District Court Judge Fights Genesee County's Plan to Shutter Satellite Courts, Warns of Public Safety and Access Fallout

For residents in Fenton, Flushing, Burton, Mt. Morris, Davison, and Grand Blanc, a county plan to close six satellite district courts could turn nearby court business into a trip to downtown Flint. Now, 67th District Court Judge Christopher Odette is accusing Genesee County commissioners of overstepping their authority by pursuing the closures as a cost-cutting measure.

Odette and an attorney representing the judges sent a letter to the Board of Commissioners and Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton arguing the closures are unlawful. The challenge contends the county plan violates the Revised Judicature Act and intrudes on the judiciary's constitutional and inherent authority to manage its own operations — a separation-of-powers argument that the Board lacks statutory authority to unilaterally decide where the 67th District Court will sit.

The 67th District Court has ten elected judges, several of whom currently serve at the six satellite locations. Judge Mark McCabe is assigned to the Fenton Court location, Judge David J. Goggins serves the Flushing Court, Judge Jessica Hammon serves the Burton Court, Judge Vikki Bayeh Haley serves the Mt. Morris Court, and Chief Judge Pro Tem Jennifer J. Manley serves the Davison Court.

Court filings state the Board of Commissioners adopted a plan to close all 67th District Court courthouses outside the City of Flint and consolidate judges and cases into the existing McCree Building in downtown Flint. Chief Judge Odette said moving all cases there would create congestion and parking problems, arguing the facility is already strained and could not handle a much larger volume of people. He said closing the smaller courts would also make it less practical for officers in outlying communities to write tickets and could increase overtime and other enforcement costs.

This is not the first legal battle: in late 2023, the 67th District Court sued the Board of Commissioners over plans to close most of the court's locations, with filings describing the county action as unlawful and unconstitutional. The parties reached a settlement and agreed to work toward consolidation, with existing facilities to be maintained through June 2025.

The Board approved a cost-saving resolution in 2023 to consolidate district court operations and reduce facility expenses, with its capital plan specifically describing satellite court reductions as part of the strategy. Under an approved memorandum of understanding, the county aims to build a new unified district court facility by 2030 to house all operations.

Prosecutor David Leyton declined to comment on the judges' challenge. The Board of Commissioners, chaired by Dale K. Weighill, has not yet responded publicly. The conflict pits the county's fiscal consolidation plan against the judiciary's claim of constitutional authority over court operations — in a county where residents already face transportation barriers and infrastructure challenges that make showing up to court difficult.