§ 136.500 Motion in arrest of judgment; basis and time for making

If you've been found guilty or pleaded guilty, you can ask the court to stop before it hands down a sentence. This is called a motion in arrest of judgment. It's basically telling the judge, "Don't finalize this conviction yet, there's a problem with the case itself."

You can only make this request for two specific reasons, laid out in another law (ORS 135.630). You can't use it for any other reason, even if you think something else went wrong in your case. This motion isn't a chance to argue that you're innocent or that the evidence was weak. It only works if there's a specific legal defect in how the charges were brought.

You have to file this motion within the same time limit as a motion for a new trial. If you're filing both types of motions, the court can decide how to schedule and hear them together. So timing matters here. If you wait too long, you lose the chance to raise this issue at all.