Howard City Criminal Defense Attorney
Howard City is a village in Reynolds Township in western Montcalm County, sitting just east of the junction where US-131 meets M-46 and M-82. I am Shawn Haff, and I defend people charged with crimes throughout Howard City and Montcalm County. If you have been arrested, or you know you are under investigation, talk to a defense lawyer before you talk to anyone else. The call is free and I am available 24/7 at 616-438-6719.
Where Your Howard City Case Will Be Heard
Montcalm County has one district court and it sits in the county seat: the 64B District Court at 617 N State St, Stanton, which handles misdemeanors, arraignments and felony preliminary examinations. Felonies that are bound over go to the 8th Circuit Court a few doors down at 631 N State St. The sheriff's office and the county jail are on the same street. From Howard City that is a drive across most of the county, which is one reason people from the west side of Montcalm miss court dates — and a missed date turns a manageable charge into a bench warrant.
Knowing the building is the easy part. What matters is knowing how that particular bench handles a first offense, which prosecutor has room to negotiate, and what the local diversion options actually are — see my 64B District Court page for how these cases run.
The Charges I See Most in Howard City
The village no longer has a police department of its own; policing merged into the Montcalm County Sheriff's Office, and troopers from the MSP Lakeview Post work the highways. That shapes the caseload. US-131 is the main north–south route between Grand Rapids and Big Rapids, and the interchange just west of the village is where a great many Howard City files begin: late-night speeding and lane stops that become OWI arrests, vehicle searches that become drug charges, and license checks that surface an old warrant.
- OWI and drunk driving stops on US-131, M-46 and M-82
- Drug possession and delivery or trafficking charges from highway vehicle searches
- Marijuana charges over the legal limit or alleging intent to deliver
- Driving while license suspended
- Fleeing and eluding, which is a felony even when the pursuit is brief
- Domestic violence and theft
What Is Actually at Stake
A highway drug case is really two cases: what was found, and how the officer came to be looking. Police may not stretch a traffic stop beyond the time reasonably needed to handle the reason for it, so how long you waited on the shoulder before a dog or a second car arrived is not a detail — it is often the whole defense. If the search falls, the evidence usually falls with it.
What to Do Next
Write down the timeline tonight: when you were stopped, what you were told the stop was for, when the questions moved on to other things, when anyone else arrived, and whether you were asked for consent to search. Those minutes decide suppression motions, and nobody else will record them for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where will my Howard City case be heard?
At the 64B District Court, 617 N State St, Stanton, for misdemeanors, arraignments and preliminary exams, and at the 8th Circuit Court, 631 N State St, Stanton, for felonies that are bound over.
Who is the police in Howard City now?
The village's police services merged into the Montcalm County Sheriff's Office, so village calls are handled by sheriff's deputies. State troopers from the MSP Lakeview Post also patrol the highways around the village, and many US-131 arrests are theirs.
They searched my car after a stop on US-131. Can that be challenged?
Often, yes. Each step — the stop, any extension of it, and the search — needs its own legal justification. If the stop was prolonged to wait for a drug dog without independent grounds, or consent was not truly voluntary, a motion to suppress can remove the evidence from the case.
Talk to a Howard City Defense Lawyer Today
A criminal charge moves fast, and the first days matter most. Call me directly at 616-438-6719 for a free, confidential consultation — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.