How to File Charges

Filing Criminal Charges in Multnomah County

1. Felonies

   Last year we issued more than 5,000 felonies cases. Our office does not accept felony cases unless they have been investigated by a law enforcement agency and then presented to our office for prosecution. If you believe you are the victim of a felony crime you must contact the proper police agency (where the crime was committed) and report the crime. If the police believe there has been a crime and investigate it they will then present the matter to us.

2. Misdemeanors

   The Misdemeanor Intake Unit issues the majority of misdemeanor cases for Multnomah County. The Gresham Misdemeanor deputy and support staff (503-988-6276) issues the misdemeanor citation cases for incidents occurring east of 122nd Avenue.

   If a private citizen reports a crime to the police and a police report is written, the case can come to the District Attorney's Office in primarily three ways:

   1. The actual arrest of the suspect
   2. The issuance of a citation to the suspect
   3. Request for review of the reports and the issuance of a warrant directing the arrest or citation of the suspect
   Actual Arrest

   A suspect may be arrested on a misdemeanor charge and booked into jail by the police officer. The officer contacting the victim should provide the victim with the form setting out the procedures to be followed. The arrested suspect will be on the court arraignment docket in the afternoon of the next judicial day after the arrest. The arraignment for misdemeanors will occur either in the Justice Center Courtroom 1 at 1:00 p.m. or Courtroom 4 at 2:00 p.m. The Justice Center is located at 1120 SW 3rd Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204. In order to be able to review the case and prepare the necessary charging instrument in time for the arraignment, the Misdemeanor Intake Unit requires the victim to call the Intake office at 503-988-3860 before 11:00 a.m. the morning of the arraignment.

   Failure to call in a timely fashion may result in the prosecution of the case being declined

   If time allows, efforts may be made to contact the victim. In exceptional circumstances, either because of the severity of the charge or the suspect's criminal history, the deputy district attorney may issue the charge without prior contact with the victim. Failure to call in a timely fashion however, may result in the prosecution of the case being declined. If a case is declined it can still be brought at a later time (See No Arrest and No Citation below).

   Citation in Lieu of Arrest

   Instead of being taken into actual physical custody, the suspect may be given a citation by the police officer to appear in court at a later date. The date that the suspect is cited to appear shall be no longer than 30 days from the date the citation is given. A victim wishing to pursue criminal charges should contact the Misdemeanor Intake Unit (503-988-3860) at least seven days after the citation is issued (the police need time to collect all the reports) but no more than five days before the court appearance date (so we have time to get the reports and review the case).

   Once the call is received, the reports will be ordered from the appropriate police agency and reviewed by a deputy district attorney. The deputy may call the victim for additional information, to schedule an appointment if needed, or to advise the victim why no criminal charges are being filed. If more information is required from the victim, witness or police officers, the case may be re-reviewed after that information has been received.

   No Arrest and No Citation

   Police officers may take a report from a citizen and file the report even though the suspect has not been arrested or been given a citation. In those cases, the victim may contact the Misdemeanor Intake Unit (503-988-3860) requesting a review of the reports. Once that request is received, the reports will be ordered from the police agency and reviewed by a deputy district attorney. The deputy may:

   • decline to issue the case if legally or factually insufficient
   • request follow-up information from the victim or police agency
   • or issue criminal charges and request that the court issue a warrant for the suspect's arrest or a citation in lieu of arrest.

   If a warrant is issued by the court, the next time the suspect comes into police contact, the warrant will served and a court date scheduled. There is no way to tell how long it will take to serve a warrant. Once the new court dates have been set, subpoenas will be sent to the victims and witnesses last known addresses advising them of these dates.

3. Domestic Violence

   The District Attorney's Domestic Violence Unit is responsible for screening, issuing, negotiating, and prosecuting domestic violence felony and misdemeanor cases and allegations of contempt of court for violations of Family Abuse Prevention Act (FAPA) restraining orders.

   If you have been a victim of domestic violence and the police arrested someone, it is important for you to call the Domestic Violence Unit at 503-988-3222 as early as possible the next weekday morning. If you do not call us, someone will try to call you.

   The decision whether to issue charges is up to the District Attorney's Office, but the Deputy DA who screens your case will want to know how you feel about prosecution of the offender. The decision whether to issue charges will be made based upon all the facts of the case as a whole with a focus on your and your children's safety, public safety and offender accountability.

   If no one has been arrested, but a police report has been made you can call us at 503-988-3222 and ask us to order the report and review the case. If a police report has not been made, you should call the police (503-823-3333) and make one.

4. Juvenile

   If the youth is taken into custody by the police and taken to the juvenile detention facility a report will be written and submitted to the juvenile department. Our office will receive a copy of the report to review the morning of the next working day after the youth is taken into custody. Cases can be handled "formally" or "informally" depending upon a number of factors.

   Cases where the youth was never taken into custody that are handled formally are referred to our office by the juvenile department for review and filing. You can contact our office at (503) 988-3472 for information on cases where the youth is taken into custody or the case is proceeding formally.

   Cases that are dealt with informally are handled exclusively by the juvenile department. For those cases where the youth was not taken into custody or you want to check the status of a case that is being handled informally contact the Multnomah County Juvenile Department at (503) 988-3460 and ask for the "Intake Worker of the Day."