About the Houghton County District Court Clerk
The District Court Clerk in Houghton County works inside the 97th District Court, the lower trial court for the county. The office sits on the 3rd floor of the Houghton County Courthouse at 401 E. Houghton Ave. It is a combined clerk and magistrate operation, which means the same staff who file cases also handle certain magistrate functions like informal hearings and small-claims matters.
Judge Nicholas J. Daavettila presides over the 97th District Court. The clerk and magistrate team keeps the records for traffic, misdemeanor, small-claims, and landlord-tenant cases, and it processes citation payments and civil filings. Because Houghton County runs no separate justice-of-the-peace or municipal courts, this office is the practical front door for most low-level court records in the county.
97th District Court Clerk & Magistrate
Clerk & Magistrate: Nada Wakeham
401 E. Houghton Ave., 3rd Floor
Houghton, MI 49931
Court: 906-482-4980
Magistrate: 906-482-1285 | Fax: 906-482-5270
Mon-Fri 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
What the District Court Clerk Handles in Houghton County
The Houghton County district court has a defined lane in the Michigan trial system, and the clerk's records follow that lane. This is the court for smaller money disputes, traffic, and the early stages of criminal cases. The Houghton County staff manages both the paperwork and the payments that come with those matters.
- Arraignments, pre-trials, and preliminary exams
- Small claims up to $7,000 and general civil cases up to $25,000
- Landlord-tenant disputes and evictions
- Traffic citation payments and informal hearings
- Garnishments, marriages performed by the court, and probation intake
- Treatment court case management
The magistrate side of the office runs separately from the judge's docket. David A. Lamerand serves as Civil Clerk and Magistrate, Keith Anderson is the Court Administrator working with the magistrate's office, and Karen Karinen is the Assistant Magistrate. Probation officers Jessica Brunet and Derek Poyhonen supervise district-court probation, while Andrea Johnson manages treatment-court cases. The county's 97th District Court directory page lists this full staff and the services the court provides.
That directory page is the best single source for confirming a staff contact or phone line before sending a records request to the district clerk.
How to Request a Certified Copy or Case File
A certified copy carries the court's seal and is accepted for legal purposes, unlike an uncertified printout. People often need certified Houghton County district-court records to clear a traffic matter, prove a case outcome, or handle an eviction. The Houghton County office handles these requests in person, by phone, or by mail, and a case number speeds up every route.
- Find the case number first. Look it up through the 97th District MiCOURT shortcut or call the court at 906-482-4980 if you only have a name and date.
- Decide what you need: a plain copy, a certified copy, or a full case file. Certified copies cost more but are required for court and official use.
- Contact the clerk's office at 906-482-4980, or visit the 3rd floor of the courthouse, and give the case number, party names, and document type.
- Pay the copy and certification fees. Card payments may carry a small processing charge, so ask which methods the office accepts that day.
- Pick up the copy in person or request that it be mailed to you once the fee clears.
For records that are older, sealed, or not held in the court's electronic system, the fallback is a written request to the office that owns the file, and a FOIA request where the Michigan Freedom of Information Act applies. Sealed, juvenile, and expunged matters are not released as ordinary open records.
The turnaround depends on how the request comes in. A walk-up request with a case number in hand is often the quickest, since staff can pull and certify the file at the counter. Mail requests take longer because the office must locate the record, apply the fee, and send the copy back. Phone requests work well for confirming a case number or a payment amount, but certified copies still require payment before release. Planning for a short wait, and having the party name and approximate date ready, keeps a district-court records request moving.
Records Request Details for the Houghton County District Clerk
Whether a request goes in by phone, in person, or by mail, the Houghton County clerk needs enough detail to pull the right file. Vague requests slow the process, so the table below shows the fields that make a Houghton County district-court records request work on the first try.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case Number | No | Speeds the search; found through the MiCOURT D97 shortcut |
| Party Names | Yes | Full name of at least one party on the case |
| Document Type | Yes | Ticket, judgment, disposition, or full case file |
| Certified or Plain | Yes | Certified copies carry the court seal for official use |
| Number of Copies | Yes | Extra copies of the same record cost less |
| Return Method | Yes | Pickup at the courthouse or mailed to your address |
Request channels for the Houghton County District Court Clerk include the front counter on the 3rd floor, the court phone line, and mail to the courthouse address. The magistrate line at 906-482-1285 covers informal hearings and magistrate matters, while the fax at 906-482-5270 handles document transmittal.
Houghton County District Court Fees and Traffic Costs
The Houghton County district court publishes a traffic fine and cost schedule, which is the fee list most residents actually need. Civil filing fees and copy charges vary by case type, so the Houghton County office confirms those at the counter. The traffic grid below comes straight from the 97th District Court and pairs each speed range with its fine and point count.
| Offense | Fine & Costs | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1-5 mph over | $140 | 1 |
| 6-10 mph over | $140 | 2 |
| 11-15 mph over | $150 | 3 |
| 16-20 mph over | $165 | 4 |
| 21-25 mph over | $185 | 4 |
| 26+ mph over | $205 | 4 |
| Construction zone 1-10 over | $145 | 3 |
The court traffic record and the state driver record are two different files. Paying a ticket through the district clerk resolves the court case, but the point count and abstract are reported to the Michigan Secretary of State, which keeps its own driver record. A certified copy of that state record is ordered separately from the Secretary of State, not from the district clerk. More on citation payment and lookup lives on the Houghton County traffic court records page.
Note: Probation matters run through the district court's own probation officers at 906-482-0066, a separate line from the main clerk desk.
District Court Clerk vs. County Clerk Records
Houghton County splits its clerk work between two offices, and mixing them up is the most common reason a records request goes to the wrong place. The Houghton County district court clerk handles the lower trial court's files. The county clerk handles a different set entirely.
The district clerk keeps traffic, misdemeanor, small-claims, and landlord-tenant records from the 97th District Court. The county clerk keeps circuit-court files along with vital records like birth, death, and marriage certificates. Someone who needs a divorce decree, a felony case file, or a certified birth record should contact the Houghton County Clerk rather than the district office. Someone who needs a ticket disposition or a small-claims judgment belongs at the district clerk.
Both offices work out of the same courthouse, so a wrong turn only costs a floor change rather than a second building. Still, calling ahead to the right line saves the most time, especially for certified copies that require payment.
Searching Houghton County District Court Records Online
Houghton County does not run a separate search page for district cases. The public path is the statewide Michigan Courts case search plus the county-posted MiCOURT shortcut that lands on the 97th District Court. That shortcut is the cleanest way to reach local Houghton County district records without filtering every court in the state.
The direct tool is the 97th District MiCOURT shortcut, and the broader Michigan Courts case search covers appeals and cross-court context. A view of the 97th District case-search page shows the county-specific entry point in action.
That shortcut is the starting point for most people checking a Houghton County district court case, whether it is a traffic ticket, a misdemeanor, or a small-claims matter. Enter a case number for a direct result, or a party name to browse matches, then use the case number to request certified copies from the clerk. Records that fall outside the online system, including sealed or older paper files, still route back through the district court clerk in person.
The Michigan case-search results can show a district case under a label such as "HOUGHTON DISTRICT COURT," along with the parties, filing date, and case status. Coverage may include civil, traffic, criminal, and domestic matters, but the free search reflects electronic records only. A brand-new citation or a very old case may not display full detail until district-court staff confirm it by phone. The county has also been moving toward MiFILE, the statewide e-filing system, for the 97th District Courts of Houghton, Baraga, and Keweenaw counties, which changes how attorneys and parties file documents.