Clackamas County Circuit Court Overview
Oregon does not use district courts as its main trial court. It uses circuit courts. A circuit court is a court of general jurisdiction, which means it hears almost every kind of case. The Oregon Judicial Department lists criminal, civil, domestic relations, traffic, juvenile, small claims, violations, abuse prevention, probate, mental commitment, adoption, and guardianship among the case types.
The Clackamas County Circuit Court is the 5th Judicial District. It is a court of record, so its proceedings are tracked in an official register. That register, not the free online search, is the authoritative court record.
Oregon's appellate courts sit above the Circuit Court. The Oregon Court of Appeals reviews most appeals, and the Oregon Supreme Court is the court of last resort. The state also runs a Tax Court for tax disputes. Together these make up the Oregon Judicial Department, the unified system the Circuit Court belongs to.
Clackamas County Circuit Court Offices
The court is one body, but it runs through several offices in the Oregon City courthouse. Each handles a different part of a case. The table lists the main ones and how to reach them.
| Court / Office | Role | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court, 5th District | General jurisdiction trial court | 1000 Courthouse Rd., Oregon City | 503-655-8447 |
| Records Center | Viewing and copy requests | 1000 Courthouse Rd., Room 1060 | 503-655-8447, option 7 |
| Probate Department | Estates and protective cases | 1000 Courthouse Rd., Oregon City | 503-655-8447, option 4 |
| Jury Office | Juror reporting and support | 1000 Courthouse Rd., 2nd Floor | 503-655-8397 |
Circuit Court vs. Justice Court vs. Municipal Court
Three court types serve the county, but only one is part of the state system. The Circuit Court is the state trial court. Justice and municipal courts are local and handle smaller matters. The table shows the split.
| Circuit Court | Justice Court | Municipal Court | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of OJD | Yes | No | No |
| Main Cases | All case types | Traffic, small claims to $10,000, evictions | City ordinance violations |
| Records Via | OJD Online Records Search | County Justice Court | The city |
| Appeals To | Court of Appeals | Circuit Court, if not a court of record | Circuit Court, if not a court of record |
How a Case Moves Through the Clackamas County System
Cases follow a path from filing to appeal. The route depends on whether the case starts in a local court or the Circuit Court, and whether it is civil or criminal.
Appeal path: Justice or Municipal Court › Circuit Court › Oregon Court of Appeals › Oregon Supreme Court
Criminal flow: Arrest › First Appearance › Indictment or Information › Arraignment › Pretrial › Trial › Sentencing › Appeal
Civil flow: Complaint Filed › Answer › Discovery › Hearings › Trial › Judgment › Appeal
Civil, Family, Criminal, and Probate Work
Because it is a general jurisdiction court, the Circuit Court splits its work by subject. Criminal cases cover felonies and misdemeanors. Civil cases cover lawsuits and money claims. Family cases include divorce, custody, and support. The Probate Department handles estates and protective proceedings.
The court also handles juvenile, mental commitment, adoption, and protective order matters. Many of these carry confidentiality rules, so not every file is open to the public the way a routine civil case is.
Protective order applications have their own narrow window. They are taken in person in the Civil Case Unit from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on weekdays. That timing matters for anyone seeking a Family Abuse Prevention Act order or a similar protection, since it does not follow the full building hours.
Specialty Courts in Clackamas County
The Circuit Court runs several problem-solving courts. It does this with the District Attorney, probation, and county social-service agencies. These programs pair close supervision with treatment to cut repeat crime tied to addiction or mental health.
The named programs include Drug Court, Mental Health Court, Community Court, DUII Court, LEAD, and a Domestic Violence Deferred Sentencing Program. A trained deputy district attorney is assigned to each one for continuity. Eligibility and length vary by program, so the court or the DA's office is the place to confirm the current rules. These remain Circuit Court cases, so they appear in a normal court search unless a statute makes them confidential.
The 5th Judicial District
Clackamas County makes up the 5th Judicial District. The presiding judge listed by the state court is Ann M. Lininger. The Trial Court Administrator is Debbie Spradley, reachable at 503-655-8670. The court's ADA contact is Lisa Chavez at 503-655-8627, and the court offers interpreter and language access services.
Appeals from the Circuit Court generally go to the Oregon Court of Appeals, with Supreme Court review available in the right cases. Whether an appeal from a justice or municipal court goes to the Circuit Court or higher depends on whether the lower court is a court of record.
The New Clackamas County Courthouse
The Circuit Court moved in 2025. The new Clackamas County Courthouse opened to the public on May 19, 2025, on the Red Soils Campus in Oregon City. The county describes it as a 257,000-square-foot replacement for the 1936 downtown building, with 16 courtrooms, jury and grand-jury space, secure corridors, and District Attorney offices.
The move is more than a new address. The campus puts the courthouse near social services, behavioral health, and victim services. The county says the old building forced victims and witnesses to share hallways with accused offenders, a safety problem the new design aims to fix.
For records, the move set a clear line in time. Files from December 2015 forward are easy to view at the public stations, while older files sit off site and need advance notice to retrieve. The county joined the Oregon eCourt system in 2015, which is why the modern, viewable record set starts there.
Justice Court and Municipal Courts
Lower courts handle the county's smaller matters. The Clackamas County Justice Court, in Happy Valley, hears traffic tickets, small claims and civil cases up to $10,000, and landlord-tenant evictions. Municipal courts handle city ordinance violations. These courts are not part of the state-funded system, so their records live locally rather than in the state portal.
Traffic tickets are the most common reason people deal with the Justice Court. The traffic court records page covers that court in detail.
The appeal path from a local court depends on one question: is the lower court a court of record? If it is not, certain decisions can be appealed to the Circuit Court. If it is a court of record, the appeal goes to the Oregon Court of Appeals instead. An appeal must usually be filed within 30 days of the judgment in the local court records.