How Municipal Court Warrants Work
Elsewhere, a municipal court is a true city court: its own judge, its own clerk, its own warrant docket, and a judge who signs arrest orders for city ordinance cases. Michigan worked that way once. A state law from the 1960s abolished the municipal and justice courts and handed their powers to the district courts. So the old idea of an order signed by a city judge for a city ticket describes nothing operating in Chippewa County today. Only the language survives.
Note: A citation written by city police is not a city court case in Michigan. It goes to the 91st District Court.
Chippewa County Has No Municipal Warrant Court
Michigan's court reorganization answers the whole question. MCL 600.9921 abolishes the municipal and justice courts, and MCL 600.9922 moves their powers and duties to the district court covering the same territory. That is why the 91st District Court now hears the ordinance, traffic, and misdemeanor matters a city court would handle elsewhere. Sault Ste. Marie's own code history confirms the city no longer has a municipal judge. A person hunting a city warrant desk in Chippewa County can lose a whole day to that. No city warrant window exists here.
Municipal Courts Across Chippewa County
One incorporated city sits in Chippewa County. It runs no court of its own. The table shows where that work is handled.
| Court or office | What it handles | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| 91st District Court | City and township ordinance, traffic, misdemeanors, initial felony stages | 325 Court Street; 906-635-6320 |
| 50th Circuit Court | Felony after bindover, family matters, protection orders | 319 Court Street; 906-635-6338 |
| Family and Juvenile Division | Juvenile delinquency, child protection, restricted files | Courthouse garden level; 906-635-6316 |
| 17th Probate Court | Estates, guardianships, mental health, protective matters | 319 Court Street; 906-635-6314 |
The list has no city court row, because none exists.
The directory lists each court's address, hours, and staff, which makes it the fastest way to confirm which office owns a file in Chippewa County. Probate appears for a reason. It shares the Court Street building but issues no general criminal warrants.
Its entry spells out that jurisdiction.
City Police and Chippewa County Warrants
City police are the front end of a city case in Chippewa County. An officer writes the citation, and the department keeps the police record. The department does not decide how the court case turns out.
Sault Ste. Marie Police Department
401 Hursley Street, Sault Ste. Marie
906-632-5729
Records 906-632-5744, detectives 906-632-5750
Monday to Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
91st District Court
325 Court Street, Sault Ste. Marie
906-635-6320
Clerk record research 906-635-7613
Each number answers a different question. Police records in Chippewa County can confirm a citation was written. Only the clerk can say whether the case carries an open warrant.
Chippewa County Municipal Warrant Checks
The file lives with the district court, so a Chippewa County warrant check runs through court channels first. Work down the list until an office that owns the record answers.
- Search the state ticket portal, choosing Chippewa County and the 91st District Court, by name, date of birth, or ticket number.
- Search MiCOURT for the case file and the events entered on it.
- Use the free public-access computer at the 91st District Court, or ask the clerk to research the name.
- Call clerk research at 906-635-7613 with the name, a date of birth, and the period to search.
- Call the Sheriff at 906-635-6355 if a county agency served the order.
- Call booking at 906-635-7620 for custody or bail questions.
The page describes the free terminal and the clerk research option in Chippewa County. Older paper is the one gap to plan for, since records more than twenty-five years old are not computerized.
Chippewa County Police Records vs the Court Clerk
Most frustration comes from asking the right question at the wrong office in Chippewa County. The records overlap on the citation and then part ways.
| Question | City police records | Court clerk |
|---|---|---|
| Who wrote this citation? | Yes | Usually, from the file |
| Is a warrant open on this case? | Not its answer to give | Yes |
| What is the bond amount? | No | Yes, if one is set |
| How do I recall it? | No | Yes |
A call to the wrong Chippewa County number usually ends in a referral. That referral loop is what makes the search feel circular.
Municipal Warrants: What They Show
What comes back is a case record, not a wanted poster. These are the fields worth writing down, and only the Chippewa County court confirms each one.
| Court and case number | The pair that identifies the file, shown as Ticket / Case # on the state portal |
|---|---|
| Case type | Ordinance, civil infraction, misdemeanor, or criminal traffic matter |
| Issuing court | The 91st District Court for city ordinance and traffic cases |
| Status | Open, served, recalled, or cleared, as the court records it |
No separate warrant number format is published in Chippewa County, so the case number is the identifier to keep.
Chippewa County's Old Municipal Warrant Files
Files from the abolished courts did not vanish, and that is the other half of the change. MCL 600.9924 carries those records across to the district court that took over the territory. A very old city case from the municipal-court years in Chippewa County therefore belongs with the district court that inherited it. Bring the year along with the name. A date narrows a paper search fastest.
Clearing a Municipal Court Warrant
Clearing the order is a court action with a written end point in Chippewa County. The court enters the event that closes it. Only then does the case stop showing open.
- Call the 91st District Court and confirm the case number, the amount owed, and whether the order is still open.
- Ask whether the court wants payment, a hearing date, a voluntary appearance, or a bond before it recalls the order.
- Pay or appear as directed. Online payment needs the case number and the exact amount from the court first, and a fee applies.
- Ask the clerk what event was entered.
Warning: Paying a fine does not by itself recall a warrant. Until the court enters the recall, the case can still show open at a traffic stop.
A Chippewa County city citation that became a default follows its own path. The traffic warrant steps explain how a default differs from a criminal failure to appear.
Requesting Chippewa County Police Warrant Records
Some records are not online at all, and a written request is how you reach them. Chippewa County and the city are separate public bodies, so a request goes to whichever one holds the document. For county records, the FOIA coordinator works from the County Administrator's Office at 319 Court Street, with a fax line at 906-635-6325 and email at foia@chippewacountymi.gov. A request may be a letter, an email, or the county form, and it must describe an existing record well enough to find. Five business days is the standard response, with one extension allowed. For city police records, use the city's own contact route. A county request does not reach city files.
Key Rules:
MCL 15.231 opens public-body records to inspection and copying under the state Freedom of Information Act.
The county FOIA page lists the submission routes, the coordinator, and the appeal path.
Ask for an existing document with a date range rather than an answer to a question. Expect sealed and personal-information material to be withheld. The county most wanted page explains what the Chippewa County Sheriff publishes and what it does not.