Cass County Criminal Court Cases
Cass County divides criminal cases between the 4th District Court and 43rd Circuit Court. District Court tries misdemeanors. It also receives every felony and high-court-misdemeanor complaint at the start, then records the warrant or summons, arraignment, bond, and preliminary examination. Circuit Court becomes the felony file custodian after a bindover. Its Cass County criminal court record carries the information, later arraignment, motions, plea or trial, sentence, and post-judgment orders.
Both Cass County courts operate at the Law & Courts Building, 60296 M-62, Cassopolis, MI 49031. The shared site does not make their files interchangeable. District file-room staff answer questions about D04 records at 269-445-4424 or fourthdc@cassco.org. Circuit administration handles C43 file questions at 269-445-4412. A party name and case number help the clerk locate the right court record.
Two Cass Criminal Courts
The word “clerk” can send a searcher to the wrong place in Cass County. Criminal case files belong to the trial court that heard each stage. The county Clerk/Register counter at 120 N. Broadway handles civil recording work, including land records, and is not the criminal docket counter. Begin with the D04 or C43 route, then ask that court's staff for documents missing from the online court case history.
The official Cass County Clerk/Register page shows the separate county office readers may otherwise mistake for the criminal clerk.
That distinction keeps a Cass County court case request with District or Circuit staff instead of the civil-recording counter.
Searching Cass County Case Records
Use the direct D04 MiCOURT search for misdemeanors and early felony events. Use the C43 MiCOURT search for a felony that was bound over. Neither Cass County route states a login requirement or public-search fee. Search both courts when the charge level or bindover status is uncertain.
- Choose D04 for a misdemeanor or the start of a felony. Choose C43 for a post-bindover felony record.
- Search with the available party name or case number criteria. Confirm the court before treating a match as the right Cass County case.
- Open the case history and compare the filing date, charge, status, and hearing events.
- Follow a felony from the District bindover entry into a Circuit case when the record shows that transfer.
- Contact the proper file room for pleadings, orders, judgments, or certified copies not shown online.
| Search item | D04 | C43 | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Court | Preselected | Preselected | Keeps Cass County results at the right level |
| Case number | Available by court | Available by court | Best match when already known |
| Party name | Public index field | Public index field | Finds likely case histories |
| Case history | Early events | Post-bindover events | Shows the register of actions |
| Missing document | District file room | Circuit administration | Routes a copy request |
Reading Cass MiCOURT Case Records
MiCOURT is an index and register of actions, not a complete electronic case folder. Michigan's trial-court records guidance limits the public web view to the case number, party names, and case history. A Cass County result may show that a complaint was filed, a hearing occurred, or a judgment entered without displaying the underlying complaint, bond order, motion, or judgment image.
Read entries in date order. “Arraignment” is the hearing where the charge and rights are stated. “Preliminary examination” tests probable cause before a felony bindover. “Bindover” means the felony advances from District to Circuit Court. A docket entry is an event, not always the document itself. Cass Courts says live docket information refreshes every 30 minutes, yet the entries can still change without notice. Call the court if a name should appear but does not.
Note: A missing online document may remain public at the Cass County court counter even when MiCOURT shows only its event entry.
Inside a Cass County Case File
The Cass County criminal case file is centered on the filed prosecution, not merely the arrest. It may begin with a sworn complaint and warrant or summons. A felony file can add the District Court return and bindover, the Circuit information, motions, hearing notices, plea papers, a judgment of sentence, financial assessments, and later orders. The court's case number ties these items together.
| Case Number & Court | Identifies D04 or C43 and distinguishes the court record from an agency report. |
|---|---|
| Charging Document | The complaint starts the case; a Circuit information states the post-bindover felony charge. |
| Docket Entries | List filings, hearings, rulings, and other events in date order. |
| Hearing Dates | Record arraignment, preliminary examination, motion, plea, trial, and sentencing settings. |
| Disposition & Judgment | Shows whether a charge ended in conviction, dismissal, acquittal, or another recorded result. |
| Sentence & Conditions | States the punishment, court costs, restitution, custody, probation, or other ordered terms. |
Birth dates, victim details, full addresses, sealed content, and nonpublic papers should not be assumed visible. Ask the Cass County clerk which portion can be inspected or copied.
