Leelanau County Court Docket Searches
Every Leelanau County court docket search starts with one question: which court has the case? Figure that out first and a name search gets much easier. Michigan's statewide tool, MiCOURT Case Search, is the sensible first stop. Use it when the case type is unknown. After that, the level of the matter points the way. Traffic tickets and misdemeanors live at the 86th District Court. Small claims and the preliminary stage of a felony land there too. Circuit felonies, circuit civil cases, and family matters sit with the Leelanau County Clerk. That clerk serves as Clerk of the Circuit Court. Probate runs through its own register and records channel.
A party name works when no case number is handy, but a Leelanau County case number is the sharper tool. Michigan captions usually combine a filing year, a two-letter case type, and a number. Treat online results as informational only. When a docket search comes back thin, restricted, or older than the online coverage, take it to a Leelanau County clerk. Or use a court terminal.
- Identify whether the Leelanau County matter is district, circuit, probate, or an appeal.
- Open MiCOURT Case Search and choose the court or case category that fits the Leelanau County matter.
- Search by last name or business name, or use the full year, type, and number when available.
- Read the Leelanau County register of actions and any calendar entry for its latest status or setting.
- Contact the appropriate Leelanau County office for a public terminal, document request, or certified copy.
MiCOURT and Leelanau Docket Searches
Two tools, two jobs. MiCOURT casts a wide net across Michigan courts, while Grand Traverse's shared portals dig into specific Leelanau County record sets. The shared 13th Circuit criminal search pulls felony circuit records filed from 1981 to the present once you set County to Leelanau. The shared civil search offers 1986-present case information and registers of actions, with older 1967-1985 civil material serving mainly as an index. The 86th District Court posts calendars too, plus an official-linked payment and status route. That vendor page is not a full Leelanau County court-file database.
In the statewide interface, Last Name or Business is required; First Name, Middle Name, and Birth Year are optional extras. Its case-number route asks for Year, Number, and Type. Enter only what you need to land on the right Leelanau County case. A blank result can mean wrong court level, thin coverage, a restriction, or an operational limit. It does not always mean no file exists.
| Search field | Use for a Leelanau search | Research note |
|---|---|---|
| Last Name or Business | Starting point when no case number is known | Required in the MiCOURT name-search example |
| First, Middle, Birth Year | Narrow a common Leelanau County name | Additional fields, not always needed |
| Year, Number, Type | Find a known Michigan case number | More precise than a broad name search |
| County | Limit shared 13th Circuit searches | Select Leelanau, not another circuit county |
Note that a Leelanau County payment lookup can lag behind a new ticket by a business day. It should not be read as the complete register.
Court Dockets: What They Show
A Leelanau County register of actions is the docket-style chronology of a case: filings, hearings, orders, judgments, and other events in order. What it is not, always, is a set of document images. A brief entry like "order entered" tells you an order exists, not what it says. Need the actual order, judgment, or pleading? Ask the clerk for the named document. Think of a Leelanau County docket screen as a status aid. It is not the record itself.
| Case number | A court-assigned identifier, commonly a year, type code, and number, such as 2024-GC-000123 for a district civil type. |
|---|---|
| Parties | Names used to locate the Leelanau County file or confirm a caption. |
| Register entries | Chronological filing, motion, notice, order, and event titles. |
| Hearing setting | A listed date, time, room, court, judge, or pretrial display where published. |
| Status or disposition | A brief outcome or status that should be checked against the operative court document when it matters. |
Leelanau Court Docket Register Terms
Leelanau County courts use a few labels that are easy to mix up. "Register of actions" means the chronological record, and it does not promise that every filed document is online. A calendar entry is just a setting. It is not a full case record. Reading the terms in context helps you tell a future hearing from a finished decision.
- Setting
- A scheduled court event. Its date can be reset, adjourned, canceled, or moved.
- Bind-over
- The transfer of a felony prosecution from the 86th District Court to the 13th Judicial Circuit Court after the preliminary stage.
- Disposition
- A recorded resolution or status, such as dismissal, judgment, or conviction, that may need document confirmation.
- Redaction
- Removal of protected information from a public copy of a Leelanau County record.
- Certified copy
- A clerk-authenticated copy, different from a screen print or ordinary photocopy.
Note that a gap in a Leelanau County docket proves nothing about a person's legal status. It also does not reveal why access is unavailable.
