Information About the Michigan District Court

Do you know the difference between courts established by the Constitution and courts established by Congress?

Establishment of Michigan District Court

The Supreme Court was created according to the Constitution’s Article III. It was the 1789 Act of Congress that established the federal district courts.

Once the constitution was ratified, there were some who opposed the idea of a strong federal judiciary, and wanted the federal court system to be limited to the Supreme Court, which would hear appeals from state courts. This view did not prevail, and the first Congress created today’s federal district court system. Accordingly, each state has at least one judicial district; some have more than one.

The federal district courts have concurrent jurisdiction over many cases, but are the only ones that have jurisdiction to hear criminal cases.

In the State of Michigan, there are 2 district courts of the:

•    Eastern District
•    Western District

U.S. Eastern District Court of Michigan

This court has the jurisdiction over the eastern portion of Michigan. It is based in Detroit, but it has courthouses in other towns as well. 15 judges are assigned to hear cases at:

•    Detroit: Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse, 231 W. Lafayette Blvd. Detroit, Michigan 48226
•    Ann Arbor: Federal Building, 200 E. Liberty Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
•    Bay City: United States Post Office Building, 1000 Washington Ave., Bay City, Michigan 48708
•    Flint: Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 600 Church Street, Flint, Michigan 48502
•    Port Huron: Federal Building, 526 Water Street, Port Huron, Michigan 48060

http://www.mied.uscourts.gov is the official Eastern District court’s website.

U.S. Western District Court of Michigan

This court has jurisdiction over the western part of the state and also the Upper Peninsula. There are 4 assigned judges who preside over its cases.

Appeals from this court go to the Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit (the only exceptions are the claims raised against the US. government as per the Tucker Act; all such cases need to go to Federal Circuit).

http://www.miwd.uscourts.gov is the Western District court’s website.

The U.S. Attorney for each Michigan district represents the U.S. government in all litigation.