I, Sec. 5 Cases pending in the circuit court

If a case was already in circuit court on January 2, 1978, it stays there, even if that type of case would normally belong in district court. The circuit court will keep handling it and decide the outcome.

This rule exists because courts were reorganized around that time, and district courts took over certain kinds of cases. Without this rule, cases already underway might have had to start over or move to a new court partway through. Instead, anything already sitting in circuit court on that date gets to finish out its process there, avoiding extra delays or confusion for the people involved.