Rule 1.140.Requests for Extended Retention of Court Records

Court records do not last forever. They are kept on the retention schedule the State Court Administrator adopts under ORS 8.125, and when the schedule runs out the records can be discarded. This rule is how someone who needs them longer says so, and it offers two routes with different requirements.

The automatic extension belongs to parties. Any party to a case may request one for records in that case, and the administrator grants it automatically. The court will not discard the covered records before one year from the date the request is entered in the register of actions, and a party may file a fresh request before the old one expires to keep the protection running. The coverage is defined narrowly: records shown by the register as having been received by the court in the case, other documents kept in the case file, the register of actions and judgment docket for that case, and the audio or video recordings and logs, court reporter notes, or transcripts the court has that are identified with the case number.

The judicial extension is broader and harder. Any person may ask, and the request covers any records the court maintains. Granting it is discretionary. Records covered by a granted order are not discarded before the date certain the order sets, and where the order sets no specific date the extension runs one year from the date the order is entered in the register of actions. This is the route for records outside the automatic category, for a longer period than the automatic route provides, and for a person who is not a party.

Every request must be in writing, or on the court's form where one exists, must go to the trial court administrator for the court holding the records, must give the case number and title where the records relate to a case, and must state that it is made under this rule. An automatic request adds an affidavit, a specification of the covered records, and a separate request for each case. A judicial request adds a supporting affidavit giving the reason, a proposed order with a specific end date, and enough detail to let the clerk identify the records, and the rule warns that a request fails that test if the clerk would have to do substantial research to identify the records or determine whether they exist. No fee is charged. Where the schedule runs a retention period from the last document entry in the register, entering a request or an order under this rule changes that period only as this rule allows.