Berrien County Domestic Violence Courts: The Trial Court in St. Joseph and Niles

Berrien County does not have the usual pair of separate district and circuit courthouses. Its courts operate as a single Berrien County Trial Court with two courthouses, in St. Joseph and in Niles.^[1][9] Which one hears a domestic violence case depends on where the offense is alleged to have occurred.^[3][4]

If you are in danger, call 911. Caring Connection's Empowerment Center answers a 24-hour domestic and sexual violence hotline at (269) 925-9500.^[8] For a statewide advocate, call or text the VOICES4 hotline at 855-864-2374; the National Domestic Violence Hotline is at 1-800-799-7233.^[10][11]

The Trial Court reassigns judges and adjusts procedures by administrative order. Confirm the courthouse and time with the court clerk before you go.

One Trial Court instead of separate courts

Under a concurrent jurisdiction plan, each Berrien County judge has jurisdiction to act in proceedings of the 2nd Judicial Circuit, the Berrien County Probate Court and the 5th District Court.^[1] The current structure is set by Trial Court Administrative Order 2024-01, effective February 21, 2024.^[12] Which judge sits in which division and courthouse is set separately, most recently by Administrative Order 2025-01, effective January 6, 2025, which assigns one judge to the Niles Courthouse and the rest to St. Joseph.^[13]

That order assigns ordinance, civil infraction, misdemeanor and felony criminal proceedings to one Criminal Division.^[2] So the question in Berrien County is less "district or circuit?" than "Niles or St. Joseph?"

Niles or St. Joseph: it follows where the offense occurred

The order says Criminal Division proceedings may be held at the Niles Courthouse when the charged offense is alleged to have occurred in one of these municipalities:^[3]

Type	Municipalities whose cases may be heard at the Niles Courthouse
Cities	Buchanan and Niles; Bridgman for ordinance violations only[3]
Villages	Berrien Springs, Eau Claire and Galien[3]
Townships	Berrien, Bertrand, Buchanan, Galien, Niles, Oronoko Charter and Weesaw[3]

All other court proceedings are held at the St. Joseph Courthouse.^[4] Three points follow from the wording:

• The test is the place of the alleged offense. A person who lives in Niles but is charged over an incident elsewhere in the county is not on the Niles list for that case.^[3][4]
• For Bridgman, only ordinance violations are on the Niles list.^[3]
• The order says proceedings "may be held" at Niles, so read the courthouse named on your own notice instead of assuming.^[3]

Courthouse	Address
St. Joseph Courthouse	811 Port St., St. Joseph, MI 49085[9]
Niles Courthouse	1205 Front St., Niles, MI 49120[9]

Published hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 5pm, with a note that department hours may vary.^[9]

Felony cases

Felonies stay within the same Criminal Division. A Niles Courthouse felony case is assigned to the Niles Courthouse judge when the case is filed, and the same is true of a Niles Courthouse misdemeanor case.^[14] Elsewhere in Michigan the district court keeps a felony only through the preliminary examination and the circuit court takes it from the bindover.^[15] In Berrien County the concurrent jurisdiction plan lets each judge act at both levels.^[1] The stages themselves are the same as in any county; see the felony case timeline.

Filing a PPO in Berrien County

The County Clerk's instructions are to mail or bring completed forms to one of two offices:^[5]

• Berrien County Clerk's Office, Berrien County Courthouse, 811 Port Street, 1st Floor, Saint Joseph, MI 49085.^[5]
• Berrien County Clerk's Office, South County Building, 1205 N Front Street, Niles, MI 49120.^[5]

The Clerk asks for a complete packet: every form listed for the type of order, because packets have to include all forms to avoid delayed processing. For a domestic relationship PPO against an adult, the listed forms are SCAO CC 375 and CC 376 plus an additional local form covering LEIN compliance, notice to the petitioner and service.^[16] The Clerk's phone number is 269-983-7111.^[17]

Which division and courthouse handles the PPO

Under the 2024 structure order, the Family Division is assigned domestic relations proceedings, including personal protection order proceedings, and all extreme risk protection orders, which the order calls emergency risk protection orders.^[6] Two later orders were read for this guide on October 4, 2026, and neither moves domestic PPO cases out of that division. The Family Court Plan signed July 31, 2025 lists the PPO case types among the Family Division's primary case types and states that the division is located in the Berrien County Courthouse in St. Joseph.^[7] The assignment order effective January 6, 2025 places every Family Division judge and referee at the St. Joseph Courthouse.^[13]

The same plan names the County Clerk as clerk of the court for personal protection order files, and it says domestic relations files started at the Clerk's south county location are transferred to the St. Joseph courthouse.^[18] A petition handed in at Niles should therefore not be assumed to produce a hearing in Niles; confirm with the court clerk.

Non-domestic PPOs are less clear. The 2024 structure order assigns non-domestic personal protection proceedings to a Civil Division judge by lot, while the 2025 Family Court Plan includes PH, the non-domestic PPO case type, among the Family Division's case types.^[6][7][19] For a non-domestic petition, confirm with the court clerk which judge will hear it.

Berrien County also runs a Self-Help Legal Resource Center, where staff and volunteers assist with the procedural steps of filing court documents but cannot give legal advice.^[20] The legal standard for an order is covered in How to get a PPO in Michigan, and the firearm order in Extreme risk protection orders.

Local help in Berrien County

Caring Connection's Empowerment Center offers an intimate partner shelter for clients and their dependent children, legal advocacy, counseling and support groups, with community offices in Benton Harbor and Three Oaks; its services are free of charge and confidential.^[8] Older materials use the names The Avenue and Cora Lamping Center for the same provider.^[21][8] The state-run VOICES4 hotline is another free, confidential option, with advocates available 24/7.^[22] See Where to get help in West Michigan.

Legal Aid of Western Michigan's Berrien County intake number is 269-983-6363.^[23] It handles civil legal problems and, apart from record expungements, no criminal cases.^[24] Defendants who face possible jail or prison and cannot afford a lawyer are entitled to an appointed one.^[25]

Problem-solving courts and local numbers

The Criminal Division includes a Drug Treatment Court, a Mental Health Court and a Swift and Sure Sanctions Probation Program.^[26] The Trial Court also issued an order establishing an Operating While Impaired/Sobriety Court, dated October 1, 2025.^[27] None of these is described as a domestic violence docket; see Specialty courts and domestic violence.

The Michigan State Police recorded 913 domestic violence victims in Berrien County in 2025, 865 in 2024, 906 in 2023, 1,056 in 2022 and 822 in 2021.^[28] In 2025, 656 were recorded as non-aggravated assault victims and 187 as aggravated or felonious assault victims.^[28] These are incidents an investigating officer flagged as domestic violence, a category that reaches parents, children and siblings as well as partners.^[29][30]

The hearings, whichever courthouse

An arrested person who has not been released is brought before a court for arraignment without unnecessary delay.^[31] In a felony case the court then sets a probable cause conference 7 to 14 days after the arraignment.^[32] A felony jury has 12 members; a misdemeanor jury has 6.^[33][34] The misdemeanor case timeline and The arraignment explain each stage.