Effective April 11, 2023, due to the Clean Slate Legislation, the Court criminal online viewing reflects cases 2017 thru present.  Case accuracies for years prior to 2017 must be verified, we are uncertain the time length involved.  In addition, the court public viewing terminal is not available for criminal cases at the present time.   We apologize for the inconvenience.

The District Court is a court of limited jurisdiction. All criminal cases are started in the District Court. No clerk is permitted to give legal advice.

The District Court hours are established to accommodate everyone who has business with the court and to provide sufficient time for the Judges and staff to properly handle the caseload.

The 3B District Court is a weapons free court. Please do not bring any weapons to any court appearance. This applies even if you have a concealed weapons permit. All persons and packages entering the courts building are subject to being searched.

If you need special accommodations for hearing, sight or disability, please notify the court so that accommodations can be made.

Divisions

The District Court is broken down into four main divisions:

Criminal Division
Cases handled in this division include major traffic and misdemeanor offenses, felony charges, liquor, conservation, watercraft, and animal violations. Most of these violations require a personal appearance before a Judge or Magistrate. Note: Failure to be present for any criminal proceeding as required may result in an issuance of a bench warrant.

Traffic Division
Traffic civil infractions, and minor traffic misdemeanor offenses are handled by the Traffic Division. You may schedule an Informal Hearing with the Traffic Clerk or pay preset fines in this division daily.

Probation Division
Sentencing by the court may result in probation, which requires specified periods of time that an individual must report to a Probation Officer of this division.

Civil Division
The Civil Division processes Civil suits, Small Claims cases, Landlord-Tenant disputes and Land Contract cases. The Court handles civil suits up to $25,000 while Small Claims cases provide an inexpensive forum for resolving money disputes up to $5,500.

Electronic Filing Legislation

Please be advised that the Michigan legislature recently passed Electronic Filing Legislation. The legislation requires District Courts to collect an “electronic filing system fee” in addition to the existing filing fees when commencing an action in the District Court, regardless of whether the action is filed electronically.

The increase in the filing fee is as follows:

• $10 for civil actions filed in the District Court, including summary proceedings actions.
• $20 for civil actions filed in the District Court if a claim for money damages is joined with a claim for relief other than money damages.
• $5 for civil actions filed in the small claims division of the District Court.

The effective date of the increased fee is March 1, 2016.

Department Contacts