Roseville, Fraser and the 39-A District Court

The 39^th District Court has jurisdiction over criminal, traffic and drunk driving cases that occur in the City of Roseville and the City of Fraser. There are 3 judges assigned to 39^th District Court. The boundaries of the 39th District are relatively small (approximately 14 square miles) in comparison to the 41A District Court in Shelby which covers 36 square miles and has only 1 judge with jurisdiction over all criminal, drunk driving and traffic matters in Shelby Township, Macomb Township and the City of Utica. Here are some statistics for the cities of Roseville and Fraser:

2010 Census
Square Miles
Population

Roseville
9.86
47,000

Fraser
4.16
15,000

The 39^th District Court, located at 29733 Gratiot, Roseville, Michigan 48066, serves both the cities of Roseville and Fraser. The 39th District Court is presided over by the Honorable Judge Joseph F. Bodecker, Marco A. Santia, and Catherine B. Steenland. You can contact the court via phone at (586) 773-2010. Judge Santia’s terms expires in 2018 and several candidates are on the ballot for consideration including: Alyia Hakim and Melissa King.

The size of a community alone does not determine how many judges are allocated to a particular district court. The main factor is the amount of legal business that winds up in the court system. The City of Roseville is an area which, like Eastpointe, has several roads used as thoroughfares to travel to and from Detroit and the Metro Detroit suburbs which include: Gratiot Avenue (M-3), Groesbeck (M-97), I-94 and I-696. The expressways are patrolled by the Michigan State Police and the local roads within the 39^th District Court region are covered by the Roseville Police and the Fraser Police. These major roads, along with the corresponding traffic, result in a high number of traffic violations; many of which wind up being contested in the 39^th District Court. Contacting a traffic defense lawyer is always advisable to keep points from going on your record.

The 39^th District Court handles a busy criminal and traffic court docket at least 3 days a week. In 2017, Roseville reported 536 retail fraud (shoplifting) cases; the highest number of retail fraud cases reported for the entire county of Macomb. Our criminal defense attorneys have been able to obtain advantageous dispositions of retail fraud cases in the 39th District Court with dismissals for first time offenders under special provisions of law such as HYTA for youthful offenders and MCL 771.1 (delayed sentence) for adults. There are also high incidents of domestic violence reported in the 39^th District Court. Our firm handles more domestic violence trials than for any other type of crime. These matters can be dismissed at trial if the case cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt or the victim fails to appear at trial.

In 2017, there were 160 breath and blood tests administered by the Roseville and Fraser police upon individuals suspected of driving under the influence.

• Breath (breathalyzer): Used only to test for alcohol.
• Blood tests are utilized to test for alcohol or drugs.
• A blood test may be ordered if a person refuses a breath test.

Our attorneys resolve drunk driving cases by either negotiating a plea bargain or by scheduling the matter for trial. The prosecutors in every jurisdiction in the State of Michigan are reluctant to reduce a drunk driving offense to a simple traffic ticket. However, the prosecutors assigned to the 39^th District Court cooperate with our DUI defense lawyers to get OWI and High BAC cases reduced to “Operating While Impaired” which results in lesser license sanctions and court penalties. Trial is always an option when our DUI lawyers have ammunition to attack the prosecutor’s case (bad traffic stop, insufficient evidence to prove “operation” or improper testing procedures).

Drug crimes are on the rise everywhere in Michigan. The Roseville and Fraser Police Departments take an active role to apprehend drug crime offenders. When they make a bust, they will solicit the person to become an informant. Acting as an informant for the police should never be considered without the involvement of a lawyer. The police will lead you to believe that you are facing jail and that you should not hire an attorney which could not be further from the truth. The drug crime defense lawyers at ABDO LAW have handled every type of drug crime in the 39^th District Court including felony drug crimes involving heroin, cocaine, LSD, MDMA, methamphetamine and analogues. We are also able to get felony and misdemeanor drug crimes under control, sealed and dismissed if the offender qualifies for MCL 333.7411 or HYTA.

Email or Call Abdo Law for a Free Consultation. Phone messages after business hours are forwarded to our attorneys. We offer same day, evening, weekend appointments and the ability to retain us over the internet. Payment plans and all credit cards accepted.