Roscommon County Circuit Court

Roscommon County Circuit Court Overview

Michigan runs a three-part trial court system, and the Roscommon County Circuit Court sits at the top of it. The Michigan Courts describe the Circuit Court as the trial court with the broadest powers. It hears the largest civil claims and the most serious crimes. Locally, the court belongs to the 34th Judicial Circuit. That circuit is unusual because it serves two counties, Roscommon and Ogemaw, from one bench. The Honorable Robert W. Bennett is the sitting Circuit Court judge. Court is held at the Roscommon County Building and Courthouse on Lake Street, the same address that houses the district and probate benches.

The dual-county setup shapes how the docket is scheduled. A single circuit judge covers cases from both counties. Roscommon County keeps its own case files and clerk channel even though the circuit is shared. For a public case lookup, the statewide MiCOURT Case Search portal is the first stop, and full copies flow back to the local clerk. Court records here divide by court level. The same courthouse holds three separate sets of files, one for each trial court.

What the Roscommon County Circuit Court Handles

The 34th Circuit Court is a general jurisdiction court, which means its docket is broad. It takes the cases the district court cannot. The dividing lines are set by dollar amount and by the severity of a crime. Civil money disputes move up to the Circuit Court once the amount at stake passes a set threshold. Family and land matters belong here too. Its main subject areas are clear and defined by state law.

• Civil lawsuits seeking more than $25,000
• Land and real property cases
• Domestic relations, including divorce, custody, and support
• Appeals from the District Court, the Probate Court, and state agencies
• Injunctions and other equity matters
• Felony crimes that carry more than one year of possible jail or prison

Equity means the court can order a person to act or stop acting, not just pay money. An injunction is one such order. Because felonies carry long sentences, they form the criminal core of the circuit docket, though they start one level down. The appeals role also matters. When someone loses at the District or Probate level, the Circuit Court is often the next review.

Note: Small claims, landlord-tenant disputes, and misdemeanors stay in the 82nd District Court and do not move up to the Roscommon County Circuit Court.

Roscommon County Trial Court Contacts

Four benches share the courthouse on Lake Street, and each holds a different slice of the county's cases. The table below lists the 34th Circuit Court, its Family Division, the 82nd District Court, and the Probate Court. Use it to match a case type to the right counter before you call. The county's own 34th Circuit Court and 82nd District Court pages carry the source detail.

Judge Jernigan carries two roles. He is the Probate judge and the Presiding Family Court judge, so his name appears twice. The Prosecuting Attorney, Susan M. Dillon, files state criminal charges through these same courts from the same building.

How a Felony Reaches Roscommon County Circuit Court

A felony charge does not begin in the Circuit Court. It starts one level down, in the 82nd District Court. The prosecuting attorney files the charge, and the district bench handles the early stages. Only after a key hearing does the case climb to the circuit level. This path is fixed by Michigan procedure and applies to every felony in the county.

At arraignment, the judge or magistrate reads the charge and sets bond. Bond is the money or conditions that allow release before trial. A probable cause conference comes next. Then a preliminary examination tests whether the evidence is strong enough to move forward. If the district judge finds probable cause, or the defendant waives the hearing, the case is bound over. Bindover is the transfer of a felony up to the Circuit Court.

How a case moves through the system: 82nd District Court › Preliminary Examination › Bindover › 34th Circuit Court › Michigan Court of Appeals › Michigan Supreme Court

Once in the Circuit Court, the case gets an information, followed by arraignment on that information, motions, pleas, trial, and sentencing. These are the terms that fill a felony docket.

Arraignment

The first hearing, where the charge, rights, possible penalties, and bond are set.

Probable cause conference

A felony District Court stage held before the preliminary examination.

Preliminary examination

The District Court hearing that tests whether a felony should go up to Circuit Court.

Bindover

The transfer of a felony from District Court to Circuit Court after probable cause is found or waived.

Information

The Circuit Court charging document filed after bindover.

A defendant who cannot afford a lawyer has a right to appointed counsel. The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission sets the timing rules for when that lawyer must be named.

In Roscommon County, defendants ask for appointed counsel at the district court arraignment, well before the felony ever reaches the circuit bench. The right attaches as soon as a judge can restrict liberty.

Circuit Court vs District Court vs Probate Court

Roscommon County splits its trial work across three benches, and the split decides where a file lives. The comparison below sorts the courts by what they hear, the dollar or severity line that divides them, and the office that keeps their records. Reading it first prevents a wasted trip to the wrong counter.

