Oregon District Court

In Oregon, there is one federal district court, a state supreme court, a court of criminal appeals, and trial courts with both general and limited jurisdiction.

District courts resolve disputes by determining the facts and applying legal principles to decide who is right. Trial courts include the district judge who tries the case and a jury that decides the case. Magistrate judges assist district judges in preparing cases for trial.

While district judges are nominated by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate for lifetime tenure, magistrate judges are appointed by a majority vote of the federal district judges of a particular district and serve terms of eight years if full-time, or four years if part-time, and may be reappointed.

There are 94 federal judicial districts, including at least one district in each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Three territories of the United States the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands have district courts that hear federal cases, including bankruptcy cases.

The nation's 94 district or trial courts are called U.S. District Courts. District courts resolve disputes by determining the facts and applying legal principles to decide who is right.

The largest courts by number of judges are the Central District of California and the Southern District of New York, each with 28 judgeships. The smallest are the District for the Northern Mariana Islands and the District of Guam, with one judgeship each.

Hatfield United States Courthouse is a federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon. It is named in honor of former U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield.

Federal district courts are the workhorses of the federal judiciary. Just about every civil or criminal case heard in the federal courts starts at the district court level. District court judges review petitions, hear motions, hold trials, issue injunctions, and keep the wheels of justice spinning.