Posted: Friday, January 2, 2015

The Minnesota Supreme Court is seeking public comment on proposed amendments to the Minnesota Court Rules, which govern court proceedings and access to court records in the state.

In July 2014, the Minnesota Supreme Court tasked seven advisory committees with reviewing the Minnesota Court Rules and recommending necessary amendments to those rules to accommodate electronic filing and service in the district courts, as well as access to electronic court records. Electronic filing and service will soon be standard in district courts across Minnesota, as part of the Minnesota Judicial Branch’s eCourtMN initiative, a historic, multi-year effort that is transitioning Minnesota’s courts from a paper to an electronic information environment.

The seven advisory committees – which are comprised of judges, court staff, public and private attorneys, justice system and social service professionals, and media representatives – completed their work in December, with each committee presenting a formal recommendation to the Supreme Court for consideration. The advisory committees have recommended that the proposed amendments go into effect on July 1, 2015.

Today, the Supreme Court issued orders establishing a written comment period for each of the advisory committee recommendations, as well as announcing a public hearing to take public comment on proposed amendments to rules governing access to Judicial Branch records.

The seven advisory committees provided recommendations for amendments to the following court rules: Rules of Civil Procedure; General Rules of Practice; the Rules of Criminal Procedure; the Rules of Juvenile Delinquency Procedure; the Rules of Juvenile Protection Procedure, Adoption Procedure and Guardian ad Litem Procedure; the Rules of Procedure Governing Proceedings Under the Minnesota Commitment and Treatment Act; and the Rules of Public Access to Records of the Judicial Branch.

How to review the proposed amendments to the Minnesota Court Rules:

The public is invited to review the advisory committee recommendations and the Supreme Court orders announcing the requests for public comment at http://mncourts.gov/?page=5038.

How to submit comments:

Any person or organization wishing to provide written comments in support of or in opposition to the proposed amendments should file one copy of those comments with AnnMarie O’Neill, Clerk of the Appellate Courts, at 25 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155. The written comments should be filed so as to be received no later than March 2, 2015.

In addition, the Supreme Court has announced a public hearing to consider proposed amendments to the Rules of Public Access to Records of the Judicial Branch, as well as recommendations by the other advisory committees that concern public access to Judicial Branch records. The hearing will be held on March 17 at 11 a.m. in Courtroom 300 of the Minnesota Judicial Center (located at 25 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN).

Any person or organization interested in making an oral presentation at the hearing in support of or in opposition to proposed amendments related to public access to Judicial Branch records should file a written request, along with a copy of the material to be presented, with AnnMarie O’Neill, Clerk of the Appellate Courts, at 25 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155. The request to appear and written materials should be filed so as to be received no later than March 2, 2015.