Oregon Courts

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http://www.doj.state.or.us/

As the chief lawyer for the State of Oregon, the Attorney General is committed to upholding the rule of law for all the people of our state through the different missions of the Department.  The goal of this website is to provide information that can help the Attorney General and Department serve you.

http://www.osbar.org/

The Oregon State Bar (OSB) was established in 1935 by the Oregon Legislative Assembly to license and discipline lawyers, regulate the practice of law, and provide a variety of services to bar members and the public. The bar is a public corporation and an instrumentality of the Oregon Judicial Department. It is funded entirely by membership and program fees, and does not receive any financial support in the form of taxpayer dollars from the state's general fund. Membership is mandatory for lawyers who wish to practice law in Oregon.

http://www.ojd.state.or.us/

These pages provide general information on all levels of courts in Oregon and specific information on Oregon's state judicial branch and state court administration.

http://www.ojd.state.or.us/courts/supreme/index.htm

The Oregon Supreme Court is the highest court in the Oregon judicial branch. The court has seven elected justices. They choose one of their own to serve a six-year term as Chief Justice. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the United States Supreme Court.

http://www.oregon.gov/OYA/jjsystem.shtml

The Oregon Youth Authority was established as an independent department on January 1, 1996, by Senate Bill 1, which was passed by the Oregon Legislature and signed by the Governor in 1995.

OYA provides a continuum of services to protect the public and reduce juvenile crime through programs and partnerships with local communities and counties.  Services emphasize decisive intervention in delinquent behavior, certain sanctions for crimes committed by youth, restitution to victims, and effective and innovative rehabilitation programs for youth offenders.

OYA's mission (see below) is accomplished through the provision of rehabilitation and treatment programming in a multi-tiered system of secure custody facilities.  In addition, the OYA provides community-based parole and probation services to youth committed to the OYA for out-of-home placements.

OYA exercises legal and physical custody over youth offenders between the ages of 12 and 18 who have been committed to the OYA by county juvenile courts.  Juvenile court-committed youth offenders may remain in OYA's legal and physical custody up to age 25.  Juveniles, ages 15, 16 or 17, who commit crimes for which they have been waived to and convicted in adult court or for which the State's mandatory minimum sentences (Measure 11) apply, are in the legal custody of the Oregon Department of Corrections (adult corrections), but can be placed in the physical custody of the OYA up to age 25.

http://www.oregon.gov/OYA/docs/jjsystem.pdf

Diagram of Oregon's Juvenile Justice System

http://www.co.multnomah.or.us/da/index.php

Official Website of the Multnomah County DA

http://www.ojd.state.or.us/mul/index.html

Official Website of the Multnomah County Circuit Court

http://www.co.clackamas.or.us/da/

Official Website of the Clackamas County DA

http://www.ojd.state.or.us/courts/circuit/clackamas.htm

Official Website of the Clackamas County Circuit Court

http://da.co.marion.or.us/

Official Website of the Marion County DA

http://www.ojd.state.or.us/mar/

Official Website of the Marion County Circuit Court

http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/news/staff/features/04fdrugcourt.shtml

Drug courts offer non-violent drug offenders a chance to clear their record by completing a course of treatment.  The program is overseen by the judge, and involves a rigorous schedule of random urinalyses (UAs), court appearances, and group and one-on-one counseling sessions.

"The drug court model illustrates how law enforcement, treatment and prevention can come together," says Karen Wheeler, alcohol and drug policy manager for the DHS Office of Mental Health and Addiction Services. "It's a collaborative justice model where people from treatment, law enforcement and child welfare come together."

The counselors and court closely supervise each case, and mete out rewards and sanctions immediately. Participants are given many chances to bounce back from relapses, as long as they're honest about their slip-ups and remain committed to participation.

http://www.ncjrs.gov/html/bja/honestchance/

You can read a report on an extensive, federally funded "focus group" study of participants in drug courts nationwide, including Portland's, at this site.

What began in Miami, Florida, when the first treatment drug court was established in summer 1989 is by now recognized as a movement involving potentially more than 600 courts in the United States and elsewhere. The growth of that movement in less than a decade from the first Miami court to a handful of pioneering courts in Oakland (California), Portland (Oregon), Las Vegas (Nevada), Fort Lauderdale (Florida), and Kalamazoo (Michigan), and then to a whole generation of drug court initiatives, represents one of the more rapid and dramatic changes in American criminal justice in recent memory.

Drug court participants undergo long-term treatment and counseling, sanctions, incentives, and frequent court appearances. Successful completion of the treatment program results in dismissal of the charges, reduced or set aside sentences, lesser penalties, or a co

House Bill 2485 passed by the 2004-05 Legislature addresses the public safety and public health issues caused by methamphetamine use in the State. It directs the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) to design and implement a grant program to administer state funds for the purposes of creating new drug courts and of expanding the capacity of Oregon's more than 30 active drug court programs (ORS 137.656(3)(f)).
 
The CJC issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Drug Court Implementation and Enhancement Grant in January 2006. The Commission received 30 applications from 26 counties, totaling $6.7 million in requested funds from the $2.5 million available for the 2005-07 biennium.
 
Staff from CJC, along with a team of outside experts, reviewed each application in accordance with the criteria outlined in the Request for Proposals.  These reviews informed the Criminal Justice Commission's final funding decisions. The Commission also considered other factors such as legislative intent, community impact, and geographic distribution.
 
The Commission made final funding decisions on May 23 for the majority of programs. Some funding decisions are currently pending.

This report presents findings from focus group discussions with participants in six American drug courts, designed to elicit participant views on the drug court program and various aspects of their drug court experiences. The focus groups included diverse participants with different racial and ethnic backgrounds, types of drug problems and histories, criminal histories, and status in the drug court program. Participant comments indicated that the drug courts visited were indeed successful and included recommendations to improve the effectiveness of drug court programs