Rule 1.050.Promulgation of SLR; Review of SLR; Enforceability of Local Practices
Current through August 1, 2026 · Last verified September 12, 2026
Full Text of Rule 1.050
UTCR Reporter's Notes
Reporter’s Note (August 1, 2023): Any form required by SLR that is provided by the court is done so for convenience but is not part of the SLR.
Plain-English Summary
The authority comes from ORS 3.220: a court may make and enforce local rules that are consistent with and supplementary to the UTCR, to give the statewide rules full effect and to keep the court's business moving. The limits are as important as the grant. SLR may not duplicate or conflict with the constitutions, statutes, the ORCP, the UTCR, Chief Justice Orders, Supreme Court Orders, the disciplinary rules for attorneys, the judicial canons, or the Oregon Rules of Appellate Procedure. Nor may a court adopt SLR that set out internal operating procedures of the court or the trial court administrator that create no requirement and carry no consequence for parties or attorneys. Pulling the other way, a court must write into its SLR any local practice, procedure, form, or other requirement it expects parties and attorneys to follow. Every court must have an SLR governing the scheduling and notification of parties for criminal trials, show cause hearings, and motions, and every court must post its SLR forms on its website and link that forms page from the SLR.
The calendar runs all year. The presiding judge must give written notice of proposed new rules and proposed changes to the president or presidents of the bar association or associations in the affected judicial district, at least 49 days before submitting the rules to the Office of the State Court Administrator, and must let the bar comment. On or before September 1, the presiding judge or designee submits a complete set of SLR to OSCA, including proposals, with a written explanation of each one. Proposed changes must be marked: new wording in bold and underlined inside braces, deleted wording in italics inside brackets. The UTCR Committee reviews the submissions and may suggest changes to the presiding judge or recommend disapprovals to the Chief Justice.
Then the year closes out. The Chief Justice or designee issues any disapprovals on or before December 15, with notice to the presiding judge who submitted the rule. The presiding judge may adopt the committee's suggestions and must address any disapproval in the final set. The district files a final certified electronic copy in PDF with OSCA, to be received no later than January 1, and sends a copy to the bar association president or presidents. Those rules take effect February 1. An SLR filed after January 1 takes effect 30 days after OSCA receives it. The Chief Justice may waive these time limits on a showing of good cause, and the UTCR Reporter may authorize correction of typographical errors, grammatical errors, inaccurate citations, and inaccurate website addresses that do not change substance.
Subsection (3) is the one to remember at the counter. Where a local practice is not contained in the court's SLR, the court may not enforce it or impose any sanction for breaking it unless it has first given the party or attorney a reasonable opportunity to cure the violation by complying. So an unwritten requirement can still catch up with you, but not before you get a chance to fix the filing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I find the local rules for an Oregon county?
Each judicial district publishes its own supplementary local rules, and the district must post on its website every form its SLR require, with a link to that forms page in the SLR itself. The SLR and the related forms carry cross-references to one another, so a rule that requires a form tells you which form and where it lives.
When do new local rules take effect?
February 1, for a final certified copy that OSCA receives no later than January 1 of that year. An SLR filed after January 1 takes effect 30 days after the date OSCA receives it. The Chief Justice may waive those time limits on a showing of good cause.
Can a judge enforce a practice that is not in the written local rules?
Not without a warning first. When a local practice is not contained in the court's SLR, the court may not enforce it or impose a sanction unless it has first given the party or attorney a reasonable opportunity to cure the violation by complying with the practice. The court is also required to incorporate into its SLR any local practice it expects parties and attorneys to follow.
Can a local rule change or repeat a statute or an ORCP rule?
No. A court may not adopt SLR that duplicate or conflict with the constitutions, statutes, the ORCP, the UTCR, Chief Justice Orders, Supreme Court Orders, the attorney disciplinary rules, the judicial canons, or the Oregon Rules of Appellate Procedure. A local rule has to add something that gives the statewide rules full effect, not restate or override them.
Can I comment on a proposed local rule?
The route runs through the bar. The presiding judge must give written notice of proposed new rules and changes to the president or presidents of the bar association or associations in the affected district, at least 49 days before submitting the rules to OSCA, and must allow the bar to provide public comment to the presiding judge.