Oregon gives each of its counties a circuit court, which is the general trial court. Statewide, those 36 courts are organized into 27 districts under ORS 3.012. Here the circuit court belongs to District 7, together with Gilliam, Hood River, Sherman and Wheeler counties, so a judge may ride between them.

• Felonies are the gravest charges and can mean state prison. The circuit court alone tries them.
• Misdemeanors top out below a year of jail. The circuit court takes most of them, though some city arrests stay in the city's municipal court.
• Violations, including plenty of traffic tickets, bring a fine and no jail.

City and justice courts answer to their city or county government, not to the Oregon Judicial Department. OJD's online search covers only state courts, so phone a city or justice court directly.

The circuit court sits inside the county courthouse, 511 Washington Street, The Dalles, OR 97058. The Sheriff's Office and the District Attorney work in the same building. Before you head over:

• Phone: 541-506-2700 is the one number the court lists.
• Counter hours: 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 4:30 p.m., weekdays. It shuts for lunch.
• Where inside: climb to the third floor. Citations get paid at Suite 301.
• Mailing address: Wasco County Circuit Court, 511 Washington Street, Suite 305, The Dalles, OR 97058.
• Court programs: a Violations Bureau, DUII Diversion, juvenile court, plus three District 7 treatment courts for recovery, families and mental health.

Public terminals in the building let anyone pull up open court records at no cost. By phone, staff will share case facts, but they won't tell you what to do legally.

It does. The Dalles Municipal Court meets in City Hall, 313 Court Street, The Dalles, OR 97058. Go upstairs and turn right. The clerk answers at 541-296-5481, and the court's email is trafficcourt@thedalles.gov.

• Its docket covers violations and misdemeanors from within city limits.
• Hearings are on the first and third Mondays, starting at 8:30 a.m.
• Fines may be paid online, by mail or phone, in person, or through a drop box.
• An appeal uses state court forms.

Antelope, Dufur, Maupin, Mosier and Shaniko are the other incorporated towns. For a case that began in one of them, the circuit court at 541-506-2700 can tell you where it is filed.

Arraignment is the legal name for the first court date. A jailed defendant gets one within 36 hours of custody, and weekend days and holidays do not use up that time (ORS 135.010). Anyone already out must be arraigned inside 96 hours of arrest. NORCOR often connects people to the courtroom by video.

• The charging paper is read, then the person is asked how they plead (ORS 135.020).
• Felony defendants must attend in person, while a misdemeanor defendant can send a lawyer instead (ORS 135.030).
• Counsel is a right before any plea (ORS 135.040). Someone who wants an appointed lawyer should say so now.
• Release is settled right there, or set for its own hearing inside the next 48 hours (ORS 135.245).
• Felony defendants learn they may ask for a preliminary hearing. If they are jailed, it must come within five judicial days (ORS 135.070).

Plenty of misdemeanor cases begin with a ticket from the officer, called a criminal citation, rather than a booking (ORS 133.055). The citation names a court date, generally inside 30 days. Missing it lets the judge sign a warrant (ORS 133.060).

Misdemeanors also come in three classes. For Class A, jail can last up to 364 days. The cap drops to 6 months for Class B and to 30 days for Class C.

A few charges get special handling. Some DUII charges may qualify for the court's DUII Diversion program. Since September 1, 2024, under HB 4002, possessing drugs for personal use turned back into a crime, an unclassified drug enforcement misdemeanor. Jail can reach 180 days. Far more often, though, the person gets a 12-month probation with treatment, and the charge is dismissed once it is done. Prosecutors have to offer that option unless a judge agrees it would not serve the public.

From the arraignment, a misdemeanor heads toward a plea deal or a trial, then sentencing if there is a conviction. A jury must be unanimous to convict.

Two gates lead to felony trial: an indictment handed up by a grand jury, or a judge's ruling after a preliminary hearing. In the hearing, prosecutors must show probable cause, which means solid grounds to think a crime took place and this person committed it. If they fall short, the judge drops that charge (ORS 135.175, 135.185).

