Where do case numbers come from?

At the District of Oregon, we see thousands of cases per year. In order to ensure that the right documents get to the right places, we create a unique case number for each case opened. The full case number (seen on the case assignment form you receive from the Court) will look something like this:

3:09-CV-1038-AA

This case number breaks down as follows:

Division Code: For statistics tracking and case management purposes, we insert a division code into each case number. Pursuant to LR 10-2(f), you must use the division codes in pleadings before this Court. The number before the colon is the division code (in this case, the division code for the Portland Division). The division codes are as follows:

Note: Using the division code in the query fields in CM/ECF may result in an error message. Sometimes CM/ECF will not properly parse the colon in the case number. To avoid this, you can omit the division code.  In fact, you can also omit the case type and the judge initials from queries. CM/ECF automatically adds any missing information to the query results. 

Year Initiated: The number after the division code represents the year in which the case was initiated. In the above example, the case was opened in 2009.

Case Type: After the dash comes a two-letter case type designation. There four case types: CV for a civil action, CR for a criminal case, MJ for criminal complaints, and MC for "miscellaneous" cases (entry of a foreign judgment, for example, is a miscellaneous case type).

Case Assignment Number: The next number is simply the next available assignment number, starting at 1 and counting up as far as required in a given year. In the above example, our case was the one thousand and thirty-eighth civil case filed in the District in 2009.

Assigned Judge: In civil and criminal cases, a two-letter code for the assigned judge is attached to the end of the case number. This is usually the first two letters of the judge's last name, but in cases where judges have those letters in common, other combinations of initials or letters are used. The assigned judge code should be included in the caption of any pleading filed in the case. When calling about an active case, it is essential that you have the name of the judge available. Each courtroom operates differently, and the most likely source of answers regarding case management or scheduling issues is the courtroom deputy of the specific judge hearing your case. In order to route you to the correct individual, we need to know your judge.

Here is the full list of our judge case codes:

Last Updated on Friday, March 23, 2012