The State Court System
Minnesota's state court system is
organized into three levels:
- At the district level, 257 judges
serve in trial courts in Minnesota's 87 counties. The trial courts are
organized into 10 judicial districts for administrative purposes. Most cases,
from traffic offenses to murder, begin here.
- At the state level, the Minnesota
Court of Appeals reconsiders decisions of the trial courts if one of the
parties is unhappy with the result and files an appeal. The 16 Court of Appeals
judges divide into three-judge panels and travel to cities throughout Minnesota
to hear cases.
- The highest state court is the
Minnesota Supreme Court. This court of seven judges, who are called justices,
hears appeals from the Court of Appeals, the Workers' Compensation Court and
the Tax Court. All first-degree murder convictions are reviewed by the
Minnesota Supreme Court. Disputes about legislative elections also go directly
to the Supreme Court.
The Federal Court System
The federal court system also has a
presence in Minnesota, just as it does in every state. The federal courts are
separate from the state courts. They hear different kinds of cases including
cases that involve:
- A federal law, such as the federal
kidnapping law, firearms laws, assassination cases, bankruptcy, civil rights
protections or banking laws.
- A question of interpreting the United
States Constitution, such as free speech, racial discrimination or other
constitutional freedoms.
- A lawsuit between citizens of two
states that involves more than $50,000.
In the federal system, the federal
district court--which in Minnesota operates in Minneapolis, St. Paul and
Duluth--is the trial court where people file their federal claims. Seven
judges, all appointed for life by the president, serve on the federal district
court bench.
Much like the state trial court, the
federal district court is the place where trials are conducted. Decisions may
be appealed to one of the 11 federal circuit courts of appeal. Minnesota
appeals go to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Paul. Appeals from the
circuit court may be made to the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.
Also in the federal system, the
bankruptcy court--which has offices in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth and Fergus
Falls--is the court where people file their bankruptcy petitions and where
disputes regarding their property and debts are resolved. Four judges, all
appointed to terms of fourteen years, serve on the federal bankruptcy bench.
Special Courts Not
in the Judicial Branch
The Tax Court and
Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals are executive-branch agencies created by
state law to deal with only one technical area of the law.
Tax Court
Three judges, appointed by the governor
to six-year terms with approval from the state Senate, serve on the Tax Court.
They must be knowledgeable about taxes, but they don't have to be lawyers. The
Tax Court hears non-criminal tax cases from all over the state. The Tax Court
is in St. Paul but hears cases in the locality where the taxpayer lives or in
the same district if the case was heard in district court.
Workers'
Compensation Court of Appeals
Five judges, appointed by the governor to
six-year terms with the approval of the state Senate, hear workers'
compensation cases that are appealed from compensation hearings or that are
transferred from district court. Judges must be lawyers. They have offices in
St. Paul and hear cases there or elsewhere in the state. Workers' compensation
cases include issues that arise when workers are injured while on the job.
Anoka County District Court/Office
of the Court Administrator—County Level Access to the Court System.
The Anoka County District Court is a
general jurisdiction unified trial court with 15 resident judges. The trial
court hears all cases including criminal, civil, family, juvenile, probate, and
conciliation court actions. The Office of the Court Administrator is a local
position created by the Constitution of the State of Minnesota. The office is
the highest judicial administrative office on the county level and as such
serves as the official keeper of the records for all case types filed in Anoka
County. The maintenance of physical files, trial exhibits, and vital statistics
records rests with staff as well as the responsibility for collecting and
accounting for millions of dollars in fees, fines, surcharges and assessments.
The funds, once properly collected are distributed to municipalities, the
county, state, and a large variety of other agencies and special interests by
state law. Court Administration is the agency which interacts most frequently
with the public during their associations with the legal system. Whether
managing the jury system, issuing marriage licenses or passports or explaining
the details of conciliation court forms to prospective litigants, Court
Administration is the contact point for citizens accessing the courts on the
county level.
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