Posted: Tuesday, December 17, 2024

The new year will ring in a new process for the Minnesota Judicial Branch: as of Jan. 1, 2025, all court participants will be required to use the Minnesota Digital Exhibit System to upload hearing and trial evidence.

The Minnesota Digital Exhibit System, known as MNDES, allows attorneys and other court participants, including people representing themselves, to upload hearing and trial exhibits digitally from anywhere. The Minnesota Judicial Branch has been testing MNDES in a pilot program since 2021 in response to the increased number of virtual hearings. Now, a Supreme Court ruling makes MNDES mandatory for all hearings—virtual and in-person.

“Over the past three years, we have found that MNDES provides a secure and consistent means for people to manage hearing and trial exhibits,” said Chief Justice Natalie Hudson. “Just as we modernized electronic court filings, MNDES modernizes how we manage evidence in hearings.”

MNDES accommodates most evidence formats, including audio, video, images, and documents. Permitted file types can be found online. The exhibits are stored in a secure platform and are not directly accessible by or visible to the public, although judges and juries are able to view the information in court and during deliberations.

Instructional documents and frequently asked questions are available on the MNDES page of the Minnesota Judicial Branch website.