UTCR 6.120: DISPOSITION OF EXHIBITS

(1) Unless otherwise ordered or except as otherwise provided in ORS 133.707 and 419A.255(1)(a), all exhibits shall be returned to the custody of the attorney for the submitting parties upon conclusion of the trial or hearing. Such an attorney must sign an acknowledgment of receipt for the exhibits returned. An attorney to whom any exhibits have been returned must retain custody and control until final disposition of the case unless the exhibits are returned to the trial court pursuant to subsections (2) or (3) of this rule. Both documentary and nondocumentary exhibits submitted by parties not represented by an attorney shall be retained by the trial court, subject to subsection (4) of this rule.

(2) Upon the filing of a notice of appeal by any party, the trial court administrator promptly shall notify all attorneys that they are required to return all documentary exhibits in their custody to the trial court within 21 days of receipt of the trial court’s request. All attorneys are required to comply with the notice. The trial court promptly will transmit the documentary exhibits to the appellate court, when requested to do so by the appellate court, under ORAP 3.25.

(3) Upon request by an appellate court for transmission of nondocumentary exhibits, under ORAP 3.25, the trial court shall notify the party in whose custody the nondocumentary exhibits have been placed. The party must resubmit the designated exhibits to the custody of the trial court for transmittal to the appellate court.

(4) Exhibits not returned to the parties shall be processed as follows:

(a) Such exhibits shall be retained by the trial court until the appeal period has elapsed and there is a final disposition of the case.

(b) After final disposition of the case, a notice shall be sent to the parties of record that, unless they withdraw their respective exhibits within 30 days, the exhibits will be disposed of by the court.

(5) Nothing contained in this rule shall prevent parties to any matter before the court from seeking the release or return of exhibits before the times specified in this rule.

(6) Exhibits in the court’s custody shall not be removed from the trial court administrator’s control except by stipulation or by order of the court.

(7) For purposes of this rule, “documentary exhibits” include text documents, photos and maps, if not oversized, and audio and video recordings. An oversized document is one larger than standard letter size or legal size.

(8) Exhibits submitted in juvenile cases are subject to the requirements in UTCR 11.120 and are exempted from the requirements of this rule.