The County Clerk is the Clerk of the Court for circuit files and holds the Circuit Court seal. District and Probate records travel through their own counters instead. A broad look at every file type sits in the county court records overview.

Roscommon County Circuit Court Family Division

Michigan folds most family cases into a Family Division of the Circuit Court. In Roscommon County, the Presiding Family Court judge is the Honorable Mark D. Jernigan, who also serves as Probate judge. The division reaches the cases that touch children and households. Its docket runs from juvenile matters to protective orders. Some of these files are confidential and are not open to a general public lookup.

The Family Division covers delinquency, name changes, personal protection orders, adoptions, emancipations, and child protection. A personal protection order, or PPO, is a court order that limits contact by one person with another. Delinquency cases involve minors accused of offenses. Emancipation frees a minor from parental control before age eighteen. Adoption and abuse-or-neglect files carry the strongest privacy limits of any court record in the county.

The Friend of the Court works alongside the Family Division. This office helps with custody, parenting time, child support, and spousal support inside family cases. It investigates disputes, enforces support orders, and keeps payment records. Parents with an open divorce or custody case in Roscommon County often deal with the Friend of the Court more than the judge.

Note: Juvenile, adoption, and child-protection records are restricted and may require party status, attorney authorization, or a court order before release.

Roscommon County Circuit Court Records Requests

The County Clerk, currently Michelle M. Stevenson, is the Clerk of the Court for the Circuit Court and the keeper of its seal. That makes the Clerk the main channel for circuit case files. Michigan Court Rule MCR 8.119 says any person may inspect and copy court records unless a statute, court rule, or order restricts access. The court may charge a fee for copies or for a record in a certain format. The county publishes its request process on a records and forms page.

1. Search MiCOURT for the public case index and confirm the court, case number, and party names.
2. For a full file or certified copy, contact the County Clerk, keeper of the Circuit Court seal.
3. Complete the court's records request with your name, the complete case number, and the parties.
4. Choose whether to review the record or buy copies, then pay the court's copy fee.
5. For a restricted file, be ready to show standing, identification, or a court order.

A missing MiCOURT result does not always mean a case is absent. Older files, sealed matters, and confidential family records may not appear online. When the portal comes up empty, the local clerk counter is the reliable next step. Certified copies for legal use always come from the court, not from a screen print.

Remote Hearings at Roscommon County Circuit Court

Not every hearing needs an in-person appearance, but remote access follows a strict local rule. A party who wants to appear by video or phone must ask in writing. The request goes in no later than three business days before the hearing, and the judge approves or denies it. There is a form for this on the county request page. Filing late is the most common reason a remote request fails.

The courthouse is also weapons-free, and the rule is firm. Weapons may not be brought into the Roscommon County Courthouse, even by a person with a concealed pistol license. Visitors may be searched for weapons at entry. Plan for a security screening and leave any weapon at home or in a locked vehicle. The remote appearance form and the weapons policy both come from the district bench that shares the building.

Parking for court business is off George Street by way of South 4th Street in the Village of Roscommon. The county did not publish meter or garage rates, so plan for a longer stay on a hearing day.

Circuit Court and Federal Courts in Roscommon County

The 34th Circuit Court is a state court, and it is separate from the federal system. Roscommon County sits in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Northern Division. Federal cases cover crimes against the United States, civil rights suits, and disputes that raise a federal question. The closest federal courthouse for the Northern Division is generally in Bay City. A county divorce, traffic ticket, or probate file will not appear in the federal system.

The Eastern District court hears federal criminal and civil cases across Michigan's eastern Lower Peninsula. Its official site explains filing and access for that district.

A link from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan shows how federal court records differ from the county circuit files kept in Roscommon. The federal docket runs on its own rules and its own clerk.

Federal charges are pressed by the U.S. Attorney, not the county prosecutor. The Eastern District office runs a Bay City branch that serves the northern counties, including Roscommon.

The U.S. Attorney's office district page lists the Bay City, Detroit, and Flint locations that handle federal prosecutions touching the county. Those cases never pass through the 34th Circuit Court.

Federal case records are not searched on MiCOURT. They live in the federal electronic docket instead, which charges access fees in most cases.

Public access to federal filings runs through PACER, the official federal case-record system. Several other federal channels serve residents of the county.

• Appeals from the Eastern District go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
• Federal prisoners are found through the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.
• Bankruptcy filings go to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Note: County-level warrants, jail bookings, traffic tickets, divorce cases, and probate files stay in the local courts and do not appear in PACER unless a separate federal case exists.