Menominee County Court Docket Records

Menominee County court dockets are maintained by the 41st Circuit Court and the County Clerk/Register of Deeds office in Menominee, Michigan. Located in the Upper Peninsula on the Wisconsin border, the county has a combined clerk and register of deeds office that handles both court records and land records. This page covers how to search Menominee County court dockets, request copies, and find the right contact for your records request.

Menominee County 41st Circuit Court

The 41st Circuit Court serves Menominee County as its own single-county circuit. The courthouse is in Menominee on the Upper Peninsula's southern border with Wisconsin. County Clerk/Register of Deeds Marc Kleiman runs the combined office on the second floor of the courthouse at 839 10th Avenue, Menominee, MI 49858. This office maintains both court records and land records in one location.

The Menominee County website at menomineecounty.com has general information about county offices. The County Clerk department page at menomineecounty.com/departments/?department=2df9edfea268 lists contact details for the Clerk's Office. The county uses the standard Michigan court system for case management, and public records are accessible through the statewide MiCOURT portal.

The 41st Circuit Court handles the full range of trial court matters for Menominee County. Civil cases, felony criminal matters, family law (divorce, custody, support, paternity), and juvenile proceedings all go through this court. There is no shared circuit arrangement with neighboring counties, so Menominee County has its own judges and its own court docket system.

Search Menominee County Court Dockets Online

The Michigan Courts Case Search portal at courts.michigan.gov/case-search/ is the main online tool for finding Menominee County court dockets. This free statewide system covers the 41st Circuit Court and district courts in Menominee County. Search by party name, case number, or attorney bar number. The results show the Register of Actions (ROA), which is the official docket listing every event in a case from start to finish.

Menominee County does not have its own separate online case management portal for public access. The state MiCOURT system is the main online option. For cases that are old or not in the digital system, contact the County Clerk's Office at (906) 863-9968 or visit the courthouse on 10th Avenue in Menominee.

In-person searches at the courthouse are available during regular hours. Public access terminals allow free viewing of case indexes. For records that predate the online system, paper records may be available in the courthouse archives. Staff can tell you how far back their electronic records go and what exists in paper form.

Requesting Menominee County Court Records

Court records in Menominee County are available in person or by mail. In-person requests are handled at the second floor of the courthouse at 839 10th Avenue during regular business hours (8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday). Bring a photo ID, the case number if you have it, and the names of the parties involved.

For mail requests, write to the County Clerk at 839 10th Avenue, 2nd Floor, Menominee, MI 49858. Include a written description of the records you need, the case identifying information, and a check or money order for the estimated fees. Standard copies cost $1.00 per page. Certified copies are $10.00 for the first page and $1.00 for each additional page. Allow three to five business days for standard mail requests.

The combined Clerk/Register of Deeds office handles both court records and land records. If you need a deed or property record rather than a court docket, the same office handles it. This is common in smaller Upper Peninsula counties where offices are combined for efficiency. Just specify which type of record you need when you contact the office.

Michigan court rules under MCR 8.119 govern public access to Menominee County records. Courts must redact protected personal information before releasing documents. For requests involving sensitive cases, staff will apply required redactions automatically or upon request.

What Menominee County Dockets Contain

Menominee County court dockets cover civil, criminal, family, and juvenile cases filed in the 41st Circuit. Civil dockets record lawsuits, property disputes, and commercial matters. Criminal dockets track felony cases from arraignment through sentencing. Family court dockets record divorce, custody, support, and paternity. Juvenile dockets cover delinquency, neglect, and adoptions.

The Register of Actions is the primary record in any Michigan court docket. It is a time-stamped list of every action in the case: filing dates, hearing schedules, orders entered, and final judgment. This document shows the full history of a case in a single view. Most public records requests for "court dockets" are really requests for the Register of Actions.

Some case types are restricted in Menominee County. Personal protection orders are not available online under MCR 3.705. Juvenile records are confidential under MCL 600.1750. HYTA cases are sealed. Michigan Clean Slate Law expungements remove qualifying records from public searches. First-time drug offense records under MCL 333.7411 are excluded from public online access.

Historical Records and Resources

Menominee County was organized in 1863 with records dating from 1861. The county has a long connection to the Upper Peninsula's timber and iron industries. Older court records from the 19th and early 20th centuries may be in paper form at the courthouse. Contact the clerk to ask about availability and access for historical records.

The Archives of Michigan holds appellate court records and can be reached at 702 W. Kalamazoo Street, Lansing, MI 48909, or by phone at (517) 373-1408. FamilySearch.org may have digitized or microfilmed records from Menominee County for genealogy research. The State Bar of Michigan at michbar.org can help you find an attorney who practices in the Upper Peninsula if you need legal assistance with a Menominee County matter.

For official criminal background checks, use the Michigan State Police ICHAT at apps.michigan.gov/ICHAT. This $10.00 search returns official criminal history information. Online court dockets are not a substitute for ICHAT results when a formal check is needed.

Legal Help in Menominee County

Michigan Legal Help at michiganlegalhelp.org has free guides for people who need to navigate Menominee County courts on their own. The guides cover family law, civil cases, probate, and public records access. Official SCAO court forms are available at no charge at courts.michigan.gov/SCAO-forms/.

For electronic filing in Michigan courts, the MiFILE system at mifile.courts.michigan.gov/ handles document submissions. Contact the Menominee County courthouse to confirm whether your specific case type is enrolled in MiFILE before trying to file electronically. Smaller Upper Peninsula courts may have different e-filing availability than larger urban courts.

Cities in Menominee County

Menominee County is in the southern Upper Peninsula on the Wisconsin border. Menominee is the county seat and largest city. No cities in Menominee County meet the population threshold for dedicated city pages on this site.

All circuit court cases for Menominee County residents are handled through the 41st Circuit Court at the courthouse in Menominee.

Nearby Counties

Menominee County borders Dickinson and Delta Counties to the north and Wisconsin to the south and east.