Court - District 46

Please be advised that the 46th District Court will be closed on December 17, 2024 from 12:00 – 5:00 p.m.

MiFILE 

Effective December 5, 2023, filers can click on the button below to access MiFILE, the Michigan judiciary’s electronic filing system for filing and serving documents online. This website does not provide public access to court records. If you would like to obtain a court record, please contact the court directly.

MiFILE

The JIS Customer Success Team is pleased to offer a webinar training tailored to our Filing Community. The webinar, titled, “TrueFiling – What you need to know about eFiling” will be held on May 17, 2024. Please click here for more information.

The 46th District Court encompasses Southfield, Lathrup Village, Beverly Hills, Franklin Village, Bingham Farms, and Southfield Township. The 46th District is served by three elected judges and two appointed magistrates, with daily operations directed by Court Administrator Renee Shelide (telephone: (248) 796-5800), who is appointed by the judges.


The 46th District Court has exclusive jurisdiction over:

  • all civil litigation up to $25,000.00
  • all criminal misdemeanors (where punishment does not exceed one year)
  • the arraignment, setting, and acceptance of bail and conducting of preliminary examinations in felony cases (where punishment exceeds one year imprisonment)
  • all traffic and parking violations
  • small claims disputes in which the claim does not exceed $7,000.
  • all landlord-tenant disputes and land contract forfeitures

    PUBLIC NOTICE
    REVISED OCTOBER 2023

The 46th District Court has returned to full capacity of operations following the Coronavirus pandemic, pursuant to Michigan Supreme Court issued Administrative Order 2020-14. This notice is subject to change and will remain in effect until further notice by the Chief Judge.

PLEASE CONTACT THE COURT FOR THE MOST RECENT INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR CASE.

Please click here for information regarding Zoom

The 46th District Court building is open to the public weekdays from 8 am to 4:30 pm.  Effective March 21, 2022 the clerk’s office will close daily from 12 pm- 1:00 pm, phones will not be answered during this time.

Effective February 8, 2024, the Civil Division phones and counter will be closed from 11:30 am - 1:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The Court has resumed in-person hearings for all criminal matters.  Remote hearings will be allowed, at the discretion of the assigned judge, when requested by either party.  

Effective December 6, 2023, the 46th District Court will become a MiFILE court.  Please see the MiFILE page for more information. 

Civil motion hearings and some pre-trials will be held remotely via Zoom.

Requirements for Entry - Witnesses and non-parties will be allowed into the common areas of the building subject to space limitations. Non-parties and spectators will be allowed into courtrooms to the extent that the courtroom is not at capacity.  Persons not allowed into courtrooms due to capacity, may view the proceedings via Zoom live streaming on YouTube. 

Please DO NOT enter the building if you have any of the following symptoms:

  • Fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomitting, or diarrhea.
  • Masks are not required but are strongly recommended.
  • Persons are required to be socially distant and stay 6 feet apart from others.
  • All persons entering the building will undergo weapons screening.

CIVIL

  • Effective December 6, 2023, the court will comply with the requirements of MCR 4.201 regarding Landlord/Tenant procedures. Please click here for more information.
  • Landlord/Tenant first hearings are being scheduled in-person.  
  • Civil jury trials will be held in-person.
  • All motions and hearings will be scheduled for hearing via Zoom.  
  • Civil bench trials and small claims trials will be held in person.
  • All mediations will be referred to online dispute resolution via MI-Resolve or set for mediation via Zoom
  • Municipal civil infraction hearings will be heard via Zoom.

Additional Landlord Tenant resources can be found at:

Michigan Legal Help - https://michiganlegalhelp.org/

TRAFFIC

  • Parties are encouraged to use online resolution which can be found at www.courtinnovations.com/mid46.  If a party requests an informal or formal hearing, it will be scheduled within 30 days.
  • Civil infraction conferences, informal hearings and formal hearings are being scheduled for hearing via Zoom. If you have received a traffic civil infraction, you must use online resolution within 14 days; or if you do not elect to use online resolution, you must still contact the court for a hearing date within 14 days.
  • Default judgments for failing to appear may be entered for Zoom hearings where the hearing was requested by the respondent.

CRIMINAL

  • Walk-in arraignments will be conducted in-person. Parties who contact the court regarding a misdemeanor (non-domestic) arraignment can post a bond, if required, have the warrant lifted and receive a Notice to Appear. Defendants with felony or domestic warrants shall be directed to the police department to be processed for video arraignment.  Online warrant resolution for misdemeanors and other non-felony bench warrants is available at www.courtinnovations.com/mid46.
  • In-person arraignments will be held daily at 8:30 am
  • Criminal jury trials, felony preliminary exams, misdemeanor bench trials, pre-trials, sentencing hearings, probation violation hearings and review hearings will be held in-person.
  • All in-custody bonds will continue to be administratively reviewed.

PROBATION

  • All probationers will report via phone, mail, e-mail or Zoom conference until further notice.  Probation in-take will be conducted in-person.  
  • All Pre-Sentence Investigation interviews will be conducted remotely.

