Shiawassee County Circuit Court Overview
Michigan runs three trial courts: circuit, district, and probate. The circuit court is the broadest of the three. In Shiawassee County, that court is the 35th Judicial Circuit Court. It carries original jurisdiction over felony crimes, high-court misdemeanors, and civil actions where the amount in dispute tops $25,000. It also hears appeals from lower courts and from some state agencies.
Shiawassee County has one circuit, not several numbered branches. The 35th Circuit serves this county alone. The court holds civil, criminal, and family divisions under a single bench. The Family Division rounds out the court's reach by taking divorce, custody, support, and juvenile cases. Michigan's own trial-court structure page confirms the three-court model that shapes every county.
The court is old by Michigan standards. The first term of the Circuit Court for Shiawassee County was held on December 4, 1837. Today the bench sits in a historic courthouse built in 1903 and 1904 on the county's public square in Corunna. The building holds the Circuit Court, the County Clerk's court counter, and the Register of Deeds. That single-site setup keeps the general-jurisdiction court and its files under one roof.
Shiawassee County Trial Courts
Shiawassee County spreads its trial courts across two downtown Corunna buildings. The Circuit Court sits in the historic courthouse, while the District, Probate, and Family courts share the Courts and Defender Building one block away. There are no separate numbered branches and no justice or municipal trial courts in the county. The table lists each court and division a resident may deal with.
| Court / Division | Handles | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35th Judicial Circuit Court | Felony, civil over $25,000, high-court misdemeanors, appeals | 208 North Shiawassee Street, 2nd Floor, Corunna | 989-743-2262 opt 3 |
| Circuit Court Family Division | Divorce, custody, support, paternity, adoption, juvenile | 110 East Mack Street, 2nd Floor, Corunna | 989-743-2372 |
| 66th Judicial District Court | Misdemeanors, traffic, small claims, civil up to $25,000 | 110 East Mack Street, Corunna | 989-743-2395 |
| Probate Court | Estates, guardianships, conservatorships, mental commitments, name changes | 110 East Mack Street, 2nd Floor, Corunna | 989-743-2211 |
How a Case Moves Through the Shiawassee County System
A criminal case rarely starts in the Circuit Court. Most felonies open in the District Court, then move up after a judge finds probable cause. That transfer is called a bindover. Civil cases over the dollar limit begin directly in the Circuit Court and follow their own track to judgment.
Criminal flow: Arrest › District Court arraignment, bond, and preliminary exam › Bindover › Circuit Court arraignment › Pretrial › Trial › Sentencing › Michigan Court of Appeals
Civil flow: Complaint Filed › Answer › Discovery › Motions › Trial › Judgment › Appeal
Note: A felony that begins in the District Court is not a Circuit Court record until bindover, so early filings may appear only in the lower court's file.
Shiawassee County Trial Court Comparison
Each Michigan trial court owns a lane. Knowing the lane tells a resident where a case lives and where its record sits. The Circuit Court takes the heavy matters, the District Court takes everyday cases, and the Probate Court takes estates and protective proceedings. The comparison below shows the split for Shiawassee County.
| Circuit Court | District Court | Probate Court | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil Limit | Over $25,000 | Up to $25,000; small claims up to $7,000 | Estate and protective matters |
| Criminal Jurisdiction | Felonies and high-court misdemeanors | Misdemeanors up to 1 year; felony preliminary exams | None |
| Family Cases | Yes, through the Family Division | No | Guardianship and mental-health matters |
| Hears Appeals | Yes, from lower courts and some agencies | No | No |
Types of Shiawassee County Circuit Court Records
Circuit Court records fall into a few broad groups. Civil files hold disputes above the dollar limit, and criminal files hold felony cases and high-court misdemeanors. Family files sit in the Family Division and cover the most personal matters. Each file grows as the case moves, so early entries look thin next to a closed case. The list below shows the records the court commonly keeps.
