If someone you love has been arrested in Oregon, the path through the courts can feel like a string of hearings with names that mean little until you are standing in the middle of them. This guide walks that path in plain language, from the first arrest through charging, trial, sentencing, and the right to appeal. Oregon has a few features that set it apart from other states, including a recent change in how juries must vote, a sentencing system built around a grid and a set of voter approved minimums, and a death penalty that no longer operates in practice. We wrote this for families rather than for lawyers, so the focus stays on what each stage means for the person in custody and for the people supporting them from outside. None of this is legal advice, but knowing the shape of the process makes it far easier to follow along and ask good questions.
Here is the short version. A felony in Oregon is handled in the Circuit Court, the main trial court. After arrest, the person has a first appearance where the charges and release are addressed. To move a felony forward, the state must either take it to a grand jury or hold a preliminary hearing, and only then does the case proceed to a formal plea. From there it heads toward either a negotiated resolution or a trial, where a conviction now requires every juror to agree. If there is a conviction, the sentence is set under Oregon's guidelines and, for certain crimes, a set of mandatory minimums, and the right to appeal follows. The sections below take each step in order.
The Courts That Hear a Case
Oregon keeps its court structure straightforward. The Circuit Court is the main trial court, handling all felonies and the more serious misdemeanors, from the first steps through trial and sentencing. Smaller municipal and justice courts deal with minor matters like low level misdemeanors and violations. Above the trial level, the Oregon Court of Appeals reviews cases after judgment, and the Oregon Supreme Court sits at the top as the final word within the state. Knowing that a felony lives in the Circuit Court, and that a challenge to what happened there moves up to the Court of Appeals and possibly the Supreme Court, gives you the basic map before the hearings begin.
Arrest, Booking, and the First Appearance
After an arrest, the person is booked into a county jail, where their information, fingerprints, and photograph are recorded. Soon after, they are brought before a judge for a first appearance. At that hearing the judge tells the person what they are charged with, explains their rights, including the right to a lawyer and to have one appointed if they cannot afford it, and takes up release. This first hearing is brief, and it is not the place to argue the facts or test the evidence. Its job is to start the case, make sure the person understands the charges, and set the terms under which they will wait for the next step. The charge named here can still change as the prosecutor reviews the case.
Bail and Release
Release is the first thing most families focus on. Oregon handles it differently from many states, because it does not use commercial bail bond companies. Instead, a judge may release a person on a promise to appear, may attach conditions such as checking in or staying away from certain people or places, or may set a security amount that is posted directly with the court, often a percentage of the full figure, and largely returned at the end of the case. In weighing release, the court looks at the seriousness of the charge, the person's ties to the area, and whether they are likely to return to court. If the amount is out of reach, a lawyer can ask the court to lower it or change the conditions. The aim is to make sure the person comes back to court and to protect public safety, not to punish before any finding of guilt.
How a Felony Is Charged
Oregon gives the state two routes to bring a felony charge, and the constitution requires one of them. The prosecutor can present the case to a grand jury, a panel of citizens who meet in private to decide whether there is enough evidence to charge, or the state can hold a preliminary hearing in open court, where a judge decides whether there is probable cause and the defense can question the state's witnesses. A person can also waive these steps and agree to be charged by a document the district attorney files directly. If a grand jury decides to charge, it returns what is called a true bill, which becomes the indictment. Whether the case comes through a grand jury or a preliminary hearing, the result is the same, a formal charge that sends the case to the Circuit Court.
Arraignment and Plea
Once the charge is set, the person is arraigned in the Circuit Court. At the arraignment the judge reads the charge, makes sure the person understands it and their rights, and asks for a plea. Oregon allows three pleas. A person can plead not guilty, which keeps every option open and is the usual choice early on, can plead guilty, which admits the charge, or can plead no contest, which is not an admission of guilt but accepts that the court may find them guilty on the facts. In nearly every contested case the plea is not guilty while the defense reviews the evidence. From this point the Circuit Court manages the schedule, the motions, and the deadlines that carry the case toward trial.
Pleas, Plea Deals, and the Right to a Trial
Most cases resolve through a negotiated plea, but the right to a trial anchors the whole process. In a plea agreement the person agrees to plead guilty or no contest, often to a reduced charge or for a recommendation about the sentence. No one has to take a deal. Every person has the right to a trial, where the state must prove each part of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. A person can choose a jury trial or, in many cases, a trial before a judge alone. The accused does not have to testify or prove innocence, because the burden rests entirely on the state. Whether to take a plea or go to trial is the accused's choice, made with the advice of a lawyer, and nothing is final until a verdict or an accepted plea.
Why Oregon Juries Must Now Agree Unanimously
Oregon carries one piece of recent history that sets it apart from almost every other state. For decades, Oregon was one of only two states, along with Louisiana, that allowed a felony conviction without all of the jurors agreeing. A person could be found guilty even when one or two jurors voted to acquit, a rule that traced back to a discriminatory past. That changed in 2020, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution requires a unanimous jury to convict someone of a serious crime. Today a felony conviction in Oregon requires every juror to agree, the same as in other states. The change matters for families because it raised the bar the state has to clear at trial, and because it led some people who had been convicted by a divided jury in earlier years to win new trials. If a family member was convicted long ago by a split jury, it is worth asking a lawyer whether that history touches the case.
