Wayne County Court

County Resources

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The Wayne County Michigan Courthouse serves the city of Detroit and its residents, and is also known as the Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan. It is located at 2 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI, and is also known as the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. This is why you’ll see it shortened as CAYMC. Its hours of operation are between 8:30am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday.

The courthouse is quite the site to behold, standing at a staggering 318 feet tall with 20 stories above ground, 1 story below ground, and a second tower with 14 floors known as the City Center. The basement level is home to the County Clerk’s Central Records office at LL-61. In addition to housing the Clerks’ office and records, the CAYMC also has various amenities including a 550-seat auditorium, and is home to various judges’ quarters located throughout all 20 stories.

Besides judges’ chambers, you can find the taxpayer office on the first floor, probate court on the 13th floor, the City Clerk office on the second floor, and much more. A floor directory is available at https://caymc.com/pdf/4240_001.pdf.

Wayne County Michigan County Court Clerk

The Wayne County Michigan County Court Clerk, Cathy M. Garrett, is responsible for overseeing all official records and court documents for the Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan. This includes managing and maintaining the records of all civil, criminal, family, and probate cases that are heard at the courthouse.

In addition to record keeping, the county court clerk also has a variety of other duties including issuing marriage licenses and keeping transcripts of births and deaths. A significant component of the job also involves recording and indexing information so it may be available to the public, including information such as all business assumed names, co-partnership certificates, notary public appointments, and even military discharges.

It isn’t uncommon for the County Court Clerk to also be a clerk for other offices/departments in their county. In Wayne County, Cathy M. Garrett also serves as a clerk for the Board of Commissioners and Board of County Canvassers. Her job is not only to maintain records for these Boards and Wayne County, but also to ensure these records are available at a fair cost to the public.

Wayne County Michigan District Court

Wayne County’s District Court system is part of the County’s Screening and District Court system. It is one of the largest systems, consisting of 25 District and Municipal Courts. This includes the City of Detroit, Levonia, and other major cities. The district courts and municipal courts include the 3rd Circuit Court, 16th District Court, 17th District Court, 18th District Court, 19th District Court, 20th District Court, 21st District Court, 22nd District Court, 23rd District Court, 24th District Court, 25th District Court, 27th District Court, 28th District Court, 29th District Court, 30th District Court, 31st District Court, 32A District Court, 33rd District Court, 34th District Court, 35th District Court, 36th District Court, Grosse Pointe Municipal Court, Grosse Pointe Farms Municipal Court, Grosse Pointe, Park Municipal Court, and Grosse Pointe Woods Municipal Court.

The District Courts, for the most part, are in charge of handling felony preliminary exams. Preliminary examinations are held in order to determine if there is enough evidence to put a defendant on trial for the offense they are charged with. They are also responsible for handling all misdemeanor violations, which include traffic offenses. In addition, they may also handle smaller offenses like civil infractions that involve traffic tickets.

Wayne County Michigan Central Magistrate Court

All district courts in Wayne County have a magistrate judge that serves as an initial intake point for all criminal cases. The magistrate court is responsible for arraignments, setting bond amounts, and even issuing arrest warrants. They also handle initial appearances and bond hearings, where the judge decides if the defendant can be released from jail while awaiting trial.
Magistrate judges are usually the first point of contact for defendants who have been arrested and brought to court. In Wayne County, defendants see the magistrate after they are arrested by police or after a warrant is authorized by the prosecutor’s office. At their arraignment, the magistrate informs the defendant of their charges, notifies the person of his or her rights, sets the defendant’s bond (if any), and finally sets a preliminary court date.

The easiest way to see a list of magistrate judges is to visit the individual districts’ website and find the magistrate judges. For instance, the 30th judicial court has 3 magistrate judges, Candace R. Lattin for Barber County, Ronald C. Sylvester for Kingman County, and
Scott McPherson for Harper County.

Wayne County Michigan Civil Court

Wayne County has its own selection of civil court judges within its Circuit Court in charge of hearing more serious cases in civil court. These include matters that involve claims of more than $25,000. These claims can include various issues such as medical malpractice, auto negligence, discrimination against employees, personal injury cases, contract cases, and receiverships among others.

Wayne County’s district courts can also appeal civil cases, which means that if a party is not satisfied with the outcome of their case in district court, they can appeal to the Civil court division. This allows for a higher level of review and potentially a different outcome. District courts can handle smaller cases under $25,000, and also family cases like divorce and child hearings or probate, which are also considered civil cases.

Wayne County Michigan Felony Drug Court

Many counties have special programs for drug offenses that are considered nonviolent and a beneficial program for the defendants. In Wayne County, Michigan, the drug court is known as adult drug court. This program allows those who have been charged with a drug-related crime (like possession or distribution) to enter into a rehabilitation program instead of serving jail time.

The goal of this program is to address underlying issues and help individuals overcome their addiction rather than solely punishing them. Defendants work with a judge and case manager to overcome their addiction and work toward recovery. The Drug Court Team is composed of judges, prosecutors, treatment providers in the third circuit court area, probation officers, and judges. It is currently headed by Judge Lawrence S. Talon.