Oceana County Circuit Court and Michigan's Trial Courts
Michigan runs three kinds of trial court: circuit, district, and probate. The 51st Circuit Court is the general jurisdiction trial court for Oceana County. It hears every action that state law does not assign to another court, which makes it the home for felony prosecutions, serious misdemeanors, civil claims over $25,000, and the full range of family and domestic cases. It also reviews appeals from lower courts and certain state agencies and holds superintending control over other courts in the circuit, subject to the Michigan Supreme Court.
Michigan is split into judicial circuits that follow county lines, and several circuits cover more than one county. Oceana County sits in the 51st Circuit and shares its circuit judges with neighboring Mason County. The judges conduct court in both county seats, so a single bench serves the two counties. The state judiciary describes how these Michigan trial courts divide work among circuit, district, and probate benches.
That structure decides where an Oceana County record lives. A felony file, a divorce judgment, and a large money judgment belong to the Circuit Court, while a speeding ticket or a small money claim stays with the local county courts at the district level.
Oceana County Trial Courts and Contacts
All of the county's trial courts operate out of the Oceana County Building at 100 S. State Street in Hart, though each uses a different suite and phone line. The Circuit Court and the Friend of the Court share Suite M-10, the District Court works from Suite L-15, and the Probate Court lists the main building address. The table below gathers the role, address, and phone number for each court and for the domestic support office that backs up the Family Division.
| Court | Role | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51st Circuit Court | General jurisdiction; civil over $25,000; felonies and serious misdemeanors; Family Division; appeals from lower courts and agencies | 100 S. State Street, Suite M-10, Hart, MI 49420 | (231) 873-3977 |
| 51st Circuit Juvenile Court | Juvenile matters handled within the Family Division | Same building; juvenile line | (231) 873-3811 |
| 79th District Court | Civil up to $25,000; small claims to $7,000; traffic; landlord-tenant; misdemeanors; arraignments; preliminary exams; probation; marriages | 100 S. State Street, Suite L-15, P.O. Box 471, Hart, MI 49420 | (231) 873-4530 |
| Oceana County Probate Court | Estates, wills, guardianships, conservatorships, name changes, mental-illness treatment proceedings | 100 S. State Street, Hart, MI 49420 | (231) 873-3666 |
| Friend of the Court | Custody, parenting time, child and spousal support, and enforcement support for the Family Division | 100 S. State Street, Suite M-10, Hart, MI 49420 | (231) 873-4605 |
Circuit Court hours run Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Paperwork and filing fees handed in after 4:30 p.m. are accepted but not officially filed or receipted until the next business day, so anyone arriving late in the afternoon should plan for that delay.
How a Case Moves Through the Oceana County System
A criminal case rarely starts and ends in one court. Felony charges are filed and first heard in the 79th District Court, which handles the arraignment and the preliminary examination. If the district judge finds probable cause, the case is bound over to the 51st Circuit Court for trial, plea, and sentencing. Misdemeanors generally stay in the District Court from start to finish. Understanding this handoff explains why one defendant can have entries in two different court files. The Michigan judiciary outlines the full ladder of Michigan courts from the trial level up.
Felony criminal flow: Charges Filed › District Court Arraignment › Preliminary Examination › Bindover to 51st Circuit Court › Circuit Arraignment › Pretrial › Plea or Trial › Sentencing › Appeal
Appeal flow: District Court › 51st Circuit Court › Michigan Court of Appeals › Michigan Supreme Court
Civil and family cases follow their own track. A complaint is filed with the court, the other side answers, the parties exchange information, and the matter moves toward settlement, hearing, or trial before a judgment issues. District Court judgments can be appealed to the Circuit Court depending on the case type, while Circuit Court decisions are appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals and, in some cases, on to the Michigan Supreme Court.
Circuit Court vs. District Court vs. Probate Court
The three Oceana County trial courts do not overlap much. Each one owns a defined slice of civil, criminal, and family work, and the dollar limits and case types decide which court hears a matter. The comparison below lines up the 51st Circuit Court against the 79th District Court and the Oceana County Probate Court so the split is easy to see at a glance.
| 51st Circuit Court | 79th District Court | Probate Court | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil Limit | Over $25,000 | Up to $25,000; small claims to $7,000 | Estate and trust matters by value |
| Criminal Role | Felonies and serious misdemeanors after bindover | Misdemeanors, arraignments, preliminary exams | None |
| Family Cases | Yes, through the Family Division | No | Guardianship, conservatorship, some name changes |
| Signature Work | Divorce, felony trials, large civil suits, appeals | Traffic, landlord-tenant, small claims, marriages | Estates, wills, mental-illness treatment |
Probate Court runs under its own judge and register, with the Hon. Eric R. Fox serving as Probate Judge and Lucy Lund as Probate Register. The District Court has one elected judge who serves a six-year term. The Circuit and Probate benches round out the county's trial-level judiciary.
The Circuit Court Family Division
The Family Division of the 51st Circuit Court holds exclusive authority over the county's domestic and juvenile cases. That covers divorce, custody, parenting time, child and spousal support, paternity, adoption, emancipation, some name changes, juvenile delinquency, and personal protection matters. Because so many sensitive files run through one division, access rules vary from one case type to the next, and juvenile, adoption, and certain support details are shielded from the general public.
