Municipal Court

The Monday, April 15 jury trial has been cancelled. The trial for Friday, April 19 is still scheduled. 

St. Helens Municipal Court phones are currently down due to an outage. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Published: Thursday, April 11, 2024 at 4:20 p.m. 

Due to persistent unsafe travel conditions, St. Helens Municipal Court is closed for Thursday, January 18, 2024. If you have a court appearance scheduled for this Thursday, our Court staff will be in contact with you regarding rescheduling your court date. We apologize for the inconvenience. 

Please note, there are circuit and municipal courts right next door to each other in St. Helens. This closure is only related to municipal court services. Please check with Columbia County regarding any impacts to circuit court services. 

Beginning November 1, 2021, the St. Helens Municipal Court will be holding court days on Thursdays. Those with hearings scheduled from November 1 onward will be contacted by mail about their rescheduled appearance date.

If you have questions about your rescheduled date or concerns about an upcoming court appearance, you can contact the St. Helens Municipal Court at 503-397-6272 Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Court closes daily from noon to 1:00 p.m.

If you have an outstanding warrant for your arrest issued by St. Helens Municipal Court, you may clear that warrant by turning yourself in to the St. Helens Police Department or the Columbia County Jail. You will be arraigned on the next court day if you are still in custody.

Victim Rights

In 1986, Oregon voters passed Ballot Measure 10, the “Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights.” Among these rights are:

• St. Helens Police Department: https://www.sthelensoregon.gov/police
• St. Helens Municipal Code: https://www.codepublishing.com/OR/StHelens/
• Oregon Revised Statutes: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/pages/ors.aspx
• Columbia County Circuit Court: https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/columbia/pages/default.aspx

Traffic Citations: Directly under the title OREGON UNIFORM CITATION AND COMPLAINT is a series of boxes. The officer will have marked either Crime or Violation.

Traffic Crime

A traffic crime is a misdemeanor offense where you could serve jail time in addition to having to pay a fine. Examples of these offenses include, but are not limited to: Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII), Hit and Run, Reckless Driving.

The arraignment date written on the bottom of the citation is a mandatory appearance.

I received a traffic ticket. Now what do I do?

How do you wish to plead on the citation?

Guilty: Guilty means that you admit to having done what you are charged with. It is likely that you will be sentenced immediately. The judge may take into consideration your prior driving record and any explanation you wish to give. Any determination of fines and assessments will be made by the judge at that time.

Anyone may request a copy of court records by completing a Public Records Request form and submitting it with a $20 deposit. Generally, it will take 7 to 10 business days for the documents to be ready for pick up. The public records request form can be found on the main Municipal Court page CLICK HERE.