When you receive a citation please read the information on
the front and back of the citation thoroughly. You have four options available to you when responding to the violation(s)
on your citation:
Appear in Court – the time and date you are to appear in Court is on the
front of your citation, at the very bottom. You should arrive at least 15 minutes before your
scheduled time. Please be aware
that it is first come first serve so just because your citation lists a time
doesn’t mean that you will be seen at that exact time. Check-in for Court starts at 2:15 p.m., and the Judge
takes the bench at 2:30 p.m. You
should be aware of your rights when appearing in front of the Court.
Appear in person - at the City Hall front desk prior to your court
date or no later than noon on your scheduled court date to pay your base
fine amount, as indicated on the front of your citation, in full or to
set-up a payment agreement. Based on your driving record, and the type of
offense, the clerk may or may not be able to assess a fine lower than your
full fine amount.
Enter a Plea by Written Appearance - You may enter the following pleas:
Guilty
Not Guilty
No Contest
On the back of your citation, complete the
required information for either option 2 or 3 and mail, or bring your citation
to the Court, along with payment of the full fine amount.
A Guiltyplea
waives your right to a trial.
A No Contest plea
will result in a hearing where the officer will be present to testify before the
Judge and then the judge will make his determination after listening to the
testimony. The defendant is not given an opportunity to testify on his/her
behalf.
A Not Guilty plea
will result in a trial and you will be notified, by mail, of the trial date.
When mailing in payments, please
make your check or money order payable to the City of Milwaukie, and write your
citation number on the payment for reference.
Trial by Affidavit – Court does not allow at this time.
The purpose of an arraignment is to tell the Judge
how you wish to proceed with your case.
Arraignments are scheduled two Wednesday’s a
month. Starting at 2:30 p.m. Cases
are heard on a first come first serve basis.
You are allowed to re-schedule your arraignment
date, one time only, and it must be re-scheduled for the next court date. You can re-schedule your court date anytime before noon on your Court
date by calling the Court clerks at 503-786-7531 or 503-786-7530.
You have three options at your arraignment:
You can plead GUILTY. You can offer an explanation to the Judge. The Judge will consider your explanation, driving record, and the
seriousness of the violation in setting your fine amount.
You can plead NO CONTEST. This means you are not contesting
the charge or the evidence offered by the City. The court clerk will set you
for a hearing. During the hearing the officer who issued the citation is
present to provide testimony to the Judge. The defendant cannot present any
evidence or give testimony at a No Contest Hearing. The Judge will then make
his determination based on the officer's testimony, your driving record, and
the seriousness of the violation.
You can plead NOT GUILTY. If you wish to contest the charge against you the Court Clerk will set a
trial date. You will be given the
date and time you will need to appear in court. You should be at the Court at least 5-10 minutes before your scheduled
time.
If you have further questions regarding the
handling of your traffic citation, parking ticket, or city ordinance violation,
please send to court@ci.milwaukie.or.us
or contact the court clerk at 503-786-7531 or 503-786-7530.
