Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Courts topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wayne County Circuit Court judge outlines access-to-justice programs and new CJC
Summary
Judge Mary Beth Kelly briefed Trenton council on the 3rd judicial circuit's divisions, access-to-justice efforts, treatment courts and the new Criminal Justice Center, and described jury service, appeals and recent statutory developments such as emergency risk protection orders.
Judge Mary Beth Kelly of the Wayne County Circuit Court gave a community outreach presentation on June 15 describing the 3rd judicial circuit's work, outreach events, and reforms designed to improve access to justice.
Kelly described the circuit's divisions — criminal (largest), civil, family (including domestic relations and juvenile) — and outlined public events the court sponsors, including Adoption Day and Reunification Day. She highlighted treatment courts (drug and mental-health courts) as examples of the court's efforts to treat certain offenders through specialized programming.
Kelly described the new Criminal Justice Center (CJC), noting it replaced the older Frank Murphy Hall of Justice and offers modern, technology-enabled space for criminal trials. She explained procedural pathways: felony cases start at district courts (the 33rd District Court serves Trenton), may be bound over to circuit court after probable cause findings, and decisions can be appealed to the Court of Appeals and, rarely, the Michigan Supreme Court.
On family‑division matters, Kelly summarized case volumes (family division reported ~28,000 cases including about 14,000 personal protection order petitions, roughly half of which are dismissed for failing to meet statutory requirements) and noted the court's role in child protection petitions, adoption, guardianship and juvenile matters.
Kelly also discussed a 2024 emergency risk protection order law (sometimes called the "Red Flag" law), saying authorized petitioners (police officers, mental health providers, family members) can ask the court to issue orders allowing temporary confiscation of weapons when a person poses a danger to themselves or others; she said Wayne County has issued more of these orders than other counties and that the courts believe they have helped address gun violence in domestic-violence contexts.
Kelly said the circuit has about 60 judicial positions (59 filled at the time of her remarks), over 25 referees and about 500 total employees and emphasized access to justice regardless of ability to pay. She took brief questions from council and left early for docket obligations.
The presentation was informational; council thanked Kelly but did not take any formal action.
