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Most people charged with a crime in Plymouth have never been inside a courthouse. The paperwork uses terms nobody explains, the date on it may or may not be the date something important happens, and the internet is full of advice written for other states.

Here is what actually happens at the 35th District Court, step by step.

What the 35th District Court Covers

The 35th District Court sits in Plymouth and has jurisdiction over the City of Plymouth, Plymouth Township, Canton Township, Northville, and Northville Township.

It handles:

  • All civil infractions — traffic tickets and ordinance violations,
  • All misdemeanors punishable by up to one year,
  • The preliminary stages of every felony — arraignment, probable cause conference, and preliminary examination — before the case moves to circuit court,
  • Landlord-tenant and small claims matters.

What it does not do is try felonies. Those go to Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit after bind-over.

Before Anything: What Kind of Paper Do You Have?

The document you received determines what happens first.

  • Citation or ticket — may be a civil infraction or a misdemeanor. Read the statute cited. “93 days” anywhere on it means criminal.
  • Summons or Notice to Appear — you were charged but not arrested. The date listed is your arraignment.
  • Release paperwork from a jail — you were arrested and released, and the arraignment date is on it.
  • Nothing yet, but police took a report — charges may be under review by the prosecutor. This is the best possible time to have a lawyer involved, before charges are authorized.

Step One: Arraignment

The first formal appearance. It is short — often under five minutes — and it is more consequential than its length suggests.

At arraignment the judge or magistrate will:

  1. State the charge and the maximum penalty,
  2. Advise you of your rights, including the right to counsel and appointed counsel if you cannot afford one,
  3. Ask for a plea,
  4. Set bond and conditions,
  5. Schedule the next date.

Plead not guilty. This is not a statement about whether you did anything. It preserves every option you have. Pleading guilty at arraignment ends the case immediately, at the worst possible negotiating position, before anyone has seen the police report, the video, or the test results. Every deferral, diversion, reduction, and dismissal path closes at that moment.

Bond conditions commonly imposed:

  • No consumption of alcohol or controlled substances,
  • Preliminary breath testing on a schedule,
  • No contact with a complaining witness,
  • No driving without a valid license,
  • Surrender of firearms,
  • Travel restrictions.

Some misdemeanor arraignments can be waived by an attorney, meaning you never have to appear for this step at all.

Step Two: Pretrial Conference

Usually a few weeks after arraignment. This is where the case is actually worked.

Your attorney has by now requested and reviewed:

  • The police report,
  • Body camera and dashcam footage,
  • Breath or blood test results with calibration and certification records,
  • Witness statements,
  • 911 audio,
  • Any surveillance video.

At the conference, the defense attorney meets with the prosecutor and discusses the case — what the evidence actually shows, what problems exist, and how it might resolve. Possible outcomes:

  • Dismissal, where the evidence does not support the charge,
  • Reduction to a lesser offense or a civil infraction,
  • Deferral or diversion — HYTA under MCL 762.11, drug diversion under MCL 333.7411, domestic deferral under MCL 769.4a, delayed sentencing under MCL 771.1,
  • Plea agreement with negotiated sentencing,
  • Setting motions or a trial date if the case does not resolve.

Most misdemeanor cases end at or shortly after this stage. Multiple pretrial conferences are common and normal.

Step Three: Motions

If there is a legal issue worth litigating, it gets filed and argued here. Common ones:

  • Motion to suppress — challenging the stop, the search, or the arrest. If granted, the evidence is excluded and the case often ends.
  • Motion to dismiss — where the charge fails as a matter of law.
  • Motion in limine — limiting what the jury can hear.
  • Motion to challenge chemical test results.

Step Four: Trial

You have a right to a jury trial on any misdemeanor punishable by more than 92 days. District court juries are six people. You may also choose a bench trial before the judge.

The prosecution must prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt. You are not required to testify, present evidence, or prove anything.

Few cases reach trial — but the ones that resolve favorably usually do so because the prosecution knew the defense was prepared to try it.

The Felony Track

Felony cases follow a different path through the same building:

  1. Arraignment on the complaint and warrant,
  2. Probable cause conference — within 7 to 14 days under MCL 766.4,
  3. Preliminary examination — where the prosecutor must show probable cause that a felony occurred and that you committed it,
  4. Bind-over to Wayne County Circuit Court, or dismissal or reduction if the prosecution falls short.

The preliminary examination is a significant strategic opportunity, and whether to hold or waive it is one of the more consequential decisions in a felony case.

Practical Courthouse Advice

  • Arrive early. Parking and security take time, and dockets are called on the court's schedule.
  • Dress like it matters. Business casual at minimum. No hats, no sunglasses, no athletic wear.
  • Silence your phone entirely.
  • Bring your paperwork and any documents your attorney requested.
  • Do not discuss your case in the hallway. Prosecutors, officers, and witnesses are standing in that hallway.
  • Address the judge as “Your Honor.”
  • Do not interrupt. Let your attorney speak.
  • Never miss a date. Failure to appear produces a bench warrant, a new charge, and often a license suspension.

What Missing Court Costs

A bench warrant means you can be arrested at any traffic stop, at work, or at home. It adds fees, can add a separate failure-to-appear charge, and can suspend your license under MCL 257.321a. If you have missed a date, that is fixable — a motion to quash the warrant filed by an attorney usually resolves it without custody — but it has to be addressed, not avoided.

Do You Need a Lawyer for a Misdemeanor?

Consider what a misdemeanor conviction actually does. It appears on background checks permanently unless expunged. It affects employment, professional licensing, housing applications, immigration status, and firearm rights. It becomes a prior offense that makes any future charge worse.

And nearly every favorable outcome in district court — the deferral, the diversion, the reduction to a civil infraction — requires someone to request it, at the right time, with the right supporting material. Prosecutors do not volunteer these. The unrepresented defendant who shows up and pleads gets the standard result.

Walk In Prepared

The first court date sets the trajectory of everything that follows. Understanding what happens there — and having someone standing next to you who has done it a thousand times — is the difference between a case that resolves quietly and one that follows you for years.

Attorney Aaron J. Boria appears in the 35th District Court regularly and knows how cases move through it. Call Boria Law at (734) 453-7806 before your first appearance.

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