Municipal Court

After the jury votes, the presiding juror will fill out a verdict form. The presiding juror will then contact the judge or the clerk to let them know that a verdict has been reached. Then the clerk will have the jury return to the courtroom where the verdict will be given to the judge, who will announce the jury’s verdict in open court. The parties may request that the judge poll the jurors. The judge will then dismiss the jurors.

Arrive for jury duty on time, at least a few minutes early.

Get a good night’s rest so that you can concentrate on the proceedings.

The Oregon State Bar publishes a Jury Duty Handbook which can be viewed at osbar.org/public/jurorhandbook.htm

The City of St. Helens and the staff of the St. Helens Municipal Court want to thank you for participating as a juror. Your participation is essential to the preservation of the justice system in St. Helens, Columbia County, and the State of Oregon.

All cell phones must be turned off in the courtroom, and pagers must be muted. If you are one of the six jurors selected to stay and hear the whole trial, your phones will be collected by the clerk and will be kept safe during trial. They will be returned to you during the lunch break and after the trial is finished.

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See Marijuana & Land Use.

The Court has the power to order that you appear in court and explain why you were unable to report for jury service.  Citizens who don’t appear for jury service may be punished for Contempt of Court.

See the 2016 Zoning Map or use the Community Web GIS under Resources & Links to find your property's zoning designation.

You may bring reading material in case you have to wait and you might need a sweater or jacket in our air-conditioned courtroom.

The City does not have property line records in most cases.

1. The surest way to determine property lines is by checking with a licensed surveyor who can identify property corners.

2. You can also use the City’s Community Web GIS online to get a general idea of your property lines. Once you’ve entered the GIS, turn on the “Tax_Parcels” layer by selecting the box next to “Taxlots” and it will display the tax lot boundaries. Note that turning on the layer titled “Bing Aerial” may be helpful to identify key features on your lot, but it could be outdated or inaccurately aligned to the tax lot boundary layer. The City does not guarantee accurate information and is not liable to the customer for any errors using the Community Web GIS online tool.

3. If your property is part of a subdivision, a partition, or has been surveyed with a survey recorded with the County Surveyor, property corners should have been set. If this occurred fairly recently, you may be able to find the property corners in the ground. Newer property corners are usually iron rods capped with colored plastic. By looking at past plat maps or surveys, you may be able to see where the rods were placed in the ground. The Columbia County Web Maps tool online can locate past property surveys, plat maps, or tax lot maps.

Still have questions? Call us at 503-397-6272 or email our Associate Planner at jdimsho@ci.st-helens.or.us.

Street parking is available across from the courtroom and on the plaza.  Click here to view a map.  The six jurors that are chosen to be on the jury will be given all-day parking passes.

The judge and court clerk have access to all of the Court documents through their computers. This enables them to quickly retrieve information and to communicate with each other electronically.

When a trial is about to begin, the judge will seat the potential jurors based on a list that was randomly prepared by the clerk. The judge will introduce the jurors to the parties and their attorneys. The judge may then outline the issues of the case and may ask the potential jurors some general questions. Next, the parties or their attorneys may also question the potential jurors. This jury selection process is called “voir dire” which is French for “to tell the truth.” Attorneys can challenge potential jurors “for cause” by giving the judge a good reason to have a juror excused. Each attorney may also use a limited number of “peremptory” challenges without giving a reason. If you are excused from serving, you should not take it personally because it is not a reflection on your competency or character. The chosen jurors will be sworn in when voir dire is completed, at which time the judge will instruct the jury about rules to be followed during the trial.

Please call the jury line at (503) 397-1129, the night before the trial to confirm if it is still scheduled. If the case is settled before the trial date, the message will be updated to reflect that the trial has been canceled and you do not need to appear. 

You will need to come to the library and fill out a library card application and provide documentation to obtain a library card.

For non-emergency police services call 503-397-1521. 

