Both go to the same place. The circuit court is Oregon's trial court, and every county has one. This county has about 795,391 people (Census estimate, July 1, 2025). The 4th Judicial District covers it and no other county (ORS 3.012).

• Misdemeanors, like most DUII or theft charges, are filed in circuit court. Arraignments for people still in jail happen in courtroom JC4.
• Felonies are filed there too. Class A and B felonies are arraigned in courtroom JC3, and Class C felonies in JC4.
• City violations and some city crimes can go to a municipal court, such as Troutdale's.
• Federal crimes go to the federal court for the District of Oregon, Portland Division.

Charging decisions belong to the District Attorney. Call 971-274-0545 if you are not sure which courtroom has the case.

The circuit court uses four buildings. All counters are open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone lines run 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 4:00 p.m.

• Multnomah County Courthouse, 1200 SW 1st Ave, Portland, OR 97204. Trials, hearings and the District Attorney's main office. Criminal Operations: 971-274-0545.
• Justice Center courtrooms, 1120 SW Third Avenue, Floor 3, Portland, OR 97204, 971-274-0750. Arraignments, probation hearings and the Court Check-In window.
• East County Courthouse, 18480 SE Stark Street, Portland, OR 97233, 971-274-0700.
• Juvenile Justice Center, 1401 NE 68th Avenue, Portland, OR 97213, 971-274-0800. Youth cases and the juvenile court.

Other useful court lines: Records at 971-274-0570, Collections at 971-274-0560, and Oregon Relay at 711.

One city court here is confirmed. Troutdale Municipal Court has its office at 219 E. Historic Columbia River Highway, Troutdale, OR 97060, and holds court at 234 SW Kendall Ct, Troutdale, OR 97060. Call 503-674-7236. The office is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Court meets the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, with criminal arraignments at 1:30 p.m.

Fairview Municipal Court closed in May 2021. The city still handles tickets written before then at Fairview City Hall, 1300 NE Village Street, Fairview, OR 97024, 503-665-7929. Newer Fairview tickets go to Troutdale's court or to circuit court.

The small part of Lake Oswego inside this county may use Lake Oswego Municipal Court, 380 A Avenue, Lake Oswego, OR 97034, 503-635-0217.

For these places, ask the city or the circuit court where a ticket goes:

• Portland, Gresham, Maywood Park and Milwaukie: call circuit court Criminal Operations at 971-274-0545.
• Wood Village: City Hall, 24200 NE Halsey, Wood Village, OR 97060, 503-667-6211.

City courts are run by the cities, not the state, so the state's online case search leaves them out.

The first hearing is called an arraignment. For someone in jail, the limit is 36 hours, and only weekdays that aren't holidays count (ORS 135.010). Here it happens in the third-floor courtrooms at the Justice Center, 1120 SW Third Avenue, Floor 3, Portland, OR 97204.

1. The judge reads out each charge and takes a plea (ORS 135.020).
2. A defense lawyer assigned to the courtroom enters a not-guilty plea.
3. The judge makes a release decision. Recognizance and release assistance officers have often met the person already.
4. The clerk hands out the next court date before anyone leaves.

Family members may watch. Come 30 to 45 minutes early and tell the clerk at the Court Check-In window, up on the third floor, whose case you came for, so staff can point you to the right room. For hearing times, phone 971-274-0750.

Many misdemeanor cases start with a citation, a written order to come to court, instead of a night in jail (ORS 133.055). People who are out of custody are arraigned in courtroom JC1. A Rapid Resolution docket also meets there on Tuesdays at 1:00 p.m.

Each misdemeanor class has its own jail cap. The top level, Class A, can bring up to 364 days. Class B tops out at 6 months, and Class C at 30 days. A violation, like many traffic tickets, brings a fine and never jail.

Drug possession changed on September 1, 2024 (HB 4002). It is now a special drug misdemeanor; jail can reach 180 days. Prosecutors usually must offer probation with treatment, and the charge can be dismissed once the person finishes it. Some people are steered to treatment, called deflection, before any charge is filed.

