Cass County
Founded in 1829, Cass County lies in South Michigan. Over 51,000 people reside in the county which has Cassopolis as its county seat. Cass County derives its name from Lewis Cass, a former U.S. Secretary of War.
Cass County is served by a three-tier court system comprising a circuit court, a district court, and a probate court. The Cass County Circuit Court, or the 43rd Circuit Court, is a general jurisdiction court that handles all civil and criminal cases, granted they exceed the minor courts' jurisdiction. It adjudicates cases involving felonies, lesser offenses, equity lawsuits, civil claims exceeding $25,000, domestic relation matters, and administrative agency appeals. The Circuit Court also has a Family Division that oversees juvenile and domestic relations suits, including paternity, name change, adoption, divorce, and juvenile delinquency.
The District Court, also known as the 4th District Court, which is a limited jurisdiction court, hears certain categories of civil and criminal suits. Typical District Court cases include felonies, misdemeanors, initial felony hearings, some traffic violations, general civil claims below $25,000, and landlord-tenant disputes. Through its Small Claims Division, the District Court offers a simplified procedure for claims of $5000 or less.
The Cass County Probate Court exercises limited jurisdiction over probate matters and certain juvenile cases. It oversees cases relating to wills and trusts, estates administrations and guardianships/conservatorships, adoptions and name changes, and the welfare of the mentally or physically impaired.
Cass County court records refer to any record of court proceedings received or created in the Circuit, District, or Probate Court. They include paper-based and electronically-generated records containing crucial legal case information, such as court dockets and statistics, litigants' details and addresses, and case numbers and summaries. Cass County Court records include:
- Probate records
- Family Court records
- Civil records
- Criminal records
The Cass County Clerk Register Office is the official custodian of the Circuit Court records and handles all related record requests. The Michigan Administrative Rules of Court authorizes public court records access. Requesters are, however, first required to submit appropriate requests and pay the accompanying fees to the record custodian. Record seekers can opt to conduct court record lookups online or conduct in-person visits to the Circuit Courthouse or the clerks' offices at the courthouses where their case trials occurred to obtain physical record copies.
