August 30, 2021

2021 Redistricting Process Begins

Since 1790, Congress has carried out a census to count every person living in the United States. That count is used to determine representation in the federal House of Representatives and each state legislature.

Results from the 2020 count were due to the Oregon Legislature either one year from the Census Day or April 1, 2021, whichever was later. Under Oregon law, the legislature was required to complete the redistricting process by July 1, 2021. If the legislature was unable to respond to the census data and redraw district lines as needed, the Secretary of State had until August 15, 2021, to do so.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the census data was unfortunately delayed. On April 9, 2021, the Oregon Supreme Court issued an order detailing the schedule in Oregon for redistricting, including a requirement that the legislature complete its redistricting process by September 27, 2021.

Two weeks ago, on August 12, 2021, the census data was released, and this past week the legislature’s redistricting committees (both House and Senate) met to review the data and begin the redistricting process. On September 3, 2021 the legislature’s redistricting committees will release draft maps for public review. Members of the public will have until September 7, 2021 at 5 p.m. to submit map proposals.

Public hearings will be held remotely from September 8 – 13, 2021 to provide Oregonians with an opportunity to share feedback. A legislative special session is expected to be held in September to allow members to vote on the proposal. The legislature has until September 27, 2021, to enact a redistricting plan. The deadline for the Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court to appoint five judge panel for congressional redistricting is September 28, 2021.

For more information on the redistricting process, please go to the Oregon Legislature’s redistricting web page.

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Senate and House Interim Committee Rosters Published

Last week the Oregon Senate and House published the 2021–2022 interim committee assignments for legislators. These lists, which can be found here (House and Senate), include assignments to many of the committees that historically have reviewed bar legislation, including the Senate and House Judiciary Committees and the Ways and Means Public Safety Subcommittee.

Senate Interim Judiciary and Ballot Measure 110 Implementation Committee 
Sen. Floyd Prozanski, Chair
Sen. Kim Thatcher, Vice Chair
Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin
Sen. Dennis Linthicum
Sen. James Manning Jr.
Sen. Dallas Heard
Sen. Michael Dembrow

House Interim Judiciary Committee
Rep. Janelle Bynum, Chair
Rep. Ron Noble, Vice Chair
Rep. Karin Power, Vice Chair
Rep. Maxine Dexter
Rep. Ken Helm
Rep. Jason Kropf
Rep. Rick Lewis
Rep. Lily Morgan
Rep. Kim Wallan
Rep. Marty Wilde

Joint Interim Committee on Ways and Means Interim Subcommittee on Public Safety
Sen. Chris Gorsek, Chair
Sen. Bill Hansell
Sen. Floyd Prozanski
Rep. Janeen Sollman, Co-Chair
Rep. Christine Goodwin
Rep. Dacia Grayber
Rep. Jason Kropf
Rep. Duane Stark

To find the committee assignments for the legally-trained legislators in the Senate and House, click on the name of the legislator below.

Senate

• • • Sen. President Peter Courtney
    • Sen. Betsy Johnson
    • Sen. Kate Lieber
    • Sen. Floyd Prozanski

House

• • • Rep. Ken Helm
    • Rep. Jason Kropf
    • Rep. Karin Power
    • Rep. Dan Rayfield
    • Rep. Kim Wallan
    • Rep. Marty Wilde

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Chief Justice Issues New Chief Justice Order 21-030 and Chief Justice Order 21-031

Over the last few weeks, the Chief Justice has published two Chief Justice Orders (CJOs). The first, CJO 21-030, which went into effect on August 16, 2021, reinstituted face coverings in the Oregon state courts. The CJO includes the following items:

• • • • For judges and staff, protective face coverings are required when not alone in a fully enclosed space, unless a health-related exemption applies.
      • With limited exceptions that apply to proceedings, the public must wear protective face coverings when in a court facility.
      • A presiding judge may issue a presiding judge order that is more restrictive than the provisions of the CJO regarding the required use of protective face coverings.

The second, CJO 21-031, which went into effect on August 19, 2021, modifies the statutory timelines for forcible entry and detainer (FED) proceedings.

Under CJO 21-031, when nonpayment of rent is alleged as a basis for eviction, the date of the first appearance will be 21 days from filing as long as a judge is available. If a judge is not available, the first appearance will be within 28 days of filing. Further, if nonpayment is alleged as a basis for eviction, the trial will be set for a date 20 to 30 days from the first appearance. Finally, an attorney who is representing a party at the first appearance may appear by remote means without filing a motion requiring court approval.

