District Court, with which citizens have more contact than any other court, processes case filings that are initiated by law enforcement, businesses and private citizens. District Court handles all misdemeanors including arraignment, setting and acceptance of bail, trial and sentencing, and conducts preliminary examinations in felony cases. The court has exclusive jurisdiction of all summary proce
edings (landlord/tenant), small claims and civil litigation up to $25,000. District Court is responsible for collecting and distributing fine, costs and fees. Money collected is either ordered by a District Court Judge or dictated by statute. The money that is collected by the District Court is deposited with the Calhoun County Treasurer and distributed to various entities, including the county, cities, townships, villages and libraries. Additionally, state mandated fees are collected for community dispute resolution, court equity fund, highway safety fee, conservation fee, civil fee, training fees, crime victim fee, secondary road patrol fee, state fund civil, state fund traffic, jail reimbursement fee, forensic lab, Secretary of State, bonds, restitution and cost recovery. District judges are elected for terms of six years in non-partisan elections, A candidate must be a qualified elector, a resident of the district, a lawyer who has been licensed to practice law for at least five years and under 70 years of age. Salaries for district judges are set by the legislature.
