Minnesota Court of Appeals Help Topics

Filing a Postconviction Appeal

This page will explain how you can file an appeal from a district court order denying a postconviction petition. You should carefully review this information and complete every step.

Postconviction Appeal Packet and Checklist

NOTE: This page only covers postconviction appeals to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. If you were convicted of first-degree murder and are appealing an order denying postconviction relief from that conviction, you must file an appeal with the Minnesota Supreme Court. If you are filing any other type of criminal appeal, see the tab on this page entitled "Criminal Appeal."
 

Time to Appeal

In general, you have 60 days to appeal to the Court of Appeals after the district court files an order denying a petition for postconviction relief. See Minn. R. Crim. P. 28.02, subd. 4(3)(c). Appeals to the Court of Appeals in other types of criminal cases, including direct appeals of felony or misdemeanor convictions, have very different filing deadlines. You must read rule 28.02, subdivision 4(3) of the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure (abbreviated "Minn. R. Crim. P.") to confirm the deadline that applies to your appeal. 

Your appeal time begins to run on the date that the district court administrator files the order; not when you receive a copy of the order. See Minn. R. Crim. P. 33.03. The Court of Appeals can extend the appeal deadline for up to 30 additional days, but you must make a motion for an extension, and you must show "good cause" to get an extension. See Minn. R. Crim. P. 28.02, subd. 4(3)(g).

To figure out the deadline for filing and serving documents, apply these rules:

• Do not count the day of the event that starts the time period (the date of filing of the district court's order; the date of service of the respondent's brief), but start counting the next day.
• Continue counting calendar days. Do not skip weekends or legal holidays.
• If the last day of the period falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, then the deadline is the next business day.

Court Holidays

Eligibility for Public Defender

If you had a previous appeal involving the same conviction, and you were represented by an attorney from the Office of the Minnesota Appellate Public Defender in that appeal, you may not be entitled to an appointed attorney for postconviction proceedings. See Minn. Stat. § 611.25, subd. 1(a)(2). If this is your first appeal on this conviction, and you meet certain financial eligibility requirements, you may be entitled to a public defender on appeal. You must apply to:

Office of the Minnesota Appellate Public Defender
540 Fairview Avenue North, Suite 300
St. Paul, MN 55104
(651) 219-4444
 

The Parties

You, as the appealing party, are called the appellant. The other party in a postconviction appeal is the State of Minnesota and is called the respondent. The State of Minnesota is represented by the county attorney and the Minnesota Attorney General. The title of a postconviction appeal is as follows: "(Your name), petitioner, Appellant, vs. State of Minnesota, Respondent."
 

Filing Fees

No filing fees are required to file a postconviction appeal under Minn. Stat. § 590.06.
 

Briefs

The brief is your written argument on appeal. You must your brief with the Clerk of the Appellate Courts and serve two paper copies on the attorneys for each respondent. See Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 131.03.

You must also file proof of service for the brief with the Clerk of the Appellate Courts. (See "service" and "proof of service" above.) 

If you received an evidentiary hearing in the district court on your postconviction petition and ordered a transcript of that hearing, you must serve and file your appellant's brief within 63 days after the date that the court reporter mailed the transcript to you. See Minn. R. Crim. P. 28.02, subd. 10; Minn. R. Crim. P. 34.04. If you did not have an evidentiary hearing in the district court and no transcript will be prepared for appeal, then you must serve and file your brief within 60 days of filing the notice of appeal. See Minn. R. Crim. P. 28.02, subd. 10. The court will not remind you of this deadline.

The appellant must file a brief explaining why the district court's decision should be reversed, or the appeal will be dismissed. See Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 142.02.

There are three types of briefs:

• a formal brief, which must be bound and include a table of contents, a statement of the legal issues, a statement of the case and the facts, an argument, a conclusion, and an addendum (see Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 128.02, Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 130.02);
• an informal brief, which may be stapled, and includes a written argument and addendum (see Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 128.01, subd. 1); or
• a short letter argument that supplements written arguments submitted to the district court. This type of brief can be used only when written arguments were filed in the district court in support of the postconviction petition. When it is used, it may be stapled (not formally bound by a printer), and it must include an addendum (see Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 128.01, subd. 2).

Many pro se postconviction appellants file an informal brief. Every appellant's brief, no matter what form used, must include an addendum. The addendum must include, at the least, a copy of the district court order being appealed. See Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 130.02. 
 

Additional Information about Criminal Appeals

For additional information applicable to postconviction appeals, including the stages of an appeal, the record, the transcript, and motions, click the Overview link on the left.

For additional information about filing and serving documents in an appeal, click the Proof of Service link on the left.

Questions?

Clerk of the Appellate Courts
305 Minnesota Judicial Center
25 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
St. Paul, MN 55155
(651) 291-5297
8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday - Friday

NOTE: The Clerk's Office can answer questions about the Court's procedures and rules, but cannot fill out the forms for you or give you any legal advice about your case.