The MN Digital Exhibit System (MNDES) is a way to share digital exhibits with the court and the other parties in a case for evidentiary hearings or trials without the need for physical copies. It allows users to easily submit, store, and access digital exhibits (audio, video, documents, and images) in a consistent manner statewide. MNDES is a simpler, more secure way of managing digital exhibits than by email, network drives, or digital storage devices, and allows exhibits to be easily accessed for both remote and in-person hearings.
Submitting exhibits via MNDES is the easiest way to provide digital exhibits to the court. You must also follow
Court Rules concerning exhibits, including sending the exhibits to other parties involved in your case.
Note: If there is a court order that says you cannot contact another party, such as an Order for Protection (OFP), Harassment Restraining Order (HRO), or Domestic Abuse No Contact Order (DANCO), pay close attention to any instructions in the hearing notice or court order about how to submit and share exhibits. If no instructions are given in the hearing notice or court order, contact court administration to see if there is a local process that could help you. We also encourage you to
talk to a lawyer to make sure you are not violating the order by how you share your exhibits with the other party.
The
Rules of Evidence apply to exhibits submitted through MNDES the same way they do to physical exhibits. Because these rules can be complicated, it is a good idea to
talk to a lawyer for help with your case.
Registration is easy and only takes a few minutes. Read the
Quick Reference Guide (QRG) – Creating and Managing a MNDES Account for instructions.
MNDES is compatible with Chrome, Edge, and Safari browsers. The only information you need to register is your legal first and last name and a valid email address. After you create an account, you will receive an email from MNDES (dem@imagesoftinc.com) to complete registration and then you will be able to access MNDES, set up your profile, and submit exhibits into a specific case. You should receive the registration email immediately, so please check your spam or junk folder if it is not in your inbox.
If your email address changes and you need to update your MNDES user account, you can update your email address on the “My Profile”, Advanced Profile Settings page in MNDES. See the
QRG - Creating and Managing a MNDES account for more information.
If multiple people within the same office need to work with exhibits, you can set up a MNDES account using a generic group email account so that exhibit management duties can be shared within the same firm.
It is possible to submit an exhibit for a hearing without an account if you do not want to create one by asking court administration staff to send you a link. Also, the judicial officer who hears your case may decide to order you to create an account in MNDES to submit your exhibits.
Use the MNDES
Contact Us form to submit a question by email and we will do our best to respond within 24 hours. You can also contact us by phone by calling
(651) 413-8160 (if you are calling from area code 612, 651, 763, or 952) or by calling
(833) 707-2791 (for all other callers).
Keep in mind that you are responsible for following any deadlines that apply to your court case. You can also contact your
local court administration office.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Update the Exhibit Name so that it briefly describes the content and is easily identifiable (for example, “picture of rear passenger door”).
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Only include an Exhibit Number if the judicial officer instructs you to do so. Check to see whether your judicial officer issued something called a “scheduling order” and, if so, follow any numbering instructions that were included.
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Do not zip or compress an exhibit file. It should be uploaded in the original format, such as a pdf, jpg, etc.
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Upload exhibits individually so they are listed separately in MNDES. Do not combine multiple exhibits into a single file.
No, zipped or compressed exhibits should not be uploaded. Each exhibit should be uploaded as a separate file. However, you can upload individual exhibits in different formats at the same time.
The current file size limit that can be uploaded to MNDES is 100 GB (100,000,000 KB). Keep in mind that larger files will take longer to upload. If you are uploading a larger file, it will take the system longer to complete the upload process so that your file will be ready.
The content of exhibits cannot be modified once uploaded into MNDES. If you want to modify an exhibit after it is uploaded, you will need to upload a different, modified version. Exhibits in pre-hearing status may be deleted if the account that uploaded the exhibits submits a request.
DO NOT UPLOAD into MNDES any images, documents, or other materials containing sexual content or nudity, including internet addresses linking to those materials. Contact the county where your case is scheduled for assistance.
Those with access to the MNDES account that was used to upload the exhibit(s), the court, and any parties the exhibits have been shared with can view exhibits that you have uploaded. Exhibits in pre-hearing status are not publicly accessible without a court order. Generally, exhibits offered into evidence in a public case are publicly accessible unless there is a court order.
No, you must first offer (ask the judicial officer to allow) your exhibits to be admitted as evidence at the time of the hearing or trial. The court will then determine whether the exhibits are admissible under the Rules of Evidence. See the “Exhibits” tab above for more information.
MNDES is only used for exhibits that will be formally offered into evidence at a contested evidentiary hearing or trial. Court filings with exhibits attached as part of the court filing must be submitted to the court at the time of filing with the court (either in person, by mail, or through the eFile and eServe (eFS) System).
Exhibits that you upload and do not offer to the court as evidence remain in MNDES until the retention period for all exhibits in the case is reached. You can request an exhibit in pre-hearing status be deleted any time before it is offered to the court during a hearing. To do so, submit a deletion request from the portal. Court staff review deletion requests. Requests that are approved will process within 24 hours. If your request is denied, you will receive an email with a reason for the denial.
Each exhibit uploaded into MNDES receives a unique exhibit tracking number as it is uploaded that will never change during the course of the case for that exhibit file. An exhibit number is the number assigned to an exhibit during the hearing or trial. If an exhibit number is entered by a party when uploading, it may be changed by the party or the court depending on what number is officially assigned during the hearing or trial.
Yes, the appellate courts can see exhibits in MNDES after district court staff have reviewed them to confirm the exhibits are part of the record on appeal.
Use the
Contact Us form and we will do our best to answer within 24 hours. Keep in mind that you are responsible for following any deadlines that apply to your court case.
You can also use the Contact Us form if you would like to give feedback about MNDES.
Attorney Frequently Asked Questions
Alford packets are discovery and MNDES should not be used to store discovery unless a judicial officer orders otherwise.
MNDES can be used to upload Florence Packets. Counties and districts should work with their judicial officers to implement a standard process for submission (e.g., exhibits uploaded individually to MNDES; not on a disc or bundled submission) and communicate it to justice partners.
Yes. Court staff will set up devices to allow jury access to digital exhibits, as authorized by the judicial officer.