Overview
Effective July 1, 1959, the Minnesota Judicial Branch was divided into 10 judicial districts for administrative purposes, per Minn. Stat. 2.722. Each district is made up of two to 17 counties, with the exception of the Second District (Ramsey County) and the Fourth District (Hennepin County). Each district is managed by a chief judge and an assistant chief judge, assisted by a district administrator.
The Fifth Judicial District has a total of 17 judges serving the 287,000 citizens of the district. The judges are elected for six year terms by the voters of the 15 counties.
The District serves these 15 counties in southwest Minnesota: Blue Earth, Brown, Cottonwood, Faribault, Jackson, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Rock, and Watonwan.
District Administrator
Michael J. Kelley
Deputy District Administrator
Sonja Kruger