How the 9th District actually works
Plain English. No legalese. If you take only one thing away: every judge here is elected, and most of them only ever face voters when no one bothers to run against them.
Which court handles your case
Got a speeding ticket? Misdemeanor? Sued for under $25,000?
That's 8th District Court. The court of first contact. Six judges. Most cases that touch ordinary residents start here.
Felony charge? Divorce? Custody? Civil case over $25,000?
That's 9th Circuit Court. Seven judges across three divisions: Criminal, Family, and Civil/Probate.
Parent died without a will? Need a guardianship? Mental-health commitment?
That's Probate Court. As of January 2025 it shares its civil docket with the Circuit Court's Civil/Probate Division.
Need a court file, marriage license, or property record?
That's the County Clerk / Register of Deeds. Custodian of the entire paper trail.
How a judge actually gets the seat
- Election. The default route. Judges run in nonpartisan November elections. Six-year terms (eight years for newly created seats).
- Gubernatorial appointment. When a judge retires or leaves mid-term, the Governor of Michigan picks a successor. That appointee then has to win an election at the next regular cycle to keep the seat. In practice, they often run unopposed.
- Chief designation.The Michigan Supreme Court designates which sitting judge becomes Chief Judge of each court. That's an administrative role, not an elected one.
The reality:a large share of the bench in Kalamazoo County was first appointed by a governor and has never faced a contested election. Look at any judge's profile and you'll see whether their last election had an opponent.
What "nonpartisan" means (and doesn't)
Michigan judges appear on the ballot without a party label next to their name. They can still be endorsed by parties, donate to partisan candidates personally, and accept PAC money. "Nonpartisan" describes the ballot, not the politics.
How to replace a judge
- File to run in the next election before the April 21 deadline.
- Vote in the November general election. Judicial races are usually at the bottom of the ballot, and many voters skip them entirely, which is exactly why incumbents tend to run unopposed.
- File a complaint with the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission for misconduct.
What we publish (and don't)
Every official's page lists only sourced material: published press mentions, on-the-record endorsements, on-the-record criticisms. We do not publish an approval score, sentiment rating, or composite index. If a fact isn't cited, we leave it off the page rather than guess.