Wayne County Circuit Court Overview
The Wayne County Circuit Court is the Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan. State law is direct about its reach. The Third Circuit consists of Wayne County. It covers nothing else. That line is drawn by MCL 600.504. It is the largest circuit court in the state. It sits at the top of the Wayne County trial system. It hears the cases the smaller Wayne County courts cannot.
Michigan runs one connected court system. The Michigan Supreme Court is the court of last resort. Below it is the Michigan Court of Appeals. Trial work is split among circuit, district, and probate courts. The Third Circuit is Wayne County's general-jurisdiction trial court. That phrase carries weight. It means the court can hear almost any civil or criminal matter the law does not send elsewhere. The grant is broad. It is set out in MCL 600.601.
The state judiciary maps this out. Its Michigan Courts trial-courts page shows how the trial courts fit together.
That page sorts the trial bench into three types. They are circuit, district, and probate courts. The Third Circuit serves all of Wayne County.
What the Wayne County Circuit Court Handles
The Wayne County Circuit Court carries the heaviest docket in the county. It handles four broad groups of cases. Each group reaches it in a different way. Some arrive from the ground up. Others start here in Wayne County.
- Felony criminal cases, after a district or municipal court binds them over
- Civil lawsuits where the amount in dispute is more than $25,000
- Family and domestic matters, such as divorce, custody, child support, and personal protection orders
- Juvenile cases, handled through the court's family division
- Certain appeals that rise from district court decisions
Criminal felonies rarely begin here. They start in a Wayne County district or municipal court. That lower court holds the first hearing and the probable-cause step. If the case clears that bar, it is bound over. The Wayne County Circuit Court then takes over. Trial-level work follows. That work covers arraignment on the information, pretrial motions, plea or trial, and sentencing.
Divisions of the Wayne County Circuit Court
Wayne County court records are not kept under one roof. The Third Circuit spreads its work across several Detroit buildings. Each site holds a different division. Where you go in Wayne County depends on the case type.
The Civil Division sits at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center downtown. The Family Division-Domestic Relations is based there too. The Criminal Division moved into the Wayne County Criminal Justice Center. Juvenile matters are heard at Lincoln Hall of Justice. The Friend of the Court works from the Penobscot Building. It enforces support and custody orders across Wayne County.
Civil Division & Family Division-Domestic Relations
Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
2 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48226
Criminal Division
Wayne County Criminal Justice Center
5301 Russell Street, Detroit, MI 48211
Family Division-Juvenile
Lincoln Hall of Justice
1025 E. Forest Avenue, Detroit, MI 48207
Friend of the Court
Penobscot Building
645 Griswold Street, Detroit, MI 48226
Note: Criminal court, bond, and jail business now runs through the Criminal Justice Center on Russell Street, not the downtown municipal center.
Wayne County District Courts and Their Jurisdiction
Most people meet the court system in a district court, not the circuit court. Wayne County has more than 20 of them. These Wayne County district courts carry the everyday load. They take traffic tickets, small claims, landlord-tenant disputes, and lesser crimes.
The civil reach of a district court is capped by statute. It covers claims up to $25,000, plus civil infractions, under MCL 600.8301. The criminal reach is separate. A district court hears misdemeanors punishable by up to one year. It also runs the early stage of every felony under MCL 600.8311. That early stage covers the arraignment and the preliminary examination.
The civil limit is written into the state code. You can read it at MCL 600.8301.
The statute draws the line at $25,000. That is where the Wayne County Circuit Court's civil jurisdiction begins.
The 36th District Court in Detroit stands apart among Wayne County courts. It is the largest district court in Michigan. It is also one of the busiest in the country. Locals call it the People's Court. It sits at 421 Madison Street, Detroit, and its main line is 313-965-2200.
List of Wayne County District and Municipal Courts
Wayne County's district and municipal courts each serve set cities and communities. The table below lists them all. Each row gives the address and phone the state directory reports. The right venue usually follows where the ticket was issued. It can also follow where the dispute arose in Wayne County.
The 36th District Court explains how to pull its own case files on its records request page.
That court offers public terminals and mailed copies. Warrants and some evaluations stay off-limits to the public.
