Small claims courts are included in each state’s court system and are designed for the resolution of disputes involving a limited dollar amount—and for the parties to the dispute to represent themselves (pro se). Small claims courts are often referred to as the People’s Court, and some states such as California prohibit attorneys from representing parties in small claims court.

The limit on the amount of money in dispute (the jurisdictional limit) varies from state to state within a range of $2,500 to $25,000—but is usually between $5,000 and $15,000. The disputes filed in small claims courts are often seeking to recover a debt or involving residential landlord-tenant disputes.

Judges in small claims courts in some states are called Justices of the Peace, and the courts are sometimes referred to as JP courts.

In Michigan, small claims courts are a division of the district court system designed to handle disputes involving limited dollar amounts without the need for attorneys. The jurisdictional limit for small claims in Michigan is $6,500, meaning that the amount in dispute cannot exceed this figure. Parties in Michigan small claims courts typically represent themselves (pro se), and attorneys are generally not allowed to represent parties in these cases. The types of disputes commonly resolved in small claims courts include debt recovery, property damage, and landlord-tenant issues. The judges presiding over these cases are district court judges, rather than Justices of the Peace, and the proceedings are intended to be relatively informal and accessible to non-lawyers.