Supreme Court

Often called the "court of last resort," the Supreme Court is Minnesota's highest appellate court.

The Supreme Court plays a vital role in our constitutional system, as well as an important role in the daily lives of citizens. As one of the three co-equal branches of state government, the Judicial Branch is one of the constitutional bodies that provides the checks and balances, along with the legislative (House of Representatives, Senate) and executive (Governor) branches of government, found in the constitution. The Minnesota Supreme Court also serves as the final guardian of the rights and protections provided in Minnesota's constitution, and interprets and applies the U.S. Constitution.

But, beyond this work, the Supreme Court serves people. Each year hundreds of persons -- individuals, companies, even state and local governments -- bring their appeals of legal cases to this court. Sometimes the decisions the court makes interpreting a law may only affect the people in that case, but often the decisions have an impact on every citizen in the state.  

There are seven Supreme Court justices. The justices are elected on a non-partisan, statewide ballot to six-year terms. If a justice retires, resigns, or dies during the elected term, the governor appoints someone to the vacant position. The justices, as with all judges in the state, must be lawyers, although they cannot practice law while serving on the court. 

Each justice is the liaison to a number of Supreme Court boards and other state policy commissions that are charged with responsibilities ranging from day-to-day administration to strategic planning.

Appeals are the main business of the Minnesota Supreme Court, followed by the court's administrative functions as the highest court in the Judicial Branch.

The number of appeals coming to the Minnesota Supreme Court is more than 600 per year. Most of those appeals come to the Supreme Court in a request for review of a decision by the Minnesota Court of Appeals. The court grants review in about 10-14 percent of these cases. The balance of the Supreme Court cases come directly to the Court from other bodies such as the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals and the Tax Court. The Supreme Court also has direct appellate jurisdiction over appeals in first-degree murder cases, and original jurisdiction in attorney and judge disciplinary cases from the Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board and the Board on Judicial Standards.

In addition to hearing appeals, the Supreme Court has another, less visible, role. The Supreme Court is the rule-making body for all of the state's courts. In addition, the Supreme Court shares administrative responsibility for the operation of the state court system with the Judicial Council. The Supreme Court is also responsible for governing the practice of law. Under its supervision, a bar examination is given twice a year to law school graduates, and the court admits successful applicants to the practice of law. The court also continually monitors attorneys through yearly registrations, required continuing education credits, and investigations of complaints of unethical or incompetent practice. The Supreme Court can take disciplinary action -- reprimand, suspension, or removal -- against attorneys or judges who have violated ethical standards.

The Supreme Court is the court of last resort when it comes to resolving challenges involving the constitutional rights of the people of the state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Court of Appeals was created in 1983 to function as the state's error-correcting court, but the decision of the Supreme Court can have the greatest effect on law and society because its decisions serve as precedent for future cases.

The Appeal

An appeal is really the end of a longer process. By the time a case is filed in the Minnesota Supreme Court, most of the legal activity in the case has already taken place.

There has been, for example, some problem or dispute in the community that could not be resolved informally between the parties. There has been the initiation of a legal case, negotiations, investigation, filing of documents, research, settlement efforts, motions, a trial or hearing, a decision by a judge or jury and a decision by the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Generally, only then can a case be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Types of Appeals

Most appeals heard by the Supreme Court come after the Court of Appeals has reviewed a final decision by a judge or jury in a lower court. The Supreme Court receives cases from the Court of Appeals on petitions for review. However, several types of cases bypass the Court of Appeals and go directly to the Supreme Court including appeals of murder cases in the first degree and cases coming from the Tax Court and Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals. A party who is dissatisfied with a lower court's decision may file an appeal. One exception is that, under the constitution, no appeal can be made after a person is found not guilty of a criminal charge.

The Appeals Route

Every case follows a certain route to the Supreme Court. Before appealing, normally a person considers the cost, time, and work involved in the appeal, as well as the potential effect on the law of a Supreme Court ruling on that matter.

In addition, the party making the appeal must have some basis or legal reason for the Supreme Court to review the case. Was the evidence sufficient to support the verdict? Was, for example, the law interpreted correctly by the Court of Appeals? Does the law involved in the case meet constitutional standards? In deciding whether to review the legal issue, the Supreme Court also considers whether the issue is an important one, whether a decision by the Supreme Court will help develop, clarify, or harmonize the law, and whether the lower courts departed from the accepted and usual course of justice.

To bring a case to the Supreme Court, the lawyers for the parties must file briefs, or written arguments, explaining in detail the basis of the appeal and the law that applies. Accompanying these briefs will be all the records of the case from the trial court, including a court reporter's word-for-word transcript of witnesses' testimony and lawyers' statements in the trial, the judge's orders, exhibits and a decision of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, if there is one.

Once filed, the justices, assisted by courts staff, review the case. Cases are handled in two different ways: (1) Some cases are decided on the basis of the information in the briefs and records, but without an oral hearing; or (2) in other cases, where significant points of law are involved, there are also oral hearings before the justices.

The Oral Argument

A hearing before the Supreme Court is much different from one before a trial court. There are no witnesses, no evidence, and no trials -- only presentations by the lawyers on questions of law involved in that particular case. Instead of one judge who sits in a trial court, seven Supreme Court justices sit together and make a decision.

The setting at the oral argument is formal and dignified. The appellant's lawyer has 35 minutes to explain the merits of his or her position and the respondent’s lawyer has 25 minutes. Most of oral argument consists of the justices asking questions of the lawyers to help clarify the issues which the court must decide.

The Decision

It is after the hearing, however, that the difficult work of making a decision and writing an opinion takes place. Immediately after the hearing, the justices move to the conference room where they deliberate on the cases. Each justice has the opportunity to present his or her thoughts about the proper outcome. The chief justice speaks last. At the conference, the justices attempt to come to a consensus on the case. Where no oral argument has been held, the justices confer on the cases in a similar fashion.

After the conference, a justice is assigned to prepare a written opinion which states a proposed decision and the reasoning behind it. The proposed opinion is then circulated to the other justices, who can: sign it if they agree; write a dissenting opinion if they disagree; or write a concurring opinion if they agree but have different reasoning. The opinion of the majority is the decision of the court. 

The Aftermath 

Once decided, the opinions are filed with the Clerk of the Appellate Courts and released to the public online at www.mncourts.gov. Opinions are generally released on Wednesdays. Often the news media covers the opinions. Later the opinions are bound into books that are available for reference in law libraries.

The Supreme Court's decision can uphold, reverse, or modify the ruling of the lower court. If a ruling of the trial court is reversed, the case often must return to that court for a new trial. The decisions of the Supreme Court, however, are final in this state and must be followed by lower courts and other officials.

After a decision in the Minnesota Supreme Court, there is only one other possible avenue of appeal -- to the United States Supreme Court, and then only if a question of the United States Constitution or federal law is involved. Because the United States Supreme Court accepts only a small percentage of the cases that are presented to it, very few cases travel from the Minnesota Supreme Court to the United States Supreme Court.