Felonies come in three classes. Prison for a Class A felony can run up to 20 years. The limit is 10 years on a Class B charge and 5 on a Class C.

Most sentences come off a grid. Crime seriousness runs down one edge and criminal history across the top. Shaded boxes point to prison, the rest usually to probation. Juries must be unanimous. That rule comes from Ramos v. Louisiana, a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case, and Oregon's high court has since applied it to old convictions as well.

Oregon voters approved Measure 11 in 1994. For a list of grave person crimes, it fixes a floor on prison time, and good conduct behind bars earns no early exit. A state legislative brief gives these minimums as examples:

• Murder: 300 months, which is 25 years
• First-degree manslaughter: 120 months
• First-degree assault, and first-degree robbery: 90 months each

Getting out before trial is tougher on these charges. Under the statewide guidelines, a Measure 11 charge, any Class A felony, a sex crime or a domestic violence case keeps the person jailed until a judge rules. A violent felony allows a judge to refuse release after a hearing that finds the person a risk to others (ORS 135.240). In a household violence, sex or bias crime case, the person must not reach the victim in any way, and that covers messages carried by relatives (ORS 135.247).

Prosecution. Oregon voters in each county choose their own District Attorney (ORS 8.610). Locally that is the Wasco County District Attorney's Office, 511 Washington Street, Suite 304, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-506-2680. Staff keep weekday hours from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with a lunch break. The front door is locked, so phone first.

Defense. The Oregon Public Defense Commission pays for lawyers for people who cannot hire one. Here is the process:

1. Request a lawyer from the judge at the arraignment.
2. Answer the income and asset form, which court staff then check.
3. Expect a $20 application charge, which a judge may excuse. A contribution can be ordered down the road.

Lawyers are scarce statewide. Under the federal Betschart order, a defendant kept in jail a full week past the first appearance without an assigned lawyer usually must be released under conditions. The charges stay open. The circuit court clerk at 541-506-2700 fields questions about appointed counsel.

Oregon's courts offer a free tool, OJD Records and Calendar Search, and nobody has to register. Type a first and last name to see case basics, docket entries and outcomes. Filed papers are left off, and juvenile matters are sealed from view.

• Upcoming hearings: Circuit court calendars
• Texts before each hearing: OJD text reminders
• The official register of actions: OJCIN OnLine, a low-cost subscription

When the website is down, the courthouse terminals at 511 Washington Street, The Dalles, OR 97058 still work, and so does the clerk's line, 541-506-2700. For a city case, phone The Dalles Municipal Court, 313 Court Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-296-5481.

Across the county, Sheriff's deputies at 511 Washington Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-506-2580, serve warrants. Inside city limits, The Dalles Police, 401 Court Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-296-2233, handle them. State and federal fugitive pages: the Oregon DOC escapee list, the Marshals' top 15 fugitives and FBI Portland's field office. Open cases appear on OJD's case search. NORCOR checks warrants face to face at its lobby, 201 Webber Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, on weekdays. To clear one, meet a lawyer, then turn yourself in or call the issuing court to reset the date. Circuit court clerk: 511 Washington Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-506-2700.

A federal case from this area belongs to the Portland Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. Clerks answer questions from Suite 740, Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, 1000 SW Third Avenue, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-8000.

1. The U.S. Attorney's Office for Oregon prosecutes, from 1000 SW Third Avenue, Suite 600, Portland, OR 97204, 503-727-1000.
2. A detention hearing before a federal judge comes near the start (18 U.S.C. 3142). Officers from U.S. Pretrial Services, 1000 SW Third Avenue, Suite 440, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-8500, prepare a background report first.
3. Federal deputies decide where a defendant sleeps before trial. They belong to the U.S. Marshals Service, reachable at 1000 SW 3rd Avenue, Room 401, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-2209. Some stay at FCI Sheridan, 27072 Ballston Road, Sheridan, OR 97378, 503-843-4442. Others stay in a local jail that holds people for the Marshals.
4. For those unable to pay, the Federal Public Defender takes the case: 101 SW Main, Suite 1700, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-2123.
5. Once sentenced, a person can be traced through the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

