NCJ Number
81050
Date Published
1959
Length
148 pages
Annotation
This report presents findings and recommendations of the Legislative Interim Committee on Judicial Administration regarding the organization and operation of the Oregon courts.
Abstract
The committee recommends that two additional judges be appointed to the State supreme court and that the court be authorized to sit in departments of three judges each. The State supreme court's administrative power over the trial courts should be clarified and strengthened. The county court's judicial functions should be transferred to the circuit court. Judges of the State supreme court, the circuit court, and the district court should be selected according to the 'Missouri Plan.' State supreme court judges should be required to retire at age 75, lower court judges at 72 years. The system of voluntary retirement at an earlier age should be retained. Judicial salaries should be increased, and full-time district attorneys should be paid $12,000 per year. The provision for appointment and compensation of counsel serving indigent criminal defendants should be liberalized. Statutory provisions relating to appeals to the State supreme court should be clarified, simplified, and organized; the court should be given the power to prescribe the rules of procedure in judicial proceedings. A uniform procedure should be required for all traffic cases. Finally, an agency should be established to systematically review existing laws and to prepare recommendations for the legislature regarding revisions. Tables, footnotes, and proposed legislation are included. (Author summary modified)