DUII cases may qualify for the county's DUII Intensive Supervision Program, a treatment court. Ask the defense lawyer early.

A felony case has more steps than a misdemeanor. Here is the usual path:

1. Arraignment in the Justice Center. Class A and B felonies go to courtroom JC3 on weekdays at 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
2. Grand jury or preliminary hearing. The case moves forward by an indictment from a grand jury or by a judge finding probable cause. For someone held in jail, a preliminary hearing comes within five court days (ORS 135.070).
3. Pretrial hearings at the courthouse, where lawyers trade evidence and talk about plea offers.
4. Trial. A guilty verdict from a jury must be unanimous, a rule set by Ramos v. Louisiana in 2020.
5. Sentencing, guided by Oregon's grid of crime seriousness and past record.

Maximum prison terms depend on the class. Class A carries as much as 20 years, Class B as much as 10, and Class C as much as 5. The county also runs a Justice Reinvestment program called MCJRP. Ask the lawyer whether the case could qualify.

Measure 11, passed by voters in 1994, sets mandatory minimum prison terms for serious crimes against people. Those sentences get no cut for good behavior. A few examples: 25 years for murder, and 90 months for first-degree assault or first-degree robbery.

• Expect the person to be held until a judge rules on release.
• Treason, murder and aggravated murder cases can be held without release when the proof is evident (ORS 135.240).
• For other violent felonies, the DA may ask for a separate preventive detention hearing.
• The court's STEP program takes some Measure 11 cases, such as first-degree assault and robbery, with treatment and close watch.

Victims have a right to be heard at release and sentencing. No-contact rules are strict. A person jailed on a domestic violence, sex or bias charge may not reach the victim, even by asking a relative to call (ORS 135.247).

The prosecutor. Each Oregon county elects its own District Attorney (ORS 8.610). The main office is at 1200 SW 1st Avenue, Suite 5200, Portland, OR 97204, 503-988-3162, open weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A branch works inside the East County Courthouse, 18480 SE Stark Street, Gresham, OR 97233.

The defense. At arraignment, ask for a court-appointed lawyer. The money form is called an Affidavit of Eligibility, and it is turned in at the Court Check-In Window, Justice Center, 1120 SW Third Avenue, Floor 3, Portland, OR 97204. The window is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• A court screener checks the money form. There is usually a $20 fee, which a judge can waive; the court may also set a later payment.
• Appointed cases go to offices such as Metropolitan Public Defender, Multnomah Defenders Inc. and, for youth, Youth, Rights & Justice. The Oregon Public Defense Commission (OPDC) pays for this work.
• Oregon is short on public defenders. A federal order known as Betschart covers anyone held a full 7 days past the first hearing while still unrepresented; such a person generally goes free on conditions. The case goes on.

For private help, the Oregon State Bar's referral line is 503-684-3763.

Several free tools cover state cases here:

• OJD Records and Calendar Search: free, with no sign-up. Search by name for basic case facts and events. It shows no documents and no juvenile cases.
• County court calendars and live streams, from the circuit court's own site.
• The DA's daily Court Appearance List, posted by 5:00 p.m. each day.
• Text message hearing reminders from the state courts.
• OJCIN OnLine, a paid service that shows the official case record.

If a website is down, every courthouse has free public computers. Staff can also give case facts by phone, but not legal advice. Call Records at 971-274-0570.

Sheriff's deputies and city officers serve warrants here. The Sheriff's main line is 503-988-4300. To ask about a warrant, call the court at 971-274-0545, choose option 5, and give a case number or full name and birth date. A free, private warrant hotline run by Metropolitan Public Defender takes calls at 503-414-5453. Three official wanted pages cover Oregon: Oregon DOC Most Wanted, FBI Portland, and 15 Most Wanted from the Marshals. To clear it, the person and a lawyer can plan a surrender at the Justice Center jail, 1120 SW Third Avenue, Portland, OR 97204, or someone can phone the issuing court to ask for a new date. The court's main building is 1200 SW 1st Ave, Portland, OR 97204.

