Frequently Asked Questions
You may find yourself needing the services of the Saginaw County Prosecutor's Office, or at least need some direction on how to solve whatever issue you may be facing. Below are some common questions we receive; if you can't find your answer here, feel free to call our office at (989) 790-5330.
If you have an emergency, please call 911. The prosecutor’s office becomes involved in cases only after law enforcement becomes involved.
There are actually two prosecutor’s offices in the Saginaw County Governmental Center. One is the office that handles criminal cases – this office is located on the second floor, Room 212, of the main building. The other is the DHHS office, which handles child support and paternity issues – this office is located on the first floor of the annex (northwest area) of the Governmental Center.
The prosecutor’s office only issues criminal charges against individuals based on police reports. As a result, if you are the victim of a crime and wish to see charges issued against the perpetrator, you must first contact the police and either have a report filed by an officer or file your own report. Depending on the police agency, an investigation then commences, and that agency provides our office with their completed investigation to review for potential charges. If the police agency does not perform further investigation, and you still want to see charges issued, you then must contact our office, either in person or by phone. The decision to issue charges against an individual is that of the prosecutor’s office and only the prosecutor’s office. While we value victims’ wishes, a victim’s desire to have charges issued against somebody is not the sole determining factor.
If you are the listed victim in a case that you no longer want to see pursued, you may contact our office, either in person or by phone, to discuss this with our victims’ rights office. The decision to either not issue charges against a potential defendant or dismiss charges against a defendant is that of the prosecutor’s office and only the prosecutor’s office. While we value victims’ wishes, a victim’s desire to have a case dismissed is not the sole determining factor. If a case has already been issued against a defendant, the best way to let us know you no longer want to see the case proceed is to fill out a victim’s impact statement, which we email to all victims of all cases that we have chosen to prosecute. Please fill out this paperwork and return it to our office, either by mail or in person, and it will be added to our case file, which allows one of our assistant prosecutors to read it and learn your feelings on a case. If you did not receive a victim’s brochure and impact statement in the mail, please contact our office as soon as possible so we can provide one for you.
First and foremost, check your subpoena to ensure that our office is the one that has subpoenaed you – you should see Prosecuting Attorney John McColgan’s name on the subpoena. If it was our office that subpoenaed you, then please follow the instructions on the back of the subpoena. Importantly, please call (989) 790-5580 after 5 p.m. the day before the subpoena directs you to be in court. An automated message will advise you whether the case on which you have been subpoenaed is still scheduled to start the next day or whether it has been postponed.
No, it is not. If you are a victim and have chosen to have our office inform you of all future court dates for your case, our victims’ rights office will send you a postcard notifying you of those court dates. These postcards are not an order to appear in court – if you wish to attend the court date, you may, but your attendance is not required unless you have received a subpoena.
A personal protection order (PPO) is an order from a judge protecting an individual from being contacted, directly or indirectly, by another individual. PPOs are sought by individuals at the PPO office in the basement of the Saginaw County Governmental Center and are sought independently, not through or by the prosecutor’s office. These orders can be renewed upon request by the protected party and upon approval by the judge. For more information on PPOs, including violations see the PPO page or call (989) 790-5412.
No-contact orders are issued in criminal cases and prevent defendants from contacting, directly or indirectly, the victim or victims in those cases. These orders are not issued (and thus, not in effect) until defendants appear for arraignment (their first appearance before the judge). Victims who believe a defendant has violated a no-contact order should contact the police agency that has jurisdiction where the violation occurred, either by calling 911 in the case of an emergency or by calling or visiting the police department in the case of a non-emergency. Once police have been contacted, the victim can contact the prosecutor’s office to notify us of the violation. Violations can result in a judge revoking a defendant’s bond, placing them back in jail.
The Family Division of the Circuit Court, located at 3360 Hospital Road in Saginaw Township, handles most delinquency cases for those 16 and younger and all cases pertaining to child abuse and neglect and parental rights. For questions on these cases, please call (989) 799-2821.
These appointments are handled by the prosecutor’s office’s DHS office, which is located on the first floor of the annex (northwest area) of the Governmental Center. The prosecutor’s office on the second floor of the Saginaw County Governmental Center handles criminal cases.
No, you should not. If you believe there is a warrant for your arrest, you should call the District Court Criminal Division at (989) 790-5385 or Circuit Court at (989) 790-5470.
No, you should not. The decision of whether or not to issue a concealed pistol license (CPL) rests with the Michigan State Police. Similarly, the decision to suspend or revoke CPLs also lies with the Michigan State Police. For CPL-related questions, call (517) 284-3700.
Just as you would if you want charges issued against a perpetrator, the first thing you must do is contact the police agency that has jurisdiction where the check was received and either have a report filed by an officer or file your own report. After filing a report, you must send a 5-day notice via certified mail to the offender. If the offender does not respond in the given timeframe, you can bring your information to the financial investigator in our office, who then sends a final 10-day notice to the offender. If payment is not made in full, the financial investigator will seek a criminal warrant for the offender.
