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Mission Statement

The Office of the Ombudsman is a confidential and neutral resource for the public to share comments and concerns about their experiences in court. The goal of the office is to promote trust and confidence in the judicial branch by improving communication about court processes and providing judges with confidential feedback, coaching, and education to enhance judicial performance. 

 Purpose

The primary purpose of the Office of the Ombudsman is to improve the performance of Oregon judges through education, training, coaching, and accountability.  It is a confidential and neutral place where people can share their comments or concerns about their experiences in court.  The information provided by the public helps us improve our courts and provides better experiences for others in the future.

Authority

Oregon law (ORS 1.011) gives the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court the power to create an Ombudsman’s Office. This office can receive and respond to questions, comments, and concerns about court experiences. It can also recommend plans to help judges improve through mentoring, coaching, and education.

What the Ombudsman Does

  • Listens to concerns about judges.
  • Researches concerns to see if a judge may benefit from coaching, mentoring, or other support.
  • Helps court users understand court processes.
  • Guides people to the right resources when the office cannot help.
  • Tracks patterns of concerns to help improve judicial performance statewide.

What the Ombudsman's Office Does NOT Do

  • Provide legal advice or represent anyone. For legal help or help finding a lawyer, visit the Oregon State Bar website or call 800-452-8260.
  • Intervene in a case or change a judge’s decision. For more information on how to appeal a decision see the Court of Appeals website or call 503-986-5555.
  • Handle concerns about attorneys. The Oregon State Bar has a process for complaints about lawyers on the Oregon State Bar website or call 800-452-8260.
  • Handle concerns about court staff or court buildings. Contact the court administration office. The find a court website provides links to each county’s website which includes contact information for court administration in each county. 
  • Handle concerns about agencies or courts outside the Oregon Judicial Department.

Submitting a Concern

Use this online intake form to submit your concern.  We can only review concerns submitted through this form.  Use your own words, so we can review your case fairly.  We may reject concerns written by AI.  We may not have time to read very long documents or large amounts of information.  Short summaries are best.

Before you submit your concern, please read the below FAQs.

Submit a Concern

FAQ's

​​The online intake form includes a section where you can request an interpreter. It also provides instructions for changing your browser’s language settings, if needed. You may complete the form in your preferred language; it will automatically translate into English when submitted. Please still indicate which language you need an interpreter for, so we can arrange one if we need to contact you by phone. You may also call our office at 503-986-5918 for assistance.
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​​The online intake form has a link to an ADA assistance form. You may also call our office at 503-986-5918 for assistance.​
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No. There are only three required fields.  All the other fields are optional, but the more information you provide, the easier it will be for us to research your concern.​​​

We ask for information to help us research your concern and to gather information for training and educational purposes.  Information that you provide about a concerning experience you had in a court proceeding may help us improve the experience of others who appear in that judge’s courtroom and other courtrooms around the state.​​​

No.  But we may need to contact you if we need more information about the concern you submitted.  We may also want to contact you to explain court processes or to share resources that might be helpful to you.

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Yes.  Your name and contact information will be kept private.  Confidentiality is one of the guiding principles of our office.  We respect the privacy of those who submit concerns and the privacy of those who have concerns submitted about them.  We will keep both parties’ information confidential and exempt from public disclosure to the greatest extent permitted under the law and the rules of the office.


We may need to share your information with Oregon Judicial Department staff who must know, so they can help resolve your concern.  We take your privacy seriously and will protect your identity to the fullest degree possible, unless you waive confidentiality.


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​When you submit your concern using the online intake form you will immediately get a confirmation receipt.  It will include a reference number.  Please save the reference number.​

We will review your submission to determine if it is something we can help with.  After we review your submission:
  • We may contact you if we need more information from you
  • We may contact you to explain court processes to you 
  • We may contact you if we can’t help, but we have useful information which may help you find assistance elsewhere
  • We will not contact you to inform you about the outcome of your concerns or what education, mentoring, or training was recommended for a judge​​

The Ombudsman values the privacy of all individuals in the program.  The identity of those seeking assistance from the Ombudsman and those who have things submitted about them is confidential.  Further, the rules of the program direct that all records related to the Office are confidential.  This is to ensure the privacy of everyone involved.​​

We can’t:
  • Give legal advice or be your lawyer in court
  • Change a judge’s decision, an order in a case, or the result of a case
  • Interfere with a case that is still going on
  • Change a court date
  • Change which judge you have
  • Speed up a case 
  • Hear concerns about attorneys
  • Hear concerns about court staff or court facilities
  • Hear concerns outside the OJD (e.g., other courts, agencies, or government offices)​
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The Ombudsman cannot change the outcome of a case or argue about a judge’s legal decisions. Because of this, cases must be completely finished before they can be reviewed by the Ombudsman.​


Whether your case is open depends on the type of case it is. In family law cases, such as parenting or custody, the case is open until the judge makes a final decision about custody.  In criminal cases, the case is open until the person is convicted or the case is dismissed.

At times, you may still need to go to court even if your case is no longer open. If you are unsure about the status of your case, contact the Ombudsman’s Office and they can tell you whether they are able to help.​​

The Ombudsman may, at their discretion, recommend education, training, coaching, or mentoring to the judge.

If a judge refuses to follow the Ombudsman’s recommendations, the Ombudsman may report this to the Chief Justice. The Chief Justice may then decide to send the issue to the Judicial Fitness Commission. 

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The Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability investigates claims that a judge has broken the Code of Judicial Conduct. These are rules all judges must follow, and they can be disciplined for not following them.
The Ombudsman’s job is different. The Ombudsman does not discipline judges. Instead, they help judges improve through education, coaching, and training.​

The Ombudsman can only help with concerns about judges.
  • For concerns about an attorney, contact the Oregon State Bar.
  • For concerns about other agencies, contact that agency.
  • If your concern is about court staff or court facilities, contact the Trial Court Administrator’s office at the court.

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Rules & Policies

Office of the Ombudsman Rules (PDF)
Ombudsman Policies & FAQs (PDF)