- Divorce and custody
- Cases that end a marriage or set parenting time, support, and property terms. A new divorce or custody filing carries a $255 fee.
- Personal protection orders
- Requests for a court order limiting contact or conduct. There is no filing fee, and the county describes a 24 to 48 hour processing window on its personal protection order page.
- Juvenile diversion
- At an initial inquiry hearing, a judge or referee may dismiss a youth case, refer the youth to counseling under the Juvenile Diversion Act, or place it on a consent calendar for informal supervision.
- Consent calendar
- An informal path that keeps a juvenile matter under court supervision without moving it to the formal calendar, when the youth agrees.
The Friend of the Court office supports the Family Division on money and parenting issues. It provides payment information, current balance owed, income-withholding details, and bench-warrant and enforcement-hearing information through MiChildSupport and a 24-hour phone line at (877) 543-2660 using Oceana county code 623.
Circuit Court Records, Fees, and Appeals
Most Oceana County circuit files are public unless a statute or court rule seals them. The fastest way to confirm a case is the state judiciary's MiCOURT Case Search, which lists the 51st Circuit Court-Oceana County among its searchable courts. The online view shows case number, party names, and the register of actions, not the full set of documents. When the online path falls short, the court accepts a written record search on an individual for $5 per name through its record search process. Requests go in writing to Oceana County Circuit Court Records, 100 S. State Street, Hart, MI 49420, and mailed requests need a money order and a self-addressed stamped envelope, with no personal checks accepted.
The court returns file numbers, and viewing files or making copies means appearing at the Circuit Court Records Office. Records that predate 1948 are stored offsite at the Oceana Historical Building, 114 S. Dryden Street, Hart. The county clerk keeps and files circuit-court records and juror lists, so the Oceana County Clerk is a natural second stop for certified copies and filing questions. A broader look at every access channel appears in the county's court records guidance.
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Written record search | $5 per name |
| Name or background search | $5 per name per 10 years |
| Certified copies | $10 plus $1 per page |
| Machine copies | $1 per page |
| New divorce or custody case | $255 |
| Appeal to Circuit Court | $150 |
| Appeal to Court of Appeals | $25 |
Oceana County Building
100 S. State Street, Suite M-10
Hart, MI 49420
Phone: (231) 873-3977
Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Note: Filings and fees delivered after 4:30 p.m. are received but not officially filed or receipted until the following business day.
Federal Courts Serving Oceana County
Some legal matters never reach a county courtroom because they belong to the federal system. Oceana County lies in the Southern Division of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. Federal criminal prosecutions, civil-rights suits, federal-question cases, diversity cases, habeas actions, and Social Security appeals from the county route to that district rather than to Hart. The court's county list confirms Oceana among the Southern Division counties.
No federal courthouse sits inside Oceana County. Federal operations for the Western District center on courthouse locations such as Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, and Marquette, depending on the division and office involved.
U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan
The federal district court handles cases that arise under federal law or that cross state lines in ways that give federal judges authority. A dispute that would be a state civil case in the Circuit Court can become a federal case when it raises a federal question or meets the diversity rules. The official Western District of Michigan site publishes local rules, judge assignments, filing information, and division details for the counties it serves.
Because these files are separate from county records, a Circuit Court clerk in Hart cannot pull a federal docket. Federal case information comes from the district court and the federal electronic access service rather than from MiCOURT or the county building.
Federal Prosecution and the U.S. Attorney
Federal crimes charged out of Oceana County are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office, not by the Oceana County Prosecuting Attorney. That office decides which federal criminal matters to bring in the Western District and represents the United States in civil cases involving federal interests. The Department of Justice names Timothy VerHey as the U.S. Attorney for the district, appointed in July 2025, on its U.S. Attorney biography page.
The distinction matters when reading a record. A state felony handled in the 51st Circuit Court and a federal charge handled in the district court are two separate cases with two separate prosecutors. The office's main Western District of Michigan page describes its criminal and civil divisions and its role across the district.
Anyone comparing a county case to a federal one should treat the two records as unconnected files, each with its own docket, prosecutor, and courthouse.
Federal Bankruptcy Court for Oceana County
Bankruptcy is a federal matter, so an Oceana County resident who files does so in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan. These dockets are federal bankruptcy records and are not part of the county's probate or circuit civil files, even though a bankruptcy can touch property and debts that also appear in state cases. The court's bankruptcy court website posts filing procedures, judge information, and public notices.
Anyone tracing a debtor's full record may need to check both systems. A state collection judgment shows up in county court files, while the bankruptcy that resolves it lives in the federal docket.
PACER, Federal Custody, and Free Dockets
Federal district and bankruptcy dockets are reached through PACER, the judiciary's electronic public access service for appellate, district, and bankruptcy cases. PACER usually charges a per-page fee for documents unless a policy exemption applies, and its service center can be reached at (800) 676-6856. The district court lookup points to the electronic filing system for the Western District of Michigan.
Bankruptcy cases use a separate portal. The bankruptcy court lookup connects to the Western District bankruptcy filing system, where debtor and creditor filings are indexed.
Federal custody follows its own track. County jail records do not list every federal detainee, so the federal inmate locator is the tool for people held under federal authority. For a free way to read opinions and many docket entries, CourtListener offers appellate and district materials, though it is not the official court record and should be confirmed against PACER or the court itself.