In an effort to reduce a large backlog of criminal cases created by the COVID pandemic, the 30th Circuit Court will open a courthouse annex at 426 S. Walnut Street in downtown Lansing in mid-September.
An Open House is scheduled from 3 to 5 p.m., Tuesday, September 20. The public is welcome to attend.
This 30th Circuit Court Annex, across Walnut Street from the Veterans Memorial Courthouse (VMC), the Circuit Court and Probate Court courthouse, will provide a courtroom, jury assembly room, and staff offices for a visiting judge to assist in handling some of the Circuit Court’s hundreds of pending felony matters.
The building housing the annex is owned by the Community Mental Health Association (CMHA) of Michigan. Ingham County entered into a three-year lease, effective June 1, 2022. CMHA has since relocated to 507 S. Grand Street in Lansing.
The Circuit Court has relied solely on funds outside of the County’s General Fund. First, the Court secured more than $100,000 from the Michigan State Police (MSP) to be used toward 2022 project expenses. The funds came from the Coronavirus Emergency Supplement Fund grant, managed by the MSP, earmarked for expenses connected with personnel and Internet connectivity.
By far the largest financial support for the Annex initiative has come from Ingham County’s allocation of federal ARPA funds. In April of 2022 the Ingham County Board of Commissioners approved a strategic investment of $2.7 million in ARPA funds toward the multi-year visiting judge project.
Proceedings are scheduled to begin at the Annex the week of September 12. The Hon. David Jordon, retired Judge from D54B District Court in East Lansing, will serve as judge, at least for the first several months. He served East Lansing for 17 years, and since retirement has done visiting judge work in Circuit, District, and Probate matters.
