5th District Court (St. Joseph)

District CourtPayments online

Contact

Address
811 Port St., Berrien County Courthouse, St. Joseph, MI 49085

Judges (6)

  • Honorable Arthur J. CotterDistrict Judge
  • Honorable Gary J. BruceDistrict Judge
  • Honorable Gordon Gary HosbeinDistrict Judge
  • Honorable Mabel Johnson MayfieldChief Judge
  • Honorable Paul S. Jancha, Jr.District Judge
  • Honorable Sherri C. FrameDistrict Judge

Court contacts

Filing and payment

E-filing (MiFILE)
Not on SCAO's statewide MiFILE court list (checked 8/27/2026, list dated 7/23/2025) — either not yet on MiFILE, or on a system this particular list doesn't track. Verify directly with the court.
Payments
Online: trial court fines/fees and Friend of the Court payments both payable online (www.berriencounty.org/983/Payments); traffic tickets filed at Niles or St. Joseph locations
Forms
www.berriencounty.org/1069/Berrien-County-Forms (see also the Family Division Form Center)
Local administrative orders
www.berriencounty.org/1070/Administrative-Orders — full indexed list back to ~2010

Jurisdiction

Special dockets
Sobriety Court / OWI-Impaired Driving (LAO 2025-07); Specialized Business Court (LAO 2025-03); Mental Health Court (LAO 2019-05)

Also worth knowing

Notes
Berrien County Trial Court = 2nd Circuit + Probate Court operate as one administration; regular hours are set by LAO 2023-01 (not independently confirmed this pass).

SCAO court code D05. Compiled from the Michigan SCAO trial court directory and this court's own website, last checked 2026-08-27. Confirm anything time-sensitive with the court directly.