News Item
Minnesota Supreme Court promulgates amendments to the Minnesota Rules of Court

Posted: Wednesday, April 22, 2015

The Minnesota Supreme Court today promulgated amendments to the Minnesota Rules of Court, which govern court proceedings and access to court records in the state. The new rules are effective July 1, 2015.

Today’s announcement is the culmination of extensive work to update the Minnesota Rules of Court to accommodate electronic filing and service in the district courts. This past fall, seven advisory committees – consisting of judges, court staff, public and private attorneys, justice system and social service professionals, and media representatives – reviewed the Minnesota Rules of Court and recommended amendments related to electronic filing and service, and access to electronic court records. The Supreme Court accepted written comments on the proposed amendments for two months, and held a public hearing on issues related to access to Judicial Branch records.

Electronic filing and service will soon be standard in district courts across Minnesota, as part of the Minnesota Judicial Branch’s eCourtMN initiative, a historic, multi-year effort that is transitioning Minnesota’s courts from a paper to an electronic information environment.

“The Minnesota Judicial Branch is nearing the final phase of a major transformation that will make our courts more accessible, more efficient, and better able to meet the needs of Minnesotans,” said Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie S. Gildea. “Ensuring that our court rules were modernized and updated to reflect this transformation was a critically important step to helping us reach those goals. The Supreme Court is extremely grateful to the broad group of experts and stakeholders who helped craft these amendments, as well as the many Minnesotans who provided input during our extensive public comment process.”

How to review the amendments to the Minnesota Rules of Court:

A complete list of the new amendments to the Minnesota Rules of Court can be found here: www.mncourts.gov/?page=5112.

Amendments were promulgated to each of the following court rules: Rules of Civil Procedure; General Rules of Practice; Rules of Criminal Procedure; Rules of Juvenile Delinquency Procedure; Rules of Juvenile Protection Procedure, Adoption Procedure and Guardian ad Litem Procedure; Rules of Procedure Governing Proceedings Under the Minnesota Commitment and Treatment Act; and Rules of Public Access to Records of the Judicial Branch.

Training and Resources:

The State Court Administrator’s Office plans to provide free continuing legal education programs throughout the state for attorneys and government business partners in the month of June or sooner.  Links to the training programs will be posted on the main state court website (www.mncourts.gov).  Online materials including training for self-represented parties will also be posted on the website.

About the Minnesota Judiciary

The Minnesota Judicial Branch is made up of 10 judicial districts with 289 district court judgeships, 19 Court of Appeals judges, and seven Supreme Court justices. The Judicial Branch is governed by the Judicial Council, which is chaired by Lorie S. Gildea, Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.  The Minnesota Judicial Branch is mandated by the Minnesota Constitution to resolve disputes promptly and without delay. In 2014, there were more than 1.3 million cases filed in district courts in Minnesota. For more information please visit www.mncourts.gov