Advice of Rights and Court Procedures

You must check in at the sign in window, located on the 2^nd floor of City Hall before going into the courtroom. Cases are called on a first-come, first-serve basis. Please be seated when you enter the Courtroom. Turn off all cell phones and audible pagers. If you are wearing a hat, please remove it before entering the courtroom. Due to space limitations only the defendant will be allowed into the courtroom. Due to space limitations only the defendant will be allowed into the courtroom. Any guests must wait outside or if space allows in our waiting room. Any guests must wait outside or if space allows in our waiting room. Also, please dress appropriately.

RIGHTS

You have the following rights: 

1. To remain silent which cannot be used against you; 

2. To ask question of any witness who testifies against you; 

3. To present your own evidence; 

   • By your own testimony 

   • By witnesses you bring to court 

   • By presenting physical evidence such as photographs and documents. 

4. To make the City prove you guilty by a preponderance of the evidence. 

The court cannot appoint a lawyer for you on a violation. All trials on violations are to a judge. Jury trials are available only on criminal charges. 

When the Judge calls your name, please stand up at the table before the Judge. The Judge will ask whether you understand your rights, and read the charges against you. The Judge will then ask whether you understand the violation with which you are charged and ask you to enter a plea. You can plea GUILTY, NOT GUILTY OR NO CONTEST.

Trials

Trials are held every Wednesday starting at 8:30 a.m. and scheduled until noon. 

At a trial, you will appear in the Court with the citing officer to present evidence about your case. Evidence can include testimony from you, the citing officer, any witnesses, and photographs or diagrams. 

If you chose to hire an attorney to represent you, your attorney must provide a letter of representation to the court no later than 5 working days prior to your trial date. The City will not provide you with an attorney. If you hire an attorney to represent you, the City will have the City Attorney present the City's case. 

You will present your case to the Court if you do not hire an attorney to represent you. The citing officer, not the City Attorney, will present the City's case. Many persons choose to represent themselves. Non-attorney trials are informal and typically take 15 minutes or less. 

You (the defendant) may ask the Court to reschedule your initial trial date, but the request must be in writing and at a minimum of 5 working days prior to your scheduled trial date, and will only be rescheduled if the court deems allowable.

The Court Clerk will notify all parties involved, by mail, of the rescheduled trial date. 

REMEMBER: If you fail to appear at your scheduled Court date or fail to pay any fine imposed, various procedures will be implemented to collect unsatisfied judgments. These include, but are not limited to, suspension of your driver's license and referral of the amount unpaid to a collection agency. If you are found guilty, you have the right to appeal to the Clackamas County Circuit Court for a new trial. A Notice of Appeal, must be submitted to Milwaukie Municipal Court using the Appeal Form provided by the municipal court, within 30 calendar days of your conviction. The appeal must be accompanied by a cashiers check or money order in the sum of $197.00, payable to the "State of Oregon". This is a non-refundable filing fee.

Last updated: 09/22/2009