdiction" courts, and
- The Oregon Tax Court, whose jurisdiction
is limited to cases involving taxes (both trials and appeals from administrative
proceedings).
For a more detailed description of the circuit courts, see An
Introduction to the Courts of Oregon.
Oregon also has administrative hearings officers in the executive branch
of government. They hear cases involving administrative agencies and their
rules, such as Division of Motor Vehicles and the Employment Department.
Appeals go to the state court system. Some agencies have their own hearings
officers. Others use the Office
of Administrative Hearings. Administrative hearings officers are not
part of the state court system.
Other Courts
Municipal, county, and justice courts are "local"
courts outside the state-funded court system. Their jurisdiction is limited
to violations, lesser crimes, and some other less serious cases. Although
the Oregon Judicial Department, which is the state court system, has no
administrative control over those local courts, state law requires the
State Court Administrator to establish a registry of municipal and justice
courts. Cities and counties must provide information about their courts
to the State Court Administrator.
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