Online Ticket and Warrant Review and Resolution

The 46th District Court is pleased to offer online case review as a part of our initiative to expand access to justice and strive for efficiency and fairness. You may be able to resolve your matter without the need to appear in court.

You can now request a review of traffic violations and certain types of warrants through an online program. If you think you have a matter at the 46th District Court, go to www.courtinnovations.com/MID46 to search your name.

Online Case Review

Users may search for cases that are scheduled and case history information for public cases. Please note NON PUBLIC data will not appear in these applications. Please contact the court directly if you do not see your case listed or if you have questions about the status of your case.

Click here to access a list of cases that are scheduled for hearing.

Click here to access the Public Case Search application.

GarnIT

Attention Attorneys, Creditors, and Those Seeking Garnishment at 46th District Court:

The 46th District Court utilizes GarnIT, a web-based system that can be used by plaintiffs to electronically request and obtain a writ of income tax garnishment. Click here to access GarnIT.

    Information for people needing assistance

    The 46th District Court's intent is to operate its programs and services so they, when viewed in their entirety, are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with a disability. To ensure equally-effective communication, the Court will provide auxiliary aids and services, such as sign-language interpreters, upon request. Reasonable advance notice is required. Please contact the Court Administrator's office at (248)796-5800 (voice) or (248)354-3329 (TDD) to make requests for these services.

    Individuals with special needs who may require assistance in utilizing this process or service should also contact the Court Administrator's office. Court Administrator Renee Shelide, CCM, can be reached at (248) 796-5800. 

    Please click here to read the 46th District Court's Grievance Procedure under the American with Disabilities Act.

    Please click here to download a Request for Accommodation form.

    The 46th District Court will be closed on the following dates:
     

    January 1, 2024          New Year's Day

    January 2, 2024          Court Closed

    January 15, 2024        Martin Luther King Jr. Day

    February 19, 2024      President's Day

    March 29, 2024          Good Friday

    May 27, 2024             Memorial Day

    June 19, 2024            Juneteenth

    July 4, 2024                Independance Day

    September 2, 2024     Labor Day

    October 14, 2024        Indigenous People's Day

    November 11, 2024    Veteran's Day

    November 28, 2024    Thanksgiving Day

    November 29, 2024    Court Closed

    December 24, 2024    Christmas Eve

    December 25, 2024    Christmas Day

    December 31, 2024    New Year's Eve Observance

     

    Electronic Device Policy

    Portable electronic devices are permitted in Michigan courthouses per MCR 8.115. The following restrictions apply for the use of cellular telephones and other portable electronic devices in the 46th District Court: 

    1. Except for requests for film or electronic media coverage of court proceedings as permitted under AO No. 1989-1, the following restrictions apply to photography, audio recording, video recording, broadcasting, or live streaming in a courthouse

    • In a courtroom, no one may use a portable electronic device to take photographs or for audio or video recording, broadcasting, or live streaming unless that use is specifically allowed by the Judge presiding over that courtroom.
    • No one may photograph, record, broadcast, or live stream any juror or anyone called to the court for jury service.
    • In areas of a courthouse other than courtrooms, no one may photograph, record, broadcast, or live stream an individual without that individual’s prior express consent.

    2. The following restrictions apply to use of portable electronic devices by jurors, including prospective jurors, and by witnesses.

    • Jurors must turn off their portable electronic devices while present in a courtroom or during deliberations. Jurors may use devices during breaks or recesses but may not be used to obtain or disclose any information about the case. A court may order jurors to turn over to the court their portable electronic devices during deliberations. If so, the court must provide jurors with a phone number where they can be reached in case of an emergency during deliberations.

    3. A witness must silence any portable electronic device while in a courtroom, and may use a device while testifying only with permission of a judge.Attorneys, parties, and members of the public may use a portable electronic device in a courtroom to retrieve or to store information (including notetaking), to access the Internet, and to send and receive text messages or information.

    4. Attorneys, parties, and members of the public may use a portable electronic device to reproduce public court documents in a clerk’s office as long as the device leaves no mark or impression on the document and does not unreasonably interfere with the operation of the clerk’s office.

    • Attorneys, parties, and members of the public must silence portable electronic devices while in the courtroom. A portable electronic device may not be used, without permission of the court, to make or to receive telephone calls or for any other audible function while court is in session. Portable electronic devices may not be used to communicate in any way with any courtroom participant including, but not limited to, a party, a witness, or juror at any time during any court proceedings.

    5. Witnesses must silence their portable electronic device while in a courtroom and may only use a device while testifying with permission of the presiding judge.

    6. Photographs, audio or video recording, broadcasting, or live streaming must not occur without the permission of the presiding judge.

    7. Use of a portable electronic device outside a courtroom is subject to the authority of judges, Clerks of the Court, or court administrators to limit or terminate activity that is disruptive to court operations or that compromises courthouse security.

    8. If these rules are violated, the presiding judge may confiscate the device for the remainder of the day or order that the phone be turned off and put away. Violations of this rule are punishable by appropriate sanctions up to and including contempt of court as determined in the discretion of the court.