How to Check Your Criminal Case Status in Kent County, Michigan

You need a date, a courtroom or an answer, and the paperwork is confusing

A citation, a bond receipt or a letter from the court usually names the court and a case number. If it does, you are most of the way there. If you only know the city where the arrest happened, district court vs. circuit court explains which Kent County court handles which cases.

Court records are public by default. Under MCR 8.119(D) each court keeps a register of actions, a running list of every filing, order and hearing in the case, and under MCR 8.119(H) any person may inspect a case record unless access is restricted by statute, court rule or court order. The same rule lets a court publish that history on a public website, which is what the lookups below do.

This page is general information, current as of the date shown, and describes official websites that change. It is not advice about your case, so talk to a lawyer about your own case before acting on what a website shows. If something you read online does not match your paperwork, the clerk's office and your lawyer are the places to resolve it.

Step 1: Find your court and use its official lookup

Each Kent County court publishes its own entry point. Use these pages rather than third-party record sites, which copy data and can be out of date.

• MiCOURT Case Search (statewide): micourt.courts.michigan.gov/case-search, run by the State Court Administrative Office. Its terms page lists participating courts and limits. For "C17-Kent" and "D62B-Kent," criminal cases are displayed only if the case is pending or sentencing occurred within the past seven years. For "D61 - Grand Rapids" it says no cases are available.
• 17th Circuit Court (felonies): the county's 17th Circuit Court site has a Hearing Schedule you can search by name or hearing date, and a Search Court Records page that leads to a name search account login. Clerk: 616-632-5220.
• 61st District Court (City of Grand Rapids): the court's own site offers Case Lookup and a daily Hearing Schedule. Its page says the lookup may not show very recent updates, does not show active arrest warrants, and omits felony cases bound over to circuit court since July 2, 2024. Court: 616-632-5700.
• 62A District Court (City of Wyoming): the city's Case Search page sends you to MiCOURT for the court, with a register of actions for public criminal, traffic and civil records from 1990 forward. Criminal division: 616-257-9814.
• 62B District Court (City of Kentwood): the city's Record Search page explains searching by case number or name and, under Local Administrative Order 2020-03, requires a case number or party names for a records request. Court: 616-698-9310.
• 63rd District Court (Kent County): the county's 63rd District Court site links a Case Search on MiCOURT and a public Hearing Schedule display. Court: 616-632-7770.

Step 2: Read what the docket shows, and what it does not

A register of actions is a log, not a narrative. MCR 8.119(D) requires it to show the nature of each item filed and each item the court issued, with dates, and to be searchable by case number or party name with the names of the parties and any attorneys of record. In a criminal case that usually means the charges and their level, the arraignment and bond entries, each scheduled hearing, motions, and the disposition. MiCOURT's terms note that its "Charge Level" field tells you whether an offense is a misdemeanor or a felony.

What you will not reliably find: the police report, the evidence, non-public or sealed records, and warrant status. The 61st District Court says plainly that active arrest warrants are not shown, and MiCOURT's terms say information is updated on a regular basis but the exact timing varies by court. The 61st also warns that new entries can take up to 24 hours to appear and that the online record does not replace the official file.

If you think a warrant may exist, do not rely on an empty docket. What to do if there is a warrant explains how to find out and what the options are.

Step 3: If someone is in jail

The Kent County Sheriff's Office runs an Inmate Lookup for people currently held at the Kent County Correctional Facility. The online tool is called Jail Viewer and shows booking information. The inmate information line is 616-632-6300, option 1. The sheriff's page also links VINELink, a notification service that sends a call or email when custody status changes.

Read the disclaimers on that page before acting on what you see. The sheriff's office states that it does not warrant that posted information is current, that posted information should not be relied on for legal action, and that "An arrest does not mean the inmate has been convicted of a crime." A person who has just been booked may not appear yet, and a person released on bond may still show for a time.

A booking record does not tell you when the arraignment is. For that, use the court lookups above or call the court; the arraignment itself is explained in how to prepare for an arraignment.

ICHAT is a criminal history check, not your court docket

People searching for case status often land on ICHAT, the Michigan State Police Internet Criminal History Access Tool, reached from the State Police criminal history page. It is a different product. The MSP page explains that ICHAT searches public criminal history information kept by the State Police Criminal Justice Information Center, and that all felonies and serious misdemeanors punishable by more than 93 days must be reported to that repository by police, prosecutors and courts statewide.

ICHAT does not show hearing dates or docket entries. According to the same MSP page, suppressed records and warrant information are not available through ICHAT, and it does not include federal records, tribal records, traffic records, juvenile records, local misdemeanors or criminal history from other states. A fee is charged for each search, a name and date of birth are required, and results stay available online for seven days.

Use ICHAT to see what a Michigan background check will show about you after a case is over. Use the court lookups to follow a case while it is open.

What to do with what you find, and when a lawyer matters

Write down the case number, the next date, the courtroom and the judge, and compare them with your paperwork. If the docket shows a hearing you did not know about, call the clerk the same day. If it shows a lawyer you did not hire, that may be arraignment counsel or a court appointment; the clerk can tell you. If it shows nothing at all and you were arrested, the charge may not have been filed yet, or the court may not be on the lookup you used.

A lawyer matters when the docket raises more questions than it answers: a date you missed, a bond condition you did not know about, a charge level that changed, or a case that moved from a district court to the 17th Circuit Court. The office of Attorney Shawn Haff offers a free consultation at 616-438-6719, answered 24 hours a day, and regularly appears in the 63rd, 62A and 62B District Courts and the 17th Circuit Court. The West Michigan courts page describes each one, and the Kent County criminal defense page covers the county. Bring what you found online, and let a lawyer read it against your own case.