If you live outside of the city limits but have a library card at an Oregon Library Passport Program member library (your “home library”), you can obtain a St. Helens Public Library card by showing your card from your home library, filling out a library card application, and showing appropriate documentation (see above). Passport card holders at the St. Helens Public Library cannot check out Cultural Passes or Library of Things items, cannot request interlibrary loans, and are limited to 10 items checked out at once and 3 holds at a time.

If you are not a member of a Passport library, or if you would like full access to the St. Helens Public Library’s collections, you can pay for a non-resident card. Non-resident cards are $35 for a year of access or $10 for three months of access.

The St. Helens Police Department does not have a medical drop box; however, there are several locations in St. Helens where you can dispose of your expired or unused medicine and medical sharps. 

Medicine Drop Box

Columbia County Sheriff's Office
Jail Lobby 
901 Port Avenue, St. Helens
 503-366-4611
https://sheriff.columbiacountyor.gov/

Sharps Exchange Program

Columbia County Transfer Station 
1601 Railroad Avenue, St. Helens
503-397-9811
https://www.columbiacountyor.gov/transfer-station-general-information

Most members can check out up to 50 items at a time, 10 of which can be DVDs or Blu-rays.  Passport card holders may check out up to 10 items at a time.

Library of Things items checkout for twenty-one (21) days and cannot be renewed.  There is a limit of three items at a time.  To checkout one must have an adult level card.  We’re sorry but at this time juveniles and passport card holders are not able to checkout items from the Library of things.

Most library materials check out for 21 days. However, Cultural Passes check out for 3 days.  (Except the Oregon State Park Parking Pass which checks out for 7 days.)

Cultural Passes and Library of Things items cannot be renewed. For all other items, as long as no one else is waiting for the item, you may renew it up to three times. There are several ways to renew:

Items except New and Library of Things will automatically renew up to three times. However, automatic renewals do not happen if there are fees on the account or other items have holds on them.

Call the library at 503.397.4544. If the library is closed, leave a voice message and we will renew your items on the next business day.
Email the library: shpl@sthelensoregon.gov
Check your account online (note: your PIN is usually the last four digits of your library card)

We do not charge overdue fines.

If an item is kept three weeks past the due date, the item is assumed lost and you will be charged for the original list price of the item. If the item is returned in good condition, the fee will be waived. If you pay for a lost item and then find it within 90 days of payment, you can return it to the library for a refund as long as the item is in good condition.

Property Release Procedures

To request property to be released, please email shpd@sthelensoregon.gov. 

The items that you will need are: 

• If items were seized as evidence, you will need a signed property release letter from either the District Attorney's Office or the City Attorney's Office (depending on where the case was handled) stating what item(s) may be released (this does not include items held for safekeeping or found property)
• State-issued picture identification
• St. Helens Police case number and/or St. Helens evidence/property receipt number

If you do not have all of these items, it is possible that your property may not be able to be released. If you want to have someone else pick up your property, they must have a notarized letter authorizing them and they must provide state-issued picture identification. 

If you have questions regarding property, please call 503-397-1521 and ask to leave a message for the St. Helens Police Department Evidence Custodian. 

We offer regular story times but we take breaks for holidays. Please call the library at 503.397.4544 to ensure that story time is in session.  If we are closed or it is more convenient you may also check the Library's calendar at: View the Library Calendar.

No, but please keep in mind that the activities are selected with that specific age group in mind. You may discover that another session may be more developmentally appropriate for your child. If the presence of older children inhibits the involvement of children in the target age group, please understand that your child may be asked to allow younger ones to participate.

If you know the calling person, tell him or her not to call again. Please note the date and time of the notification (caller ID is helpful). If that person should call you again, he or she could be cited for telephonic harassment. If the caller is unknown to you please contact your telephone company regarding services that may be available to help identify the calling person.

Oregon State law states that no person under the age of eighteen shall be in a public place between 12 midnight and 4 a.m. unless that person is accompanied by a parent or guardian, you are at a sanctioned school function, or it is a condition of employment.