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.

 Public Notice - Annual Review of Performance Record of the Friend of the Court

St. Joseph County Circuit Court records date back to the 1830's.

The circuit courts are Michigan’s major trial courts – courts of general jurisdiction. Most of the cases handled in these courts are classified as cases of original jurisdiction, that is, they have not been heard in any other court.

In some instances, though, the circuit judges deal with cases that were decided previously in a district or probate court but were appealed by one of the parties.

Some of the kinds of cases heard in Circuit Court are:

• General Civil - Lawsuits for judgment of $25,000 or more, property disputes, negligence, malpractice, personal injury, Personal Protection Order, appeals from other agencies such as Secretary of State, MESC, Parole Board, etc.
• Criminal - Felonies and misdemeanor cases that could have a sentence of 1 year or more.

County Clerk - 45th Circuit Court Division Page

Department Contacts

Court Payments

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