Which courtroom hears your case is decided before you ever speak to a judge. In Michigan it depends on two things: where the alleged offense happened, and how the charge is graded. Every misdemeanor and the opening stages of every felony start in a district court. Felonies that survive a preliminary examination are bound over to the circuit court for the county.
That matters more than most people expect. Two defendants charged with the same offense, a few miles apart, can face different prosecutors, different bond practices, and different sentencing habits. Attorney Shawn Haff appears in these courts continuously, and the pages below set out what to expect in each one.
District courts in West Michigan
63rd District Court — Kent County
Kent County's district court outside the city courts. Cases are heard by Judge Kristen Holz and Judge Jeffrey O'Hara. Relationships with the prosecutors assigned to each docket matter here, and they are built over years, not in a single hearing.
61st District Court — City of Grand Rapids
Located in downtown Grand Rapids near the Kent County government complex. This is the busiest criminal docket in West Michigan and handles offenses charged within the city limits.
62A District Court — City of Wyoming
At 2650 DeHoop Avenue SW, serving the City of Wyoming exclusively. A strict bench with a reputation for efficiency, and the court most likely to hear a retail fraud charge from the 44th Street corridor.
62B District Court — Kentwood
At 4740 Walma Avenue SE. Handles all misdemeanors and the preliminary stages of felony cases arising in Kentwood.
59th District Court — Walker and Grandville
Serves the cities of Walker and Grandville, including cases charged out of RiverTown Crossings.
58th District Court — Ottawa County
Unusual in that it operates across three locations — Grand Haven, Holland and Hudsonville — with each hearing cases for specific townships and cities. Which building you appear in depends on where you were stopped.
57th District Court — Allegan County
At 113 Chestnut Street in Allegan, covering the whole county from Wayland and Hopkins down to Saugatuck and Fennville.
56B District Court — Barry County
At 206 W. Court Street in Hastings, hearing cases from Hastings, Middleville and the rest of Barry County — including arrests near Gun Lake.
7th District Court — Van Buren County
Split between an East Division at 212 Paw Paw Street in Paw Paw and a South Haven division on the west side of the county. Felonies bound over here are heard in the 36th Circuit Court.
Specialty and problem-solving courts
Some cases do not follow the ordinary track. Michigan operates specialty dockets that trade intensive supervision for a better outcome, and eligibility is decided early — often before a plea is entered, which is why the decision belongs in the first conversation with your attorney, not the last.
- Sobriety Court — structured treatment and monitoring for repeat drunk driving cases, and in some cases the route to a restricted license sooner than the statute alone allows.
- Drunk Driving Court in Kent County — how the Kent County program works and who qualifies.
- Domestic Violence Court in Kent County — which court hears a domestic violence charge depends on where the incident happened and how the charge is graded.
What actually happens, in order
The court process is the same shape in every one of the buildings above. Knowing the sequence is what stops the first hearing from being the one that costs you the case.
- Arrest warrants — what a warrant means and why turning yourself in on your own terms is almost always better than being picked up.
- Arraignment — the first appearance, where the charge is read and bond is set. See also should I plead guilty at arraignment?, where the answer is very rarely yes.
- Bail and bond — how release is decided and what conditions come attached.
- Preliminary examination — the felony hearing where the prosecutor must show probable cause, and the best early opportunity to test the case.
- What to expect at court — the practical version: what to wear, when to arrive, what happens in the room.
- Going to trial and district court trials — how a case is actually tried when no acceptable offer arrives.
- Plea bargains — when a negotiated resolution genuinely beats the alternative.
A word on high court misdemeanors
Michigan uses a category that confuses almost everyone who meets it: the high court misdemeanor. It is charged and tried like a felony in circuit court and carries up to two years, but it is labeled a misdemeanor. If you have been told your charge is "only a misdemeanor," this is the first thing to check.
Charged in one of these courts?
Call 616-438-6719. I answer my own phone, 24 hours a day. Tell me which court your notice names and I will tell you what to expect there.