News Item

Minnesota courts will begin operating under new default hearing settings beginning Feb. 3.

The new settings are part of a historic district court hearing framework the Minnesota Judicial Council voted to adopt in July 2024.

Here is what will change:
 

• Courts will begin using default hearing settings
  All hearings in court cases will be assigned a default setting: either in-person or remote. These default settings will be based on case type. District courts will hold hearings according to these default settings unless the judicial officer orders a case-by-case exception or a deviation plan is in place.
• Judges can allow exceptions to these default settings
  Judicial officers will be able to deviate from the default hearing settings based upon the needs of a specific case without issuing an order or providing findings. A request for a case-by-case exception may be made by a party or initiated by the court. 
• Deviations can be requested
  Agencies, judicial districts, counties, and court divisions have the ability to request a deviation from the statewide default hearing settings under certain circumstances—for example, a district court may want to hold certain hearings remotely instead of in-person to increase access to justice partner services or legal representation. These requests are reviewed and approved by the Judicial Council. Approved deviations are available for adult criminal, juvenile delinquency, and non-criminal hearings.

These new hearing rules are a direct result of feedback from court users about the Minnesota Judicial Branch’s use of remote hearings during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statewide survey of court hearing participants, remote hearing attendees reported fewer barriers to attending their hearings than those who attended in person.

The new district court hearing settings reflect both the Minnesota Judicial Branch’s commitment to using in-person and remote hearings to deliver justice in Minnesota and the lessons learned and feedback gathered over the past two years under the oneCourtMN Hearings Initiative.