In addition to the changes in the timeline, judges have been requested to help tenants and landlords connect with Oregon’s rental assistance programs. For more information on the Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program, please visit the website.

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Oregon State Bar House of Delegates to Meet October 29, 2021

The annual House of Delegates (HOD) meeting provides Oregon lawyers the opportunity to approve increases to annual licensing fees, approve changes to the Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct, modify or rescind actions of the Board of Governors, and direct the Board of Governors in future actions.

This year, the Oregon State Bar’s House of Delegates is scheduled to meet on October 29, 2021. On August 4, 2021, the Oregon State Bar held an orientation meeting (materials can be found here – https://www.osbar.org/_docs/leadership/hod/2021/2021HODOrientation.pdf). The House of Delegates includes 250 members elected from the bar licensees. To meet quorum requirements, at least 126 members will need to participate.

Proposed resolutions are due to the Oregon State Bar by September 14, 2021. The HOD agenda with resolutions will be published on October 8, 2021. HOD regional meetings will be held the week of October 11, 2021.

For more information on the HOD meeting, the proposed resolutions, and reports from the Board of Governors, please visit the Oregon State Bar’s HOD webpage. If you have any questions, please contact Cassandra Dyke by email at [email protected].

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Important Updates from Oregon Judicial Department: eCourt Upgrade and Court Closures

The Oregon Judicial Department (OJD) has several very important updates for attorneys and all other people that interact with Oregon’s circuit courts.

• • • • The Odyssey case management system for Oregon’s circuit courts and the Oregon Tax Court will be offline from Thursday, October 14, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. to Tuesday, October 19, 2021, at 4:00 a.m. for an important upgrade. Online services for Oregon’s circuit courts and the Oregon Tax Court that rely on Odyssey data, including the Oregon eCourt Case Information system (OECI), will also be unavailable during that time. File & Serve and Guide & File will be available in a limited capacity.

• • • • Due to the operational impact of the upgrade, Chief Justice Walters has issued a Chief Justice Order (CJO), CJO 21-024, closing all statewide courts on Friday, October 15, 2021 — including all circuit courts, the Oregon Tax Court, the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court. Among other things, the order cites ORS 174.120(2)(c), which extends the statutory time limitation for any filing due on a day when courts are closed by order of the Chief Justice. CJO 21-024 can be found here: https://www.courts.oregon.gov/Documents/CJO_2021-024.pdf.

Court Closures on Friday, October 15, 2021

Oregon’s circuit courts, the Oregon Tax Court, the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court will be closed on Friday, October 15, 2021, so that the case management system used by the circuit courts and Tax Court, Odyssey, can be upgraded. Those courts use Odyssey to create cases, enter case events on registers of actions, store documents, and schedule hearings.

Please note that many circuit courts and the Oregon Tax Court also plan to limit the types of hearings that will be heard on Monday, October 18, 2021, because they will not have access to the case records stored in Odyssey until 4:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 19, 2021.

Online Services for Oregon’s circuit courts and the Oregon Tax Court, including OECI, will be unavailable from October 14, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. to October 19, 2021, at 4:00 a.m.

Odyssey will go offline on Thursday, October 14, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. and is scheduled to be back online by Tuesday, October 19, 2021, at 4:00 a.m. During that time, the following online services for Oregon’s circuit courts and the Oregon Tax Court will be offline because they require Odyssey data to function:

• • • • Online Records and Calendar Search
      • Oregon eCourt Case Information (OECI)
      • Public Kiosks
      • OJCIN Online Bill Pay
      • ePayment
      • eCitation
      • Electronic Violations Bureau (eCVB)
      • Online Juror Response Forms
      • All existing reports and integrations

The upgrade will not affect Oregon’s appellate court systems, including appellate eFiling.

File & Serve and Guide & File will be available in a limited capacity from October 14, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. to October 19, 2021, at 4:00 a.m.

Courts will not be able to accept submitted documents or process fees, but filers will be able to create and submit envelopes for new cases and any other case that has previously been uploaded into File & Serve. To ensure that you have access to a particular case during this time, you can create an envelope for the case before the upgrade begins.

Due to staff training and other upgrade preparations, the circuit courts and the Oregon Tax Court may take more time to review electronically filed documents in the weeks leading up to the upgrade. If you have a hearing on Monday, October 18, or Tuesday, October 19, it is highly recommended that you submit any documents you want the court to review by Monday, October 11, to ensure the court has access to them before your hearing.

If you have any questions, please reach out to [email protected].

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