A detainer from immigration runs alongside the criminal charges. The state case keeps going. Here is the federal side:

1. First, ICE delivers an I-247A detainer to NORCOR.
2. The I-247A requests a hold of up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. ICE officers collect the person. Oregon cases report up to the ICE Seattle Field Office, 12500 Tukwila International Boulevard, Seattle, WA 98168, 206-277-2000, and this county under its Portland office, 4310 S Macadam Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97239, 503-326-4165.
4. Look the person up in the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

Oregon's sanctuary statutes (ORS 181A.820 to 181A.829, expanded by HB 3265 in 2021) tell officers and jails to refuse immigration requests that no judge signed. So an ICE detainer by itself is usually not a reason for an Oregon jail to hold a person, and jails keep release timing from immigration agents. Courthouses get extra protection too, since a civil immigration arrest inside one requires an order or warrant from a judge. Before any plea, the defense lawyer can explain what it might mean for immigration status.

Anyone sentenced to state prison goes into the custody of the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC). Both men and women report first to Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, 24499 SW Grahams Ferry Road, Wilsonville, OR 97070, for about 30 days of intake. Afterward, women stay, and men transfer to their assigned prison. Visits wait until intake ends, though calls and letters are fine before then.

• Search DOC records through the Oregon Offender Search.
• Reach DOC's general line at 503-945-9090.
• Our Oregon prisons guide describes each state facility.

Probation and parole officers here work out of the community corrections office, Annex B, 421 East 7th Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-506-2570. They are not part of NORCOR.

The Warm Springs Reservation's service area takes in this county and Jefferson County. Public Law 280 hands most crimes on Oregon tribal land to state and county courts, but Warm Springs was left out of that law. So a case involving a tribal member there may be heard by the tribal court or a federal court rather than the circuit court.

• Warm Springs Tribal Court, 2126 Warm Springs Street, Warm Springs, OR 97761, 541-553-3278. Mail: PO Box 850, Warm Springs, OR 97761. Open weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Warm Springs Tribal Police, 2144 Kota Street, Warm Springs, OR 97761, 541-553-3272.

Unsure where the case landed? Call the tribal court first.

Cases against minors are heard in juvenile court, which is part of the circuit court. Youth Services, 202 E 5th Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-506-2660, is the local juvenile department for ages 12 through 17. It screens new referrals, decides how each case goes, and watches over youth placed on probation.

• Detained teens are kept at NORCOR's juvenile detention unit, 211 Webber Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-298-1447, apart from adults.
• SB 1008 (2019) changed the rules for teens aged 15 to 17. A Measure 11 charge now starts in juvenile court. Shifting it to adult court requires a waiver hearing first.
• Longer youth commitments go to the Oregon Youth Authority, 530 Center Street NE, Salem, OR 97301, 503-373-7205, which runs the state's youth correctional facilities.
• Juvenile files stay confidential. Ask Youth Services or the teen's lawyer for updates.

Victims hold rights under the Oregon Constitution (Or. Const. art. I, §§ 42 and 43). Some rights work without asking, for example having a say when release terms or a sentence are decided. Advance word of key hearings, by contrast, must be requested. The Constitution also promises reasonable protection from the accused.

• DA Victim Services: main floor of the courthouse, 511 Washington Street, Suite 206, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-506-2685. Calls or texts also reach 541-993-4191.
• Custody alerts: VISOR sends free notices when someone in a jail or prison is released or moved. Sign up online or call 855-691-6246 day or night.
• Help with costs: Crime Victims' Compensation, part of the Oregon Department of Justice, 1162 Court Street NE, Salem, OR 97301, 800-503-7983, can cover some bills after a violent crime.
• Domestic violence: Haven runs a 24-hour crisis line at 541-298-4789. Alternative number: 800-429-4789.