Arrest Reports and Laws

Possession of weapon in court facility by peace officer or federal officer.


(1) Notwithstanding ORS 166.370 (2) and except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a peace officer, as defined in ORS 161.015, or a federal officer, as defined in ORS 133.005, may possess a weapon in a court facility if the officer:
(a) Is acting in an official capacity and is officially on duty;
(b) Is carrying a weapon that the employing agency of the officer has authorized the officer to carry; and
(c) Is in compliance with any security procedures established under subsections (3) and (4) of this section.
(2) A judge may prohibit a peace officer or a federal officer from possessing a weapon in a courtroom. A notice of the prohibition of the possession of a weapon by an officer in a courtroom must be posted outside the entrance to the courtroom.
(3) A presiding judge of a judicial district or a municipal court or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court may establish procedures regulating the possession of a weapon in a court facility by a peace officer or a federal officer subject to the following:
(a) The procedures for a circuit court must be established through a plan for court security improvement, emergency preparedness and business continuity under ORS 1.177 or 1.180;
(b) The procedures for a justice court or a municipal court may only prohibit the possession of weapons within the area in which the court conducts business and during the hours in which the court operates;
(c) Within a shared court facility, the presiding judge of a municipal court or justice of the peace district may not establish procedures in conflict with the procedures established by the presiding judge of the circuit court; and
(d) Notice of the procedures must be posted at the entrance to the court facility, or at an entrance for peace officers or federal officers if the entrance is separate from the entrance to the court facility, and at a security checkpoint in the court facility.
(4) A judge may establish procedures regulating the possession of a weapon in a courtroom by a peace officer or a federal officer. A notice of the procedures regulating the possession of a weapon by an officer must be posted outside the entrance to the courtroom. [2001 c.201 §3; 2005 c.804 §7; 2015 c.351 §3]