How Oregon handles a case
What happens after an arrest anywhere in Oregon: who decides release first, how fast a person sees a judge, which courts hear the case, and who runs the offices around them. Every county in the state works under these rules.
From arrest to court
- Who decides release first
Before arraignment, the jail releases people under a standing order written by the presiding judge of each judicial district, or a release assistance officer appointed by that judge decides. At arraignment, a judge makes the release decision. The standing order sets recognizance and conditional release, not dollar amounts.
ORS 135.233, 135.235, 135.240, 135.245Oregon Chief Justice Order 24-014, Release Guidelines (May 22, 2024)- Time to see a judge
A person held in custody must be arraigned within the first 36 hours of custody, not counting weekends and holidays, unless there is good cause or the defendant asks for more time.
ORS 135.010- Money bail
Senate Bill 48, in effect since July 1, 2022, ended security (money bail) schedules that applied right after arrest. A judge may still require security at arraignment after finding that release on recognizance or conditions is unwarranted.
Oregon Chief Justice Order 24-014, Release Guidelines (May 22, 2024)ORS 135.233- Pretrial risk assessment
Oregon has no single statewide risk tool. The Chief Justice's release guidelines tell each judicial district to consider adopting one, and a district's standing order may let the jail use a tool's score.
Oregon Chief Justice Order 24-014, Release Guidelines (May 22, 2024)- Courts
Circuit courts are Oregon's state trial courts and try all felonies and most misdemeanors. Some counties also have justice courts, and some cities have municipal courts; both may hear misdemeanors committed in their area but not felonies.
ORS 51.050ORS 221.339- Judges and magistrates
Voters elect circuit judges on a nonpartisan ballot to six-year terms, and judges must be members of the Oregon State Bar. Justices of the peace are elected to six-year terms. A justice of the peace must be a bar member or complete a judicial course, except in justice courts of record, where bar membership is required.
Or. Const. art. VII (amended), sec. 1ORS 3.050ORS 254.005ORS 51.210, 51.240- Prosecutors
Each county elects a district attorney to a four-year term.
ORS 8.610- Public defense
The Oregon Public Defense Commission, a state agency, funds and runs public defense. Most cases go to lawyers under contract, nonprofit public defender offices, and consortia, and since December 2023 a small state-employed trial division has also taken cases.
ORS 151.213, 151.216Oregon Public Defense Commission, 2nd anniversary of first case by a state trial-level public defender (Dec. 24, 2025)- Jails
The county sheriff has custody of everyone held in the county jail.
ORS 169.320
Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. Which judicial districts use a risk tool, and which one, was not checked.