Leelanau County Courts and Their Dockets
Leelanau County court dockets split along two lines: jurisdiction and which office keeps the record. Three counties share the 13th Judicial Circuit Court. They are Antrim, Grand Traverse, and Leelanau. But the county of filing still decides which clerk holds a circuit file. The 86th District Court is shared by those same counties and keeps a separate Leelanau County office. Probate records stay with the Leelanau Probate Court/Register.
| Court | Leelanau docket covers | Where to begin |
|---|---|---|
| 86th District Court | Misdemeanors, traffic and civil infractions, small claims, district civil matters, and felony preliminary stages | MiCOURT, district calendar, district office, or terminal |
| 13th Judicial Circuit Court | Felony trials after bind-over, circuit civil cases, and circuit-level family matters | MiCOURT, shared circuit search, or Leelanau County Clerk |
| Leelanau Probate Court | Estates, trusts, guardianships, conservatorships, mental-health matters, and assigned probate-family matters | Probate register and court records channel |
| Michigan Court of Appeals | Appellate cases from Michigan trial courts | Michigan appellate resources, not the Leelanau trial register |
The official 86th District Court page posts the Leelanau location and the access notices that govern district-level matters.
That district route matters most for Leelanau County citations, misdemeanors, small claims, and the early stage of a felony case.
Leelanau Felony Dockets Change Courts
A Leelanau County felony can leave records in two trial courts. Arraignment and preliminary-examination proceedings happen at the 86th District Court. Is the case bound over? Then the trial-level matter moves to the 13th Judicial Circuit Court. So check both courts. A Leelanau County search that checks only one court may miss half the story of the procedural path.
Docket flow: Complaint or arrest paperwork › 86th District Court arraignment and preliminary stage › bind-over when applicable › 13th Judicial Circuit Court trial-stage register › Michigan Court of Appeals if an appeal is filed.
Two courts does not mean two unrelated Leelanau County cases. It is simply how Michigan assigns jurisdiction. Compare filing date, case type, parties, and later entries, then ask the right clerk to confirm the record path.
Court Dates and Settings in Leelanau County
For Leelanau County district settings, begin with the 86th Court Calendar. It links Leelanau judge and pretrial displays. MiCOURT calendar examples show fields like party name, time, room, and case number. An empty Leelanau County calendar is possible. A visible setting proves neither thing, either. It does not show that every filing is listed. The hearing may still move off that date.
Before you appear, confirm the newest register entry, order, or clerk information. Leelanau County lists regular court hours as Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Proceedings may happen virtually where authorized. For the detailed county-wide route to a setting, see the Leelanau County court schedule.
A motion-day label or calendar capture is no substitute. Confirm with the latest court order or clerk information instead.
When Leelanau Criminal Docket Results Are Missing
The 86th District Court posted a public notice in August 2026. It explains that criminal cases are temporarily kept off the public website while automatic set-aside records get reconciled. An empty Leelanau County criminal docket result is not the whole story. It does not mean no case file exists. The clerk still holds the record. MiCOURT adds its own limits. For some courts it shows only criminal convictions from the past seven years, and categories it leaves out may take a separate court procedure to reach.
Use the local fallback. Check the case number and filing county, determine whether the matter began in district or reached circuit court, then contact the appropriate Leelanau County office or ask for public-terminal access. Do not treat an online blank as a final answer.
Some Leelanau County records fall into protected categories. These include restricted, sealed, juvenile, adoption, mental-health, PPO, and related files. The clerk can explain the access procedure that fits each one. A court may limit access, redact a public copy, or ask for an authorized request. Never guess at protected content. Its absence from a display means nothing.
Docket Access Under Michigan Law
Michigan court rules, not the ordinary county FOIA path, govern Leelanau County court records. MCR 8.119 directs clerks to keep case records and registers of actions open to the public. A rule, statute, or order can restrict them. FOIA still has a role. It works for county administrative records. It is simply not the normal route for a court case file.
Key Rules:
MCR 8.119: Leelanau County court clerks maintain case records and public registers subject to access limits.
MCR 1.109: Michigan caption, case-number, and personal-information rules shape the documents filed in a Leelanau County case.
Michigan Court Administration and Records Guide: Court-record access uses the court-rule framework rather than an ordinary public-body FOIA request.
Include the court, county, case number, case type, document title, and document date. Those details matter. They let a Leelanau County clerk pull the right record quickly. Without them, your request may sweep in every item in a file. Leelanau court files follow that court-rule access framework.
Leelanau Court Docket Technology and Filing
Leelanau County runs on a hybrid record system. MiCOURT is the statewide public layer. The shared circuit pages keep local criminal and civil search forms. The 86th District Court offers calendar displays, virtual-business channels, and a payment and status tool. A Leelanau County online result may be missing. A live calendar page may not render. Public terminals and physical files still matter.
MiFILE/TrueFiling’s available-courts directory lists the 13th Circuit Court for electronic filing. The 86th District has not yet been permitted by SCAO to accept e-filings. Its civil page says so. So follow current local instructions rather than assuming every district case can be filed online.
