19617 Harper Avenue
Harper Woods, MI 48225
(313) 343-2590
(313) 343-2594 fax
Hours: Monday - Friday
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
The court is located on Harper Avenue between Vernier and Moross. It is at the Allard exit (#224B) of the I94
expressway.
The 32A District Court was established January
3, 1979 and serves a population of approximately 14,254. The City of
Harper Woods is only 2.63 square miles. The Court has jurisdiction over
criminal misdemeanors, civil cases in which the amount in dispute is $25,000 or
less, parking violations, traffic violations, landlord-tenant
disputes and small claim matters. In addition, the Court has initial
jurisdiction on criminal felony cases for the purpose of determining probable
cause.
Roger J. La Rose has served as the District
Judge since January 1, 1979. He graduated from University of Detroit in
1967 and from Detroit College of Law in 1973. He has been a faculty member
of the Michigan Judicial Institute (MJI) for several years. Each year he
teaches criminal pretrial issues, fact-finding, and trial process at the New
Judges Seminar. He has taught Implementing the New Drunk Driving Law in
Michigan and Adjudicating Traffic Offenses for MJI. He is the first Judge
in the State to use Electronic Monitoring of prisoners due to jail overcrowding
and he has served as the chair of the Modern Technology in the Courts Committee
of the National Conference of Special Court Judges. He has also served as
President of the Michigan District Judges Association, and Chair of the Judicial
Conference of the State Bar of Michigan.
James D'Alessandro serves as the Magistrate
of the 32A District Court when Judge La Rose is unavailable to hear cases.
He earned his law degree from the University of Detroit in 1950. He is a
lawyer who has a long history of involvement with community affairs. He
has served on the Civil Service Commission, the Zoning Appeals Board, and the
Committee for the Aged.
Karen E. Haydett became Court
Administrator/Clerk for the 32A District Court, having served in that role since
January 22, 2001.
She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Rochester College
and an Associate's Degree in Criminal Justice from Macomb Community College.
Ms. Haydett is a member of the National
Association for Court Management, Michigan Court Administrators Association and
Southeast Michigan Court Administrators Office. She is a Board of Director
for Michigan Court Administrators Association and has served on several
committees for Michigan Court Administrators Association and Southeast Court
Administrators Association. Ms. Haydett is also CEO certified and L.E.I.N.
certified.
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Volunteer Probation Committee - Is designed
to assist the Probation Department with processing and monitoring cases.
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Mediation Committee
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The court has referred property disputes, business and community issues, small
claims, contracts, and neighborhood differences to the program.
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Misdemeanor Program
- This class is for the criminal offender who needs to assess why and how he/she
reached this position in his/her life. The class is a mechanism for the
criminal offender to rethink the basics through self-evaluation strategies.
By the end of the class, the offender should be better able to understand
conflicts arising between his/her behavior and value system. The class is
$50.00 and lasts six hours.
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C.H.E.C. Program
- The Court Holiday Enforcement for Communities Program is designed to keep
convicted high-risk drunk drivers from endangering the public by drinking and
driving and eliminating alcohol related domestic
assaults.
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MADD Victim Impact Panel
- Was implemented in September of 1999. The victim impact panel is the
only one of its kind in the Detroit suburbs. This program gives the
convicted drinking and driving offender the opportunity to go beyond their own
"bad luck" and re-focus on the severity of the consequences of drunk driving to
others. This shows the underage drinker that poor decision making can
lead to an even worse outcome. The program is one hour long with two
videos and a speaker telling a story of a family loss due to a drunk driver.
A $20.00 donation to MADD is requested.
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Urban Law Clinic
- This program was through the University of Detroit Mercy Law School. Law students
were able to council and represent, before the judge, indigent members of our
community. The students who participated received course credit and
valuable trial experience. This clinic ended in 2002.
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Youth Advisory Committee
- Selected junior and seniors of the Harper Woods High School assist the Judge
in selecting topics to be covered at school seminars or town hall meetings.
They also participate in discussion relating to schools/community concerns,
assist at school seminars, compile surveys, learn leadership techniques, and
learn about the legal system.
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