Usually not. Oregon's trial-level court in each county is the circuit court. Here it takes felonies and most misdemeanors alike, and it is the only court in the 25th Judicial District (ORS 3.012). Statewide there are 27 districts, holding 36 circuit courts in all.

• Felonies always stay in circuit court, from arraignment to sentencing.
• Misdemeanors also go to circuit court in most cases.
• City cases, such as traffic tickets, city code violations and some minor state crimes inside city limits, may go to a municipal court instead. Those courts belong to each city's government and sit outside the state court system.

The circuit court also runs two adult treatment courts. Court Coordinated Services serves adults with serious mental illness or a developmental disability. Adult Recovery Court works with people who have a drug or alcohol problem and meets every other week (503-435-3068). Ask the defense lawyer whether either one fits. For anything else, call the main line, 503-434-7530, or stop by the front counters, 535 NE 5th Street, McMinnville, OR 97128, during open hours.

All state court cases are heard in one building, 535 NE 5th Street, McMinnville, OR 97128, 503-434-7530.

• Building: weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Service counters: weekdays 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.
• Phones: answered weekdays 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m.
• Trial Court Clerk: Room 135, first floor. Security deposits are paid here.
• Arraignment orientation: Room 206.
• District Attorney: Room 117.

The court is closed on legal holidays. The calendaring staff take emailed questions about hearings at Yam.Calendaring@ojd.state.or.us. Some hearings happen by video. Joining steps are on the court's remote hearings page.

These city courts hear tickets and city code cases from inside their own limits:

• Newberg: 401 E. Third St., Newberg, OR 97132, 503-537-1203. The counter is open weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed 1 to 2 p.m. It also takes some minor criminal cases.
• Dundee: 620 SW 5th Street, Dundee, OR 97115, 503-538-3922. Court sits in the council chambers on the second Wednesday of the month at 5:30 p.m.
• Lafayette: 486 3rd Street, Lafayette, OR 97127, 503-864-2451. Hearings fall on each month's first Wednesday, 3 p.m.
• Amity: 109 Maddox Avenue, Amity, OR 97101, 503-835-3711. Court meets once a month at 1:30 p.m.
• Carlton: 191 E. Main Street, Carlton, OR 97111, 503-852-7575. Court meets once a month at 3 p.m.
• Willamina: 411 NE C St., Willamina, OR 97396, 503-876-2242.
• Yamhill: 205 S. Maple Street, Yamhill, OR 97148, 503-662-3511. Court meets the first Thursday of the month. The clerk works Monday to Thursday.

For other towns, call city hall to ask where city cases go: Dayton, 408 Ferry St, Dayton, OR 97114, 503-864-2221; Sheridan, 120 SW Mill Street, Sheridan, OR 97378, 503-843-2347; Gaston, 116 Front St, Gaston, OR 97119, 503-985-3340. For a McMinnville city case, ask the circuit court at 503-434-7530. Records for a city court case come from that city's court clerk.

This first hearing is the arraignment. Its timing depends on where the person is:

• In jail: arraignments run every business day at 1:30 p.m. by video from the jail. The law requires this within 36 hours of custody, not counting weekends and holidays (ORS 135.010).
• Out of jail: arraignments are Tuesday and Friday at 1:30 p.m. People first go to an orientation in Room 206, where they hear the charges and can apply for a lawyer.

The judge goes over each charge and asks how the person pleads (ORS 135.020). The person may have a lawyer before answering (ORS 135.040), and the judge appoints one if they qualify. The judge also makes the release decision. In a felony case held in custody, a preliminary hearing on the evidence must come within five judicial days unless a grand jury acts first (ORS 135.070). Personal court appearance is required. Missing it can bring a warrant.

Court staff answer at 503-434-7530. In person, find them on the first floor, 535 NE 5th Street, McMinnville, OR 97128.

Most misdemeanors start with a citation or an arrest, then an arraignment. From there the case is settled by a plea deal, dismissed, or set for trial. A person who pleads must fill out a Uniform Plea Petition first, except in DUII cases.

Oregon's misdemeanor levels and the most jail each allows:

• Class A (for example, many theft and DUII cases): up to 364 days.
• Class B: as long as 6 months.
• Class C: up to 30 days.
• Violations: a fine, never jail.