- Civil files: complaint, summons, answers, motions, orders, judgments, garnishments, and appeals
- Criminal files: complaint, warrant, bindover order, information, arraignment, plea, trial entries, sentencing, and restitution
- Family files: divorce complaint, custody and parenting-time orders, child-support orders, and paternity filings
- Financial entries: fines, costs, restitution, bond, and payment history
- Appellate entries when a lower-court or agency decision is reviewed
Most civil and criminal case information is public unless a law, court rule, or court order limits it. Sealed matters, juvenile files, and protected personal details do not appear in the public view. A closed file still stays with the court and can be viewed at the counter.
Shiawassee County Court Divisions
The Circuit Court works through three divisions. The criminal division handles felonies and high-court misdemeanors that reach the court after bindover or direct filing. The civil division takes disputes above the dollar limit, including contract claims, injury suits, and requests for equitable relief. The Family Division stands apart because Michigan folded family matters into every circuit court in 1998.
The Family Court page describes the division's broad reach. It has exclusive jurisdiction over divorce, custody, visitation, support, paternity, adoption, juvenile proceedings, emancipation, parental consent, and parental termination. Family cases meet at the Courts and Defender Building at 110 East Mack Street, while general civil and criminal cases are heard in the historic courthouse. Juvenile and adoption files carry strong confidentiality limits, so those records are not open like ordinary case files.
Support and parenting-time cases lean on a companion office. The Friend of the Court sits on the first floor of the historic courthouse and helps enforce custody, parenting-time, and child-support orders. It handles payment processing and grievance steps for domestic-relations cases. That office works with the Family Division but keeps its own contact line at 989-743-2397.
The 35th Judicial Circuit
Chief Judge Matthew J. Stewart presides over the 35th Judicial Circuit Court. The court operates Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to noon and from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. It shares the historic courthouse with the County Clerk's Circuit Court counter and the Register of Deeds. The Circuit Court page lists the judge, hours, and jurisdiction.
Appeals from Shiawassee trial courts route through the Michigan Court of Appeals and, at the top, the Michigan Supreme Court. The Circuit Court itself also acts as an appellate court for certain lower-court and agency decisions. That dual role, trial court and appeals court, is a defining feature of Michigan's circuit system. The court's civil, criminal, and family work all flows through one bench in Corunna.
Legal Terms in Shiawassee County Records
Circuit Court files carry words that can confuse a first-time reader. A few terms show up again and again in felony cases and appeals. Knowing them makes a docket entry far easier to read. The short glossary below defines the ones that matter most at this court level.
- Preliminary examination
- A District Court hearing that tests probable cause before a felony moves up.
- Bindover
- The transfer of a felony case from the District Court to the Circuit Court.
- Information
- The formal charging document used in felony Circuit Court after bindover or waiver.
- Disposition
- The outcome of a case or a single charge, such as a plea, verdict, or dismissal.
- Personal recognizance
- Release on a promise to appear, without an upfront cash bond.
Public Access and PII Limits
Court records are not Michigan FOIA records. The judicial branch is exempt from the state's general open-records route, so a FOIA request is not the first step for a court file. Instead, access follows court rule. Under MCR 8.119, trial-court case records are public unless a law, court rule, or court order restricts them. The state's FOIA definition keeps courts outside the executive-branch process.
Some details are shielded by design. Protected personal identifying information became nonpublic under amendments to MCR 1.109 and MCR 8.119 that took effect April 1, 2022. Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, dates of birth, and protected addresses should not appear as public web data. Juvenile records carry an even tighter rule; under MCL 712A.28, juvenile case records are open only by court order.
Note: Sealed and set-aside convictions are handled separately, so a case may still exist at the court even when it no longer shows in public criminal-history access.
How to Access Shiawassee County Court Records
The County Clerk is also the clerk of the 35th Circuit Court. That office keeps every Circuit Court file and lets the public view files at the counter. Public case information is also available online through the state MiCOURT system. Because Shiawassee is not an e-filing circuit, most documents move by counter or mail rather than through a portal.
- Open MiCOURT Case Search and select the 35th Circuit Court if the portal asks for a court.
- Search by case number when you have it, or by party name for a public case.
- Review the parties, case type, status, and register of actions shown in the result.
- For a complete file, visit the County Clerk's Circuit Court counter in Corunna.
A broader walkthrough of statewide search sits on the court records page, and daily hearing lists appear on the court dockets page. The Circuit Court Clerk's counter page explains file access, PII rules, and filing methods in more detail.