Oakland County Court

County Resources

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The main courthouse for Oakland County, MI, also known as the Oakland County courthouse, is located at 1200 N. Telegraph Road, Pontiac, MI 48341. Ground broke in 1959, and it was erected in 1970. The courthouse was renovated in 1994 to include the west wing extension, including energy-efficient glass and precast brick and concrete panels. The courthouse is part of a larger campus with various other buildings, and is known as the “1200 building.” The courthouse is building 12E, and the attached westwing is 14E.

The first floor of the 1200 building is home to mortgage foreclosure sales. 14E is home to the indigent defense services to determine if one qualifies for an appointed attorney. Other services found in the main 12E courthouse building include probate court, adoptions, assumed named, birth and death records, legal records, juvenile court, jury duty, and more. The board of commissioners auditorium is located in the 14E west wing of the building.

Oakland County, MI Court Clerk

The Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds Office is one of the largest offices in the state of Michigan. It services over 130 employees and 1.2 million residents in the County. The current County Clerk/Register of Deeds is Lisa Brown. Like other county clerks, Brown is responsible for receiving, storing, retrieving, and protecting public records.

Public records include Circuit Court legal documents, small business registrations, military discharge forms, birth, death, and marriage records, and licenses for concealed carry among others. In addition, one of the biggest responsibilities of the Clerk/Register of Deeds is to oversee the recording and management of real estate documents (almost 800,000 per year). They use an eFiling program to help attorneys file court pleadings online. The ultimate goal is to adopt a paperless court system.

Oakland County, MI District Court

District courts are, by far, the most common type of trial court in Michigan and the court that has the most interaction with the public. These courts act as the first level of trial courts for civil and criminal cases. In Oakland County, there are 9 district courts, including the 44th, 45th, 46th, 47th, 48th, 50th, 51st, and 52nd district courts.

Some of these district courts have special jurisdictions within the court. For instance, the 50th District Court Probation Department is responsible for supervising all defendants placed on Probation by the District Judges, totaling nearly 1,500 active cases. However, all district courts have the common jurisdiction over city ordinance violations and state law misdemeanor cases.

The can hear Civil cases where the amount claimed is up to $25,000.00, and small Claims cases up to $6,000.00. District courts in Oakland County also handle other issues such as eviction proceedings, garnishments, landord/tenant disputes, mortgage foreclosures, and land contracts.

Oakland County, MI Magistrate Court

Each of the 9 district courts in Oakland County has their own magistrate judges who, for the most part, conduct the first proceedings in criminal cases. These first proceedings are known as arraignments, which is when the judge reads the charges against the defendant and sets their bail. The magistrate courts also hear matters such as small claims hearings, informal hearings, bond hearings, and they can even perform marriages.

Some magistrate judges allow their proceedings to be streamed via Zoom so that arraignments and other hearings may be available to the public. This is the case with the 45th district court. Most magistrates are part-time, and can be found on the individual district court’s magistrate webpage.

Oakland County, MI Civil Court

Oakland County’s Civil/Criminal Court division actually splintered off from the family division in 1998. Per the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court, all cases under the jurisdiction of Circuit Courts not specifically dedicated to the Family Division under PA 338 of 1996 were assigned to this new civil/criminal court division, and this has remained the case ever since.

In Oakland County, there are a total of 13 elected judges for the civil/criminal court. They oversee matters including civil cases valued over $25,000 (since less than this is overseen by the district courts’ magistrate courts), felony criminal cases, and appeals from courts of lesser jurisdiction and administrative agencies. There are also two special courts within the civil/criminal court division, including Adult Treatment Court and Combat Veterans Treatment Court.

Oakland County, MI Felony Drug Court

Felony drug courts, also known as treatment courts, play a crucial role in encouraging sobriety and recovery among non-violent offenders. The Sixth Judicial Circuit Court of Oakland County applies offers these alternative programs to non-violent felony offenders and youth charged with drug or alcohol-related offenses.
These treatment courts include Adult Treatment Court, Juvenile Treatment Court, and Combat Veterans Treatment Court. Some of these have different criteria, such as combat veterans treatment court which only accepts veterans who have seen combat and have an honorable or medical discharge from the military.

In all cases, treatment programs include frequent drug screenings through urine tests, therapy sessions, and frequent meetings with the judge. Incentives for completing the program include avoiding incarceration, while failure to complete the program may result in jail time, community service hours, and even letters of apology for juveniles. Participants are also encouraged to attend recovery meetings through AA, NA or Smart Recovery meetings, which help guide them through sobriety and offer valuable social support.