Since September 1, 2024 (HB 4002), holding drugs for personal use is again a crime. It counts as a drug enforcement misdemeanor that can bring as much as 180 days in jail. The usual path is treatment and probation instead. Prosecutors must offer a 12-month deal called conditional discharge in most cases, Completing it gets the case thrown out. Adult Recovery Court, at 503-435-3068, is the local program for people with a substance problem.

A person cited but not jailed must show up when the citation says, usually within 30 days (ORS 133.060). For a misdemeanor, a lawyer may appear for them (ORS 135.030).

Most felony cases pass through six stages:

1. Arraignment on a complaint, with release decided and a lawyer appointed.
2. Grand jury or preliminary hearing. To keep going, the state needs either a grand jury indictment or a judge's ruling at a hearing that there is probable cause (ORS 135.175, 135.185).
3. Arraignment on the indictment, where a plea is entered.
4. Discovery and talks. Both sides trade evidence and often work out a plea offer.
5. Trial. Since Ramos v. Louisiana (2020), a jury must vote guilty all together, with no split verdicts.
6. Sentencing. Judges use a state grid that weighs the crime's rank against past convictions.

Felony classes set the ceiling on prison time. Class C allows up to 5 years. Class B allows up to 10. Class A allows up to 20. Many felony sentences end with probation or post-prison supervision through Community Justice's adult office at 615 NE 6th St., McMinnville, OR 97128, 503-434-7513.

Oregon voters approved Measure 11 in 1994. It locks in a minimum prison term for many serious person crimes, and good behavior does not shorten it. A 2012 brief from the Legislature gives these examples:

• Murder carries a floor of 25 years.
• First-degree manslaughter carries 10 years.
• First-degree assault and first-degree robbery each carry 90 months (seven and a half years).

Violent charges also change release. Murder can mean no release when the proof is evident, and a judge can hold someone charged with a violent felony after a danger hearing (ORS 135.240). When the case is about a sex crime, a bias crime or family violence, jail rules bar any contact with the victim, and that includes passing word through relatives (ORS 135.247). Families should never carry messages.

Victims also have a constitutional right to be consulted on plea deals in violent felony cases. A deputy district attorney handles each one. That office answers at 503-434-7539, and its staff work out of 535 NE 5th Street, McMinnville, OR 97128.

The voters of each Oregon county elect a District Attorney, who brings state criminal cases (ORS 8.610). This one works from the courthouse:

• District Attorney's Office: 535 NE 5th Street, Room 117, McMinnville, OR 97128, 503-434-7539. Open weekdays 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m.

Defense lawyers for people with little money are funded by the Oregon Public Defense Commission (OPDC). The process runs like this:

• At arraignment, the person completes a sworn money form, the Application for Appointment of Counsel.
• Staff check the form, and the judge names a lawyer if the person qualifies.
• A $20 fee usually applies, but it can be waived. A judge may set a contribution toward the cost.
• No one goes without a lawyer only because they can't pay.

Public defenders are in short supply across Oregon. Because of a federal ruling (Betschart), a person in custody who passes seven days after the first appearance with no lawyer usually must be let out on conditions. The charges are not dropped. For the name of the assigned lawyer, call the court at 503-434-7530.

Yes, for circuit court cases. Try these:

• The OJD Records and Calendar Search. You pay nothing, and no account is required. Type a name to see the basic facts, the parties, past events and outcomes. Court papers themselves can't be opened there.
• Circuit court calendars: upcoming hearings by date.
• OJCIN OnLine, for a small subscription fee, adds judgment dockets and the official register.
• Free public computers in the lobby of 535 NE 5th Street, McMinnville, OR 97128, let you search too.

Youth cases stay private and are left out. City court files sit with each city, so phone that court. The online tools sometimes go down for upkeep. If they do, staff at 503-434-7530 can read you case details over the phone. They cannot give legal advice.

