Go Inside Traverse City's 86th District Court

Feb. 3, 2020

Michigan’s 105 district courts aren’t the state’s highest or farthest-reaching courts. They’re a starting point, where the accused go to face initial charges, a judge, and sometimes even a jury. District courts are charged with resolving their region’s less serious cases — violations like misdemeanor crimes and traffic offenses — but that doesn’t make them any less significant a place for the people who have to be there.

On a recent Tuesday, Northern Express spent a day inside the courtrooms of the 86th District Court in Traverse City to witness what so many of the region’s citizens do. The day was full of twists and turns, sorrow, and some inspiration.

Read writer Pat Sullivan's account in this week's Express of some 33 arraignments and other developments in drug court, traffic court and sobriety court on a typical day.