Federal charges here land in the District of Oregon's Portland Division. The clerk works from the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, 1000 SW Third Avenue, Suite 740, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-8000. The building is open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• The U.S. Attorney's Office handles the prosecution: 1000 SW Third Ave, Suite 600, Portland, OR 97204, 503-727-1000.
• A detention hearing under 18 U.S.C. 3142 decides home versus jail for the months before trial.
• Pretrial custody rests with the Marshals, whose district office is at 1000 SW 3rd Avenue, Room 401, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-2209. People may be held at a contract jail or at FCI Sheridan, 27072 Ballston Road, Sheridan, OR 97378, 503-843-4442.
• The Federal Public Defender, 101 SW Main, Suite 1700, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-2123, defends many people who can't pay.

After sentencing, the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator lists the federal prison holding them.

No, the state charges keep moving on their own track. This is how a detainer plays out:

1. Step one: ICE, the immigration agency, sends what it calls a detainer (Form I-247A).
2. The request covers a hold of up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. In Oregon, the sanctuary laws (ORS 181A.820-181A.829; HB 3265, 2021) stop local police and jails from acting on an immigration request without a judge's signature. In practice, Oregon jails generally won't extend anyone's stay because of an ICE detainer, and they keep release information away from immigration enforcement.
4. That law also blocks civil immigration arrests in a courthouse; only a judge-signed warrant or order allows one.
5. If ICE does take the person, look them up with the ICE Online Detainee Locator. The ICE office for this area is at 4310 S Macadam Ave, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97239, 503-326-4165.

Pleas carry immigration risks for people who are not citizens, so raise this with the defense lawyer before agreeing to any deal.

The first stop for anyone sentenced to the Oregon Department of Corrections is intake at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, 24499 SW Grahams Ferry Road, Wilsonville, OR 97070. Intake staff answer questions at 503-570-2259. The process lasts about 30 days. Men are then moved to a long-term prison, and women serve their time at Coffee Creek.

• Search by name on the Oregon Offender Search.
• The DOC main line is 503-945-9090.
• Our Oregon state prisons page has details on every prison in the system.

Probation is a different office. The county's Department of Community Justice supervises it from 421 SW 5th Ave., Portland, OR 97204, 503-988-3747.

Youth ages 12 to 17 go through juvenile court, not adult court. Hearings take place at the Juvenile Justice Center, 1401 NE 68th Avenue, Portland, OR 97213, 971-274-0800. The court's juvenile page explains the steps.

• A youth who must be held stays at the Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Center in the same complex, 1401 NE 68th Ave, Portland, OR 97213, 503-988-3460.
• The DA's Juvenile Unit works in Room 2100 of the Donald E. Long Building, 503-988-3472.
• Since SB 1008 (2019), Measure 11 charges against youth ages 15 to 17 start in juvenile court. Moving to adult court takes a waiver hearing and a judge's approval.
• The state's online search skips juvenile cases, so phone the court for dates.

Youth the judge commits to state care are placed with the Oregon Youth Authority.

Oregon's Constitution gives victims real rights (Or. Const. art. I §§ 42 and 43). Some rights apply without asking: victims can address the judge at a release hearing and at sentencing. Other rights, such as being told ahead of hearings or a release, start only once the victim requests them.

• The DA's Victims Assistance team helps with court dates and requests: 503-988-3222.
• The county's Victim and Survivor Services line is 503-988-7606.
• Sign up with VISOR for free alerts by phone, text or email if the person gets out, moves or escapes. Its 24-hour line is 855-691-6246.
• Crime Victims' Compensation from the Oregon Department of Justice can cover costs like medical bills, counseling and funerals: 800-503-7983.

Victims also have the right to get restitution from the person convicted and to refuse an interview with the defense.

Some cases can move to a treatment court. These courts mix close supervision, drug testing, treatment and regular check-ins with a judge. The circuit court here runs:

• START, the adult drug court
• DISP, the DUII Intensive Supervision Program
• Mental Health Court
• STEP, for certain Measure 11 cases
• Veterans Treatment Court

The defense lawyer decides with the client whether to ask for one. Learn more on the court's treatment courts page, or call Criminal Operations at 971-274-0545.