Tuscola County District Court

About District Court

The District Court hours are established to accommodate everyone who has business with the court and to provide sufficient time for the Judges and staff to properly handle the caseload.

The District Court is a court of limited jurisdiction. All criminal cases are started in the District Court. No clerk is permitted to give legal advice.

The District Court is broken down into four main divisions:

Criminal Division

• Cases handled in this division include major traffic and misdemeanor offenses, felony charges, liquor, conservation, watercraft, and animal violations. Most of these violations require a personal appearance before a judge or magistrate.

Traffic Division

• Traffic civil infractions, and minor traffic misdemeanor offenses are handled by the Traffic Division. You may schedule an Informal Hearing with the Traffic Clerk or pay preset fines in this division daily.

Probation Division

• Sentencing by the court may result in probation, which requires specified periods of time that an individual must report to a Probation Officer of this division.

Civil Division

• The Civil Division processes Civil suits, Small Claims cases, Landlord-Tenant disputes and Land Contract cases. The Court handles civil suits up to $25,000 while Small Claims cases provide an inexpensive forum for resolving money disputes up to $3,000.