Oregon's constitution delegates the primary criminal law enforcement authority to the District Attorney. All felony cases that occur in Jackson County can only be prosecuted by the District Attorney's Office.
The Jackson County District Attorney’s Office works closely with all ten police agencies. We advise police regarding criminal procedure and search warrants. The criminal division consists of the District Attorney, 21 deputy district attorneys and 16 support staff. Each deputy district attorney carries a large caseload. We appear in Jackson County Circuit Court every day for arraignments, pre-trials, trials and motions. In the criminal division our primary function is to prosecute adults and juveniles for criminal conduct. The Grand Jury meets three days a week to hear felony cases. A criminal case is assigned to a deputy district attorney for review. The deputy district attorney will make a charging decision on that case based on the evidence and reports submitted by the police agency. The deputy district attorney will prepare and negotiate the case. In 2019, the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office filed 7,423 cases with the court. The District Attorney and Deputy District Attorney work closely with many communities partners, conducting community trainings and attending agency and community meetings. The District Attorney and Deputy District Attorney's are also on-call to respond to crime scenes or advise police 24-hours a day.
