Oregon Circuit Courts
Oregon's circuit courts are general jurisdiction trial courts of the U.S. state of Oregon. These courts hear civil and criminal court cases.
The state has 27 circuit court districts, most of which correspond to the boundaries of the Oregon's 36 counties. Except in six Eastern Oregon counties, the courts have jurisdiction over probate issues, adoptions, guardianship and conservatorships, and juvenile issues.
The courts are operated by the Oregon Judicial Department (OJD). As of January 2007, the courts had 173 judges. The majority of appeals from the circuit courts go to the Oregon Court of Appeals. Some limited cases go directly to the Oregon Supreme Court if appealed from the trial court level.
The OJD has no jurisdiction over other local courts in Oregon, which include county courts, justice courts, and municipal courts.
In 1998, the state combined its state district courts into the Oregon circuit courts
Famous quotes containing the words oregon, circuit and/or courts:
“The Oregon [matter] and the annexation of Texas are now all- important to the security and future peace and prosperity of our union, and I hope there are a sufficient number of pure American democrats to carry into effect the annexation of Texas and [extension of] our laws over Oregon. No temporizing policy or all is lost.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)
“Within the circuit of this plodding life
There enter moments of an azure hue,
Untarnished fair as is the violet
Or anemone, when the spring strews them
By some meandering rivulet, which make
The best philosophy untrue that aims
But to console man for his grievances.
I have remembered when the winter came,”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“In the courts women have no rights, no voice; nobody speaks for them. I wish woman to have her voice there among the pettifoggers. If it is not a fit place for women, it is unfit for men to be there.”
—Sojourner Truth (1797–1883)