43rd District Court

The District Court handles all traffic cases including formal and informal hearings, trials, and parking.  The District Court has exclusive jurisdiction in all civil litigation up to $25,000, small claims, garnishment proceedings, and evictions.  In the criminal area, the District Court handles all arraignments, most misdemeanor cases, the setting and acceptance of bail, bench and jury trials, sentencing, and preliminary examinations in felony cases.

The criminal division maintains records on all misdemeanor and felony offenses and is responsible for the processing, scheduling and noticing of all criminal and traffic cases in the court.

The civil division maintains records on general civil, landlord/tenant and small claims cases and is responsible for the scheduling, processing and noticing of these cases.

The probation department is responsible for the supervision, counseling and referral of defendants placed on probation.  The probation department here at the 43rd District Court is a full service probation department in that it also performs all alcohol screening assessments and pre-sentence investigations.

The traffic division is responsible for maintaining records and processing all traffic civil infractions, parking violations, code enforcement proceedings, and motor carrier violations.

For more information about the 43rd District Court, click here to visit their website. 

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Judge Joseph Longo

Judge Joseph Longo was appointed by the Governor  in February, 1998, to the 43rd District Court to fill the vacancy created by the retiring Honorable Judge Voss; and was then elected to the six year term of office in November, 1998.

Judge Longo’s career spans twenty years, beginning with an initial concentration in criminal defense work, evolving to a broad civil practice.  He served twelve years as the City Prosecutor for Oak Park and Huntington Woods.  He began his law practice at a small firm - Lumberg and Gage - and continued his association with Eugene Lumberg until his appointment to the bench.

Court Administrator Michelle A. McCullough

Under the supervision of the Chief Judge, Court Administrator Michelle A. McCullough serves as the executive officer for the 43rd District Court.  The Court Administrator is responsible for the administrative management of all non-judicial functions of the Court.  This includes personnel management, fiscal management, scheduling and caseflow management, record keeping, jury utilization and other administrative areas.  The Court personnel includes the Judge, twelve full time employees, a part time Magistrate, and four other part time employees.

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The City of Ferndale, Michigan
300 East Nine Mile Road
Ferndale, Michigan  48220
(248) 546-2525