Non-Criminal Hearing Appearance
The Minnesota Judicial Branch adopted a district court hearing framework in July 2024 that aims to bring statewide consistency to how district courts hold hearings, while respecting judicial discretion and providing local flexibility.
Judicial districts follow the statewide
Remote and In-Person Hearings Policy that sets a uniform process for determining whether a court proceeding is heard remotely or in-person, unless an exception applies.
Agency, district, county, or division-wide hearing appearance type deviations may be approved, as determined by Judicial Council, in certain circumstances, including proximity to justice partner facilities, access to legal representation, access to community and partner services, innovation, performance measures and prolonged emergency circumstances.
IMPORTANT: Always check your hearing notice for how to appear for court. If you have questions about how to appear you can
contact the local court where the case is filed for more information. You may also make a
Request for Remote or In-Person Appearance to ask the Judge to allow you to appear in a different way than stated on your hearing notice. The judge will decide whether to grant your request or not. If you do not hear back from the Court before your hearing, you must appear as stated on the hearing notice.