The Leelanau 13th Judicial Circuit Court page shows the county’s shared circuit structure.
The 13th Circuit is shared with Antrim and Grand Traverse Counties. Even so, the Leelanau County clerk stays the local contact for circuit records.
How the Clerk Keeps Docket Records
The dated county directory names Michelle L. Crocker as Leelanau County Clerk and Clerk of the Circuit Court. Confirm the current officeholder before relying on that directory. The clerk handles circuit registers, copy requests, and filing acceptance. The clerk is also the practical contact for questions about whether a circuit file was filed locally. District records are different. The 86th District Court office, not the circuit clerk, keeps Leelanau County district civil, traffic, misdemeanor, and preliminary felony-stage records. Probate keeps its own register.
On a circuit request, give the document date and title when you can. The local form offers regular and certified copies with mail or e-mail delivery. Regular copies run $0.50 per page. Certified copies cost $10 plus $1 per page. Check current fees with the Leelanau County office before you pay. Ask about any enhanced card charge too.
| Copy type | Local listed fee | What to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Regular copy | $0.50 per page | Document title, date, delivery method, and current charge |
| Certified copy | $10 certification plus $1 per page | Whether certification and payment method meet the intended use |
Leelanau County Clerk and Circuit Court Clerk
8527 E Government Center Drive, Suite 103
Suttons Bay, MI 49682
231-256-9824
The shared 13th Circuit Court information page lays out court-section duties and public-terminal access. Those details support Leelanau County circuit record requests.
The shared-court notice points back to the local route. Use the Leelanau clerk for a Leelanau-filed circuit case, and ask about terminal access when an online index comes up short.
Leelanau Court Docket Workload
Leelanau County records stay local, but the court structure is regional. The 2025 SCAO Judicial Resources report counts 1,611 total Leelanau filings for 2024. Circuit, probate, and district categories are all included. The Leelanau table breaks that down: 503 district traffic and civil-infraction filings, 721 district all-other filings, 115 probate filings, 157 family filings, 57 circuit criminal filings, and 48 circuit civil filings. Parking tickets are excluded from district counts.
That same report puts the combined 13th Circuit, probate, and 86th District workload at 113%. It also floats a possible structural study. Treat it as a recommendation only. It is not a new Leelanau County court map. Searchers should use the current court route rather than a proposed future structure.
Filing totals measure court workload in Leelanau County. They say nothing about the outcome or importance of any case.
City-by-City Court Dockets in Leelanau County
Leelanau County has three incorporated villages: Suttons Bay, Northport, and Empire. Each keeps its own ordinances, meeting materials, and administrative records. None operates a separate incorporated-city municipal court. A village ordinance matter that becomes a judicial proceeding lands in the 86th District Court. That is the Leelanau County route. Remember that a village record and a court register are different public records. They are held by different offices.
Suttons Bay Court Records
2020 population 613 · Village ordinances and records; court matters route to the 86th District Court when applicable.
Northport Court Records
2020 population 496 · Municipal records remain local; judicial matters use the district-court route.
Empire Court Records
2020 population 362 · Zoning and village records are distinct from a judicial register.
Leelanau Federal Dockets Are a Separate Route
Some cases tied to Leelanau County never touch the state trial court. Federal civil and criminal files live in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. Bankruptcy runs through its own separate court system. Michigan Court of Appeals records sit apart from the Leelanau County trial register too. So read the court name on your case papers first. A county docket search will miss anything filed in federal court. The Western District of Michigan site is the gateway for that district's docket, covering Leelanau County and the rest of its service area.
A Leelanau County clerk handles local trial-court records only. Federal dockets take the federal court's own access channels. Start any Leelanau court search with the court named on the papers.
Map and Directions to the Leelanau County Government Center
The 13th Circuit Court's Leelanau felony, family, and major civil files, the 86th District Court's misdemeanor, civil-infraction, and preliminary-felony files, and the Probate Court's register are all kept at the Leelanau County Government Center, 8527 E Government Center Drive in Suttons Bay. The Circuit Court Clerk's counter is in Suite 103, the 86th District Court office is in Suite 201, and Probate is in Suite 203, all inside the same building. Regular office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the 86th District's Leelanau magistrate keeps separate walk-in hours on Wednesday mornings from 9 to 11 a.m.
Leelanau County Government Center
8527 E Government Center Drive, Suite 103
Suttons Bay, MI 49682
231-256-9824
Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The county's official pages do not describe a security-screening or parking policy for the Government Center, and the directory used for these hours and numbers is noted elsewhere as dated, so a call to the clerk before the trip is the practical way to confirm current details.