Search Washtenaw County Arrest Records and Criminal Records

How to Search Washtenaw County Arrest Records

The most reliable path to a Washtenaw arrest record is the court file that follows the booking. The Sheriff's Office runs the jail; the courts hold the criminal case once the prosecutor files charges. Search the court docket through the Washtenaw Trial Court Public Access portal or MiCOURT to find an arrest tied to a current case. For Sheriff-side incident reports, the county uses a FOIA process under MCL 15.233.

The Sheriff's "Find" landing page at washtenaw.org/1701/Find links crime alerts, statistics, fingerprinting, sex offender registry routes, and resources for finding people in custody. It is a useful jump-off for arrest-related lookups outside the court docket. Steps for the courts side are below.

1. Open the Washtenaw Trial Court Public Access portal or MiCOURT D14A.
2. Search by last name, first name, and date of birth.
3. Filter by court (D14A for misdemeanors and felony preliminary work; 22nd Circuit for felonies after bindover).
4. Open the case and read the docket for arraignment, bond, and charges.
5. For Sheriff incident reports, submit a county FOIA request through the request hub at washtenaw.org/1670.

How Criminal Cases Flow Through Washtenaw Courts

Criminal cases start with an arrest by police or sheriff's deputies. The prosecutor reviews the case and decides whether to charge. Misdemeanor charges stay in district court. Felony charges start in district court with arraignment and a preliminary examination, then move to the 22nd Circuit Court for trial after bindover. MCL 600.8351 sets the criminal jurisdiction of district courts.

The Prosecutor divisions page is below. It lists the criminal division alongside specialty units for victims, juveniles, domestic violence, and the Conviction Integrity & Expungement Unit.

The Prosecutor's page at washtenaw.org/3315/Divisions covers the office's full set of divisions. Each Washtenaw criminal case has a prosecutor and, when the defendant qualifies, a defense lawyer from the Public Defender Office.

The Public Defender's landing page is below.

The page links assigned counsel, online forms, court directions, community-oriented defense, and immigration law.

Arrest Record vs Criminal Conviction

An arrest is not a conviction. A booking happens before the courts decide whether the charge sticks. A conviction is only entered after a plea or a verdict. The comparison below shows the key splits between an arrest record and a criminal court record.

For the full Washtenaw inmate lookup, use the inmate records page. For the underlying court file, use the court records page.

Charges vs Convictions in Washtenaw

A criminal charge is what the prosecutor accuses a person of doing. A conviction is what the court enters after a plea or verdict. The two can be far apart. A charged felony can end as a misdemeanor under a plea. A charge can be dropped entirely. A jury can return a not-guilty verdict. The arrest may still show on a sheriff record even when the court case ended in dismissal.

Washtenaw court files list both the charges as filed and the final disposition for each count. Read the docket from oldest to newest to see how a case moved from arraignment to disposition. If the case shows no disposition, it is still pending.

Set-Aside Convictions in Washtenaw County

Michigan uses "setting aside" a conviction for what many states call expungement. The state set up two routes: by application under MCL 780.621, and automatically under the Clean Slate law at MCL 780.621g. The Public Defender about page is below.

The Public Defender about page at washtenaw.org/1074 states the office was set up in 1971 for indigent and partially indigent representation in criminal, civil contempt, and juvenile matters. The Prosecutor's Conviction Integrity & Expungement Unit also handles set-aside questions.

The application page for set-aside relief is shown below.

The statute text at MCL 780.621 sets out eligibility, exclusions, and waiting periods. The effect of a set-aside is in MCL 780.623, shown below.

The set-aside law treats the conviction as nonpublic but does not destroy the file. The Michigan State Police and courts keep a record for limited uses set out in statute.

Sealed vs Set Aside vs Dismissed

These three terms get mixed up often. A sealed record is a court file made nonpublic by court order. A set-aside conviction is a Michigan term for the post-conviction relief route that takes a conviction nonpublic. A dismissed case ended without a conviction at all.

Prosecutor and Public Defender Contacts

The Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney's office handles felonies and misdemeanors charged under state law. It also runs juvenile delinquency cases, abuse and neglect terminations, and mental health commitments. The Public Defender Office handles indigent defense for the same court system. Both offices sit inside the broader county government structure listed on the elected officials page.

The Sheriff's Office at 2201 Hogback Road, Ann Arbor, runs the booking and jail operation. For state-level records on sentenced prisoners or parolees, use the MDOC OTIS tool.

Booking at the Washtenaw County Jail

After an arrest in Washtenaw County, the person is taken to the Sheriff's facility at 2201 Hogback Road, Ann Arbor. Booking covers identification, fingerprints, intake screening, and a property inventory. The county incarcerated individual information hub lists the rules for bond, mail, money, phone, video visits, and property release after booking.

Bond may be set at the booking site or at arraignment. The county page states that if a 10% bond is posted, the court holds 10% of the posted amount and returns the bond to the bonder at the end of the case or earlier by judge order. Securus Technologies runs phone and voicemail at the jail. eXpress Account is the deposit and payment route for money sent to incarcerated loved ones.

For real-time custody verification, use VINELink or call the Sheriff's Office through the main number on the sheriff page. See the Washtenaw inmate records page for the full lookup walk-through.

Attorneys may visit clients at the Washtenaw jail via non-contact booth at any time, except during a jail emergency or scheduled lockdown. That access route is set out on the county incarcerated individual information page. Contact visits are open to eligible incarcerated individuals on a set schedule, and video visitation runs through the Sheriff's automated visit system.

Statewide and Federal Criminal Record Lookups

For sentenced state prisoners, parolees, and probationers, the Michigan Department of Corrections runs the Offender Tracking Information System (OTIS). OTIS is the official state source. The Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry at michigan.gov/msp lists registrants under state law.

For federal cases tied to Washtenaw, search the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan through PACER. The BOP Inmate Locator covers federal custody status. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals at ca6.uscourts.gov handles federal appeals.

Background Checks and FCRA

Washtenaw County court records are public, but a Washtenaw arrest record alone is not a background check. Federal law treats consumer reports for employment, credit, tenant, or insurance purposes under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. A private aggregator pulling Washtenaw data is not the same as a court-certified record from Clerk of the Court-Court Services.

For lawful FCRA-purpose uses, work with a vetted consumer reporting agency or pull a certified court record. For research or personal lookups, the Trial Court Public Access portal and MiCOURT are the right tools. Always verify a name match through date of birth and case number before relying on online data.

Public Access to Washtenaw Arrest Records

Criminal court files are public under Michigan Court Rule 8.119. The judiciary is excluded from FOIA by MCL 15.232(d)(v), so court access runs through court rules and Court Services. Sheriff incident reports and police records run under county FOIA. Juvenile records are restricted under MCL 712A.28; adoption records under MCL 710.67.

For warrant lookups tied to an arrest, see the Washtenaw warrant records page. For traffic-tied criminal cases such as DUI, see the traffic court records page.