Sentencing Under the Guidelines
Oregon sets felony sentences with a guidelines grid, which works much like a chart. Where a case lands depends on two things, how serious the law rates the offense and the person's prior record, and the spot where those two meet sets the presumptive sentence, including whether it points to prison or to probation. A judge can move off that presumptive sentence only with substantial and compelling reasons. On top of the grid, Oregon voters approved a law known as Measure 11, which sets mandatory minimum prison terms for a list of serious violent and sex crimes. For those offenses the minimum is fixed, cannot be cut for good behavior, and in some cases applies even to teenagers charged as adults. Because the grid and Measure 11 work together, the single most useful question at sentencing is which of the two controls a given charge.
Parole and Time Served
For crimes committed in recent decades, Oregon does not use a traditional parole board the way it once did. Instead, the length of a prison term is set under the guidelines and Measure 11, and most people leaving prison then serve a period of supervision in the community, known as post prison supervision. It comes with conditions, such as reporting to a supervising officer and following specific rules, and a serious violation can send a person back into custody. A small and shrinking group sentenced under much older laws are still handled under the earlier parole system. For families, the lesson is that the sentence announced in court, especially under Measure 11, is often close to the actual time served, which makes the sentencing stage especially important to get right.
Why No One Faces a Death Sentence in Oregon Today
For families, one worry can be set aside. In practice, no one in Oregon faces execution. The state has not carried out an execution since 1997. A moratorium on executions has been in place since 2011 and has continued under every governor since. In 2019 the legislature narrowed the law so far that almost no crime still qualifies, and in 2022 the governor commuted every death sentence in the state to life in prison, emptying death row, after which the state dismantled its execution chamber. The most serious sentence a person faces today is life in prison, which can mean life without the possibility of release. Because of all this, a family in Oregon can focus on the parts of a case that are actually in front of them, the evidence, the charge, release, and the length of a prison term, rather than the fear of a death sentence.
Where a Sentence Is Served
Where a person serves time depends on the sentence. County jails, run by the local sheriff, hold people who are waiting for their cases to move forward and those serving shorter terms. Longer felony prison terms are served in the state system, run by the Oregon Department of Corrections. The difference matters for families, because the rules for visiting, mail, phone calls, and money for commissary are not the same in a county jail as they are in a state prison. We walk through that difference in detail in our companion guide on county jail compared with state prison. When a person is first arrested they are usually in the county jail, and after sentencing on a felony they are typically moved into the state system, which is also when many of the contact and visitation rules change.
The Right to Appeal
A conviction is not always the last word. A person convicted of a felony generally has the right to appeal to the Oregon Court of Appeals, which reviews the written record of the case to decide whether a significant legal error affected the result. An appeal is not a new trial, and the court does not hear the witnesses again. After the Court of Appeals rules, a party can ask the Oregon Supreme Court to take the case, though that court chooses most of the cases it hears. The deadlines to start an appeal are short and strict, so the most useful early step a family can take is to ask about appeal rights and timing right after sentencing, before any window to act has closed.
The Bottom Line for Oregon
The bottom line for Oregon is that a felony runs through the Circuit Court, must be charged through either a grand jury or a preliminary hearing, and now can only end in a conviction if every juror agrees, a change that arrived in 2020. Sentences are set by a guidelines grid and, for a list of serious crimes, by the mandatory minimums in Measure 11, so the time announced is often close to the time served. No one in Oregon faces a death sentence today, and an appeal runs to the Court of Appeals and possibly the Supreme Court. Knowing this map will not change the outcome, but it lets you follow each hearing, ask sharper questions, and spend your energy where it helps most. For the difference between a county jail and a state prison, see our companion guide, which picks up where this one leaves off.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between jail and prison here?
They are not the same in Oregon. A county jail is run by the local sheriff and holds people awaiting trial and those serving shorter terms. A state prison, run by the Oregon Department of Corrections, holds people serving longer felony terms. The rules for visiting, mail, and phone calls differ between the two. Our companion guide on county jail compared with state prison covers this in full.
How is a felony charged in Oregon?
The state constitution requires either a grand jury or a preliminary hearing. A grand jury is a panel of citizens who meet in private and decide whether there is enough evidence to charge, returning a true bill that becomes the indictment. A preliminary hearing is held in open court before a judge. A person can also waive these steps and agree to be charged by a document the district attorney files.
Does Oregon require a unanimous jury?
Yes, now it does. For decades Oregon was one of only two states that allowed a felony conviction without all of the jurors agreeing. In 2020 the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution requires a unanimous jury to convict of a serious crime, so today every juror must agree to convict in an Oregon felony case.
Does Oregon have the death penalty?
In practice, no. Oregon has not carried out an execution since 1997, has had a moratorium on executions since 2011 that still continues, emptied its death row in 2022 when the governor commuted every sentence to life, and dismantled its execution chamber. A 2019 law also narrowed the death penalty so far that almost no crime qualifies. The most serious sentence today is life in prison, including life without the possibility of release.
What is Measure 11?
Measure 11 is a law Oregon voters approved that sets mandatory minimum prison terms for a list of serious violent and sex crimes. For those offenses the minimum is fixed, cannot be reduced for good behavior, and in some cases applies even to teenagers charged as adults. It works on top of the sentencing guidelines grid that covers other felonies.
Does Oregon have parole?
For crimes in recent decades, not in the traditional sense. Rather than a parole board deciding release, the prison term is set under the guidelines and Measure 11, and most people then serve a period of supervision in the community afterward, known as post prison supervision. A small, shrinking group sentenced under much older laws are still handled under the earlier parole system.
Where do I appeal a conviction in Oregon?
A felony conviction is generally appealed to the Oregon Court of Appeals, which reviews the record for legal errors rather than holding a new trial. After that, a party can ask the Oregon Supreme Court to review the case, though it chooses most of what it hears. The deadlines to start an appeal are short, so it is wise to ask about them right after sentencing.