Deputies, along with each town's own officers, carry out arrest warrants here. For a question about one, call the Sheriff's Office, Room 143, 535 NE 5th Street, McMinnville, OR 97128, at 503-434-7506 and ask for Records. You can also search the name on OJD's free case portal or ask the court clerk at 503-434-7530. Wanted lists kept by the state and federal government include FBI Portland, Oregon DOC Most Wanted and the Marshals' top 15. First, phone a defense lawyer. Together you can go in and surrender to the judge's court that signed the order, or the lawyer can request a fresh date. The circuit court clerk works from Room 135, 535 NE 5th Street, McMinnville, OR 97128.

Federal prosecutions from here belong to the Portland Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. Its clerk's office is inside Portland's Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, 1000 Southwest Third Avenue, Suite 740, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-8000. The building is open weekdays 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Prosecutor: U.S. Attorney's Office, 1000 SW Third Ave, Suite 600, Portland, OR 97204, 503-727-1000.
• Release: a federal judge decides, often at a detention hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142). U.S. Pretrial Services, 1000 Southwest Third Avenue, Suite 440, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-8500, writes a report first.
• Jail before trial: the U.S. Marshals Service, 1000 Southwest 3rd Avenue, Room 401, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-2209, keeps federal defendants in custody until trial.
• After sentencing: find the person through the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator. FCI Sheridan, a medium-security federal prison, sits inside this county at 27072 Ballston Road, Sheridan, OR 97378, 503-843-4442.

No. The Oregon charges move ahead either way. Here is the federal process and the state limits on it:

1. ICE can lodge a detainer with a jail on Form I-247A.
2. Federal rules say that form asks for a hold of up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Oregon's sanctuary laws (ORS 181A.820-181A.829; HB 3265, 2021) tell state and local officers not to act on immigration papers that a judge did not sign. That means a jail here generally won't keep someone past release just because ICE asked, and it generally won't tell ICE when the person gets out.
4. State law also protects people coming to court. Agents may not make a civil immigration arrest in an Oregon court building without a warrant or order that a judge has signed.
5. Look for someone already in ICE custody with the ICE Online Detainee Locator. ICE's Portland office is at 4310 S Macadam Ave, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97239, 503-326-4165.

Before pleading guilty, a non-citizen needs advice from the defense lawyer on what that plea could mean for their immigration case.

Anyone sent to the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) first spends roughly a month being assessed. That happens at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, 24499 SW Grahams Ferry Road, Wilsonville, OR 97070. Men then move to a long-term prison. Women remain at Coffee Creek, which houses all women in state prison. People in intake can get phone calls and letters but no personal visits.

• Search the Oregon Offender Search.
• Call DOC at 503-945-9090.
• Browse our Oregon state prisons page for facts on every prison.

When someone on supervision breaks the rules, a short jail sanction may be served back at YCCF. After release, supervision goes through Community Justice (adult services), 615 NE 6th St., McMinnville, OR 97128, 503-434-7513, a separate office from the jail.

Youth cases follow their own track in the circuit court's juvenile side. Its juvenile department serves kids from 12 through 17. Options include diversion, a formal accountability agreement or probation.

• Detained youth stay at the Youth Services Center, with 24 beds, sharing the 535 NE 5th Street, McMinnville, OR 97128 campus, 503-434-7407. Youths never go to the adult jail.
• Juvenile Recovery Court, for youth ages 14 to 17 with drug or alcohol problems, meets weekly. Call 503-435-3068.
• Since SB 1008 (2019), teens ages 15 to 17 face adult court for a Measure 11 crime only after a waiver hearing.
• The Oregon Youth Authority runs the state's youth correctional facilities.
• Youth case files stay private and off the public case search.

Oregon's Constitution gives victims real rights (Or. Const. art. I § 42; Or. Const. art. I § 43). A few apply automatically, such as having a voice at sentencing or at a hearing on release. Others work only on request, such as being told ahead of important hearings or hearing when the accused gets out.

• Victim advocate: prosecutors here pair each victim with an advocate. The DA's office line is 503-434-7539. Visitors find it on the courthouse's first floor, 535 NE 5th Street, Room 117, McMinnville, OR 97128.
• Release alerts: register with VISOR, Oregon's free notice service, at 855-691-6246. You can stay anonymous.
• Money help: Crime Victims' Compensation through the Oregon Department of Justice covers costs after a violent crime, among them therapy, doctor bills, burial and missed paychecks. Call 800-503-7983.
• Restitution: victims have the right to prompt repayment from the person convicted.