| Court | City / Jurisdiction | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36th District Court | Detroit | 421 Madison Street, Detroit, MI 48226 | 313-965-2200 |
| 16th District Court | Livonia | 32765 Five Mile Rd., Livonia, MI 48154 | 734-466-2500 |
| 17th District Court | Redford | 15111 Beech Daly Road, Redford, MI 48239 | 313-387-2790 |
| 18th District Court | Westland | 36675 Ford Rd., Westland, MI 48185 | 734-595-8720 |
| 19th District Court | Dearborn | 16077 Michigan Ave, Dearborn, MI 48126 | 313-943-2060 |
| 20th District Court | Dearborn Heights | See Michigan Trial Court Directory | See directory |
| 21st District Court | Garden City | 6000 Middleton Road, Garden City, MI 48135 | 734-793-1680 |
| 22nd District Court | Inkster | 26279 Michigan Avenue, Inkster, MI 48141 | 313-277-8200 |
| 23rd District Court | Taylor | 23365 Goddard Rd., Taylor, MI 48180 | 734-374-1334 |
| 24th District Court | Allen Park | 6515 Roosevelt Rd., Allen Park, MI 48101 | 313-928-0535 |
| 25th District Court | Lincoln Park | 1475 Cleophus Pkwy, Lincoln Park, MI 48146 | 313-382-8603 |
| 27th District Court | Wyandotte | 2015 Biddle Avenue, Wyandotte, MI 48192 | 734-324-4475 |
| 28th District Court | Southgate | 14720 Reaume Parkway, Southgate, MI 48195 | 734-258-3068 |
| 29th District Court | Wayne | 34808 Sims Avenue, Wayne, MI 48184 | 734-722-5220 |
| 30th District Court | Highland Park | 12505 Woodward Ave., Highland Park, MI 48203 | 313-252-0300 |
| 31st District Court | Hamtramck | 3401 Evarline, Hamtramck, MI 48212 | 313-800-5248 |
| 32A District Court | Harper Woods | 19617 Harper Avenue, Harper Woods, MI 48225 | 313-343-2590 |
| 33rd District Court | Woodhaven | 19000 Van Horn Road, Woodhaven, MI 48183 | 734-671-0201 |
| 34th District Court | Romulus | 11129 Wayne Rd., Romulus, MI 48174 | 734-941-4462 |
| 35th District Court | Plymouth | 660 Plymouth Rd., Plymouth, MI 48170-6121 | 734-459-4740 |
| Municipal Courts | Grosse Pointe Woods, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe City, Grosse Pointe Park | See Michigan Trial Court Directory | See directory |
Note: Where the state directory did not report a full address, the row points to the Michigan Trial Court Directory for the current listing rather than a guessed one.
Municipal Courts in Wayne County
Michigan has kept only a handful of municipal courts, and several of them sit in Wayne County. The Grosse Pointe communities run them. A municipal court is a narrow, local court. It handles ordinance violations and minor civil claims. It also takes small criminal matters inside its own city.
These Wayne County courts predate the district court system. The state let them continue when it built the district bench. Grosse Pointe Woods, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe City, and Grosse Pointe Park each operate one. For current addresses and hours, the Michigan Trial Court Directory is the reliable source for these Wayne County courts.
Circuit Court vs District Court vs Municipal Court
In Wayne County, the three trial courts are not the same. They differ in what they can hear. They also differ in how much money is at stake. A quick side-by-side makes the split clear.
| Circuit Court | District Court | Municipal Court | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil Limit | Above $25,000 | Up to $25,000 | Small local claims |
| Criminal Reach | Felonies after bindover | Misdemeanors up to 1 year; felony prelim | City ordinance and minor offenses |
| Family Cases | Yes (divorce, custody, juvenile) | No | No |
| Appeals Go To | Michigan Court of Appeals | Circuit Court / Court of Appeals | Circuit Court |
How a Case Moves Through the Wayne County Courts
A serious case does not stay in one court. It climbs. Most Wayne County felonies start low and move up as the proof clears each step.
Case path: District or Municipal Court arraignment › Preliminary examination › Bindover › Wayne County Circuit Court › Michigan Court of Appeals › Michigan Supreme Court
The first three steps happen in a district or municipal court. A judge there weighs probable cause at the preliminary examination. If the standard is met, the case is bound over.
District court criminal authority, including that felony examination, comes from MCL 600.8311.
Once bindover is ordered, the felony file opens in the Wayne County Circuit Court's criminal division for trial-level work.
Civil cases follow a simpler line. They are filed, litigated, and decided in one Wayne County trial court. Day-by-day filings and hearing dates land on the docket. Certified copies are pulled through the Wayne County Clerk.
Appeals to the Michigan Court of Appeals
A trial court ruling is not always the last word. A losing party can ask a higher court to review it. In Wayne County, that path runs through the state's appellate courts.
Final orders from the Wayne County Circuit Court and the probate court go up. They go to the Michigan Court of Appeals. That court is the state's intermediate appellate bench. From there, a party may ask the Michigan Supreme Court to take the case. The high court accepts only a fraction of requests. Wayne County district court appeals often move to the circuit court first. The Third Circuit's criminal division reviews district-court criminal appeals.
Note: The Court of Appeals reviews the record for legal error and does not retry the facts or take new evidence from the trial.
Specialty Courts in Wayne County
The Wayne County Circuit Court runs more than standard courtrooms. The Third Circuit operates problem-solving courts that pair treatment with supervision. These dockets aim to cut repeat offenses rather than only hand down a sentence.
The Wayne County specialty courts include drug court, mental health court, and veterans court on the adult side. The family division runs a juvenile drug treatment program known as STAND. The Detroit 36th District Court adds its own drug treatment court. It also runs a community court for eligible misdemeanor cases.
The 36th District Court describes its treatment tracks on its probation programs page.
Case files from these courts read differently. They can show repeated status hearings, testing, and compliance events. There may be no single plea and sentence.
These programs run through the regular docket. Their activity still turns up in the county's court records. That keeps the specialty tracks part of the wider Wayne County court record.