Highest Court
The highest court in Minnesota is the Supreme Court of Minnesota. The Supreme Court consists of 7 justices. It has jurisdiction over (1) Final appellate jurisdiction.
Intermediate Courts
Court of Appeals
The Court of Appeals consists of
16 judges. It has jurisdiction over (1) Appellate jurisdiction over all
matters except appeals from tax court, workers compensation, and murders.
General Courts
District Court
The District Court consist of 274
judges. It has jurisdiction over (1) Original civil, administration
of trust estates, dissolution, annulment, separate maintenance, Reciprocal
Support Act, adoption, change of name, quiet title, and real estate mortgage
foreclosures. (2) Original criminal. (3) Juvenile in Second
and Forth Districts. (4) Special proceedings not exclusively recognizable
by some other court or tribunal.
Appeals de novo and on record.
No jury trials are overseen by this court.
Additional Information
Papers to be submitted on recycled
paper
A document submitted by an attorney
to a court of Minnesota must be submitted on paper containing no less than
10% postconsumer material. The court may not refuse a document solely
because the document was not submitted on recycled paper. However
the following exceptions do apply to this statute: a photograph,
an original document prepared or printed before January 1, 1996, a document
not created at the direction or under the control of the submitting attorney,
a facsimile copy, nonrecycled paper and preprinted forms acquired or printed
before January 1, 1996.(Minnesota Statutes 480.0515)
Present laws effective until
modified
All present laws (expect those of
the probate courts) relating to pleading, practice, and procedure,
shall be rules of court until the are modified or superseded by subsequent
court rule. However, upon the adoption of any rule in agreement to
sections 480.051 to 480.058, if the said laws are in conflict they shall
no be in further force and effect. (Minnesota Statute 480.056)
Juvenile court rules
The Supreme Court may declare the
rules to regulate the pleadings, practice, procedure, and forms in the
proceedings in all juvenile courts in the Minnesota in agreement with the
provisions of section 480.059. However, the composition of the advisory
committee and the distribution of the proposed rules are exempt from the.
Before the rules are adopted, the Supreme Court shall distribute copies
of the proposals to all people who have registered with the Supreme Court
to receive notice of hearings. The rules shall be available for distribution
to the judiciary and attorneys of the state on or before September 1, 1982.
(Minnesota Statute 480.0595)
Testing writs.
Any writ or process from a court
of record shall be tested in the name of the presiding judge, signed by
the court administrator, receive the court's seal, dated in the day of
issuance, endorsed by the court administrator with the name of the attorney,
and when no other time is fixed by law or authorized by the rules of practice,
it shall be made returnable on the first day of the next succeeding term.
(Minnesota Statute 484.04)
Court not open Sunday; exception.
Court shall not be opened on Sunday
except to receive a verdict, give additional instruction to or discharge
a jury. However a judge of such court is not prevented from exercising
jurisdiction in any case where it is necessary for the preservation of
the peace, the sanctity of the day, or the arrest and commitment
of an offender. (Minnesota Statute 484.07)
Stenographic record
A competent stenographer shall make
a complete stenographic record in the exact language of all testimony given
and all proceedings had before the judge in regards to a trial of issues
of fact. The stenographer shall also record, verbatim, all words
spoken during a trial. When requested by the judge, the stenographer
shall, without charge, make a like record of the matter or proceeding,
transcribe, and/or read it to judge. (Minnesota Statute 486.02)
Program and training guidelines;
certification
The state court administrator shall
adopt guidelines for use by community dispute resolution programs and training
programs for mediators and arbitrators for the community dispute resolution
programs. (Minnesota Statute 494.015)
