51st Street Branch Court

SEXNER’S PRO LEGAL TIP: In some counties such as Cook, there are court locations that are called “branch courts” that are so named because they’re like the branches of a tree. There are usually main courthouses (for Chicago cases, 26th & California for criminal cases and the Daley Center for traffic matters) that might be considered the main trunk of such a tree. But there are sometimes many branches (like the 51st Street Branch Court) which usually handle either a smaller amount of cases or a specialized type of case.

For the most part, branch courts are usually located close to where the actual traffic or criminal case occurred. For most counties, they exist because the main courthouse simply does not have enough capacity or court rooms to handle such a high volume. Over time, counties often close some branch courts or open new ones, depending on the volume of cases that they are experiencing.

When the matter involves an ordinance violation, traffic violation, or misdemeanor, such cases usually stay at the branch court location if they are assigned there initially. On the other hand, if a case is a felony, such matters are usually sent directly to the main court house for counties like Lake, DuPage, Will, Kane, and McHenry where they stay until the case is eventually finished. Cook County on the other hand, sometimes has felony cases assigned to branch courts (for cases that occur in the City of Chicago) although sometimes they are assigned to main court locations for the entire case (usually for Cook County suburban cases).