A Cass County case file should also be distinguished from ICHAT and the booking sheet. ICHAT organizes Michigan public criminal history around a person's identity and reported arrest cycles. A booking file focuses on jail intake, bond, custody, and release. The court file instead follows one prosecution from complaint through judgment. Use the judgment and disposition entries when the goal is to learn how a filed charge ended, then request the signed order when the wording or legal effect of a docket line is unclear.
Cass Court Disposition Terms
Small words can change the meaning of a Cass County court search. A filed charge is not a result. A disposition states what happened to that charge. One case can also contain several counts with different outcomes, so read each line rather than relying on the overall caption or status.
- Dismissal
- The charge ended without a conviction on that count.
- Acquittal
- A not-guilty verdict followed a trial.
- Plea
- The accused gave a formal response; a guilty or no-contest plea may resolve a count.
- Conviction
- A judgment of guilt followed a plea or verdict.
- Sentence
- The court imposed punishment and conditions after a conviction.
The prosecutor reviews the police request and authorizes the charge filed in Cass County court. For that reason, the court charge can differ from the label carried into the jail at booking. The full Cass County arrest lookup explains how the arresting-agency and booking records remain separate from the filed court result.
How a Criminal Case Moves
A Cass County prosecution begins when the prosecutor files a complaint. If no arrest has occurred, a warrant may issue with it. At arraignment, a judge or magistrate states the accusation, rights, possible result, and release terms. A felony or high-court misdemeanor ordinarily reaches a preliminary examination in the county of the alleged offense within 14 days after arraignment. A waiver or probable-cause finding sends the matter to 43rd Circuit Court.
Case flow: Charges Filed → Arraignment → Pretrial → Plea or Trial → Disposition → Sentencing
After bindover, Circuit arraignment follows unless waived. Motions, scheduling, and plea talks can come before trial. A conviction leads to sentencing, while dismissal or acquittal ends the affected charge without a sentence. Each Cass County stage creates its own docket event and may add a document to the clerk's file.
Cass Prosecutor and Court Records
The Cass County Prosecuting Attorney reviews police submissions, authorizes criminal charges, and handles felony and misdemeanor prosecutions. That role explains why an arrest allegation and a filed count need not match. The police report records the officer's investigation. The prosecutor's complaint states the charge placed before the court. District and Circuit clerks then preserve the court record of what followed.
The county's official office directory is the best routing source for the prosecutor, courts, indigent defense, sheriff, and jail.
The directory helps a reader ask the office that owns the needed Cass County record instead of sending one broad request across several agencies.
Case Record Access & Restrictions
Michigan Court Rule 8.119 governs court-record custody, inspection, copies, and access. It does not make each Cass County criminal case item public without limit. Sealed cases, juvenile matters, protected victim information, personal identifiers, and some nonpublic papers stay outside ordinary access. Online redaction can also be broader than what a clerk can lawfully provide at the counter.
Cass County public-service windows are 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. Those hours took effect November 17, 2025. After 4:45 p.m., entry is limited to prosecutor business. Confirm access with the correct court before travel. The Cass County budget once noted a Circuit certified-copy price, but it is not a current fee schedule, so ask Circuit administration for today's copy and certification cost.
Note: Court rules govern Cass case files, while Michigan FOIA applies to many agency records held outside the judiciary.
Missing Cass Court Case Records
When a Cass County case does not appear online, first check whether the search used the right court. An early felony event may remain under D04, while later proceedings use C43. Spelling, a changed name, a new filing, or the limited public web scope can also account for a blank result. Call the District file room or Circuit administration with the party name and known case details.
A set-aside can make an eligible conviction nonpublic while preserving limited records for authorized uses. The official Michigan Clean Slate and set-aside resource explains the distinction between application relief and automatic relief.
For a Cass County conviction, the convicting court remains the place to verify an order and request a certified disposition before asking MSP to correct a repository entry.
An application-based set-aside also returns to the Cass County court that entered the conviction. The applicant obtains the conviction record, completes the state form, supplies fingerprints, files with the convicting court, and serves the required state and prosecuting offices. Automatic Clean Slate relief follows different statutory rules. In either route, compare the court's order with the public MiCOURT view and ICHAT rather than assuming all systems changed on the same day.