Minnesota's Legal & Judicial System

Guide to
Minnesota Law

Minnesota's Legal & Judicial System

Minnesota's Legal & Judicial System

Minnesota's Legal & Judicial System

It may be useful for a person thinking about initiating a legal action to understand the legal and judicial system that exists in Minnesota. One of the most confusing aspects of the judicial system is that there are two separate systems: state and federal. The majority of cases are filed in state courts. This chapter discusses the state and federal systems and summarizes the jurisdictions of both. The Process of a Lawsuit Chapter outlines how a case goes through the state civil and criminal process. Claims that arise on Native American lands may be subject to tribal courts and not the state or federal courts.

As one may remember from civics class, there are three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch creates the laws, the executive branch enforces the laws, and the judicial branch interprets the laws. Laws are also called statutes or codes. The executive branch can create rules or regulations to govern its administrative procedures and the judicial branch may also interpret these regulations.

When a case is brought before a court, the court applies the law to the facts of the case and a decision is made. There are many sources of law the court uses in making its decision: the Constitutions of both the United States and the State of Minnesota, statutes, regulations and prior decisions of its own or of other higher courts (case law). The way in which a higher court answers a legal question is binding on all other lower courts within that jurisdiction when faced with the same legal question. For example, if the Minnesota Supreme Court decides a legal question, all state courts in Minnesota must follow that decision. However, state courts in Wisconsin would not have to follow the Minnesota decision because they are in a different jurisdiction.

Representation

Perhaps the first question a businessperson may ask is, "Do I really need a lawyer to handle my legal affairs?" The best answer is almost always yes. Occasionally, a business is able to rely on non-lawyers to handle some legal matters. For example, some companies hire paralegals to draft routine contracts. For most legal matters, however, hiring a lawyer is essential. Obviously, when a business is sued or thinking of bringing a lawsuit, the business should have an attorney representing its interests. In rare instances, a businessperson may be permitted to represent himself or herself. For example, a landlord can appear in conciliation court without a lawyer. In the majority of cases, however, a company hires counsel to represent itself and in some cases, must be represented by counsel.

Jurisdiction

When a person decides to file a legal action, he or she must decide in which court system to file the case. The court in which a person files a case depends on which court has jurisdiction over such cases. Jurisdiction determines whether a particular court has the power and authority to decide a case. This is subject matter jurisdiction. If a court does not have subject matter jurisdiction, it may not decide a case. A court must also have personal jurisdiction over the defendant in a case. There are different ways to have personal jurisdiction, including if a defendant resides or has a business within the court's geographical region. For example, a Minnesota plaintiff cannot bring an action in Minnesota district court against a defendant who lives and works in another state, if that defendant has no contact with the state of Minnesota. Jurisdiction is set in law, constitutions, or case law. It is possible to have courts with overlapping jurisdiction and a person has a choice of in which court to file an action.

There are three types of subject matter jurisdiction: exclusive, general, and limited. Exclusive jurisdiction means that only a particular court can decide a case. An example of exclusive subject matter jurisdiction is bankruptcy court. Only in a federal bankruptcy court can a person file a bankruptcy action. State courts have no jurisdiction in bankruptcy cases. General jurisdiction means that a court has the ability to hear and decide a wide range of cases. Unless a law or constitutional provision denies it jurisdiction, a court of general jurisdiction can handle any kind of case. The Minnesota district courts are general jurisdiction courts. Limited jurisdiction means that a court has restrictions on the cases it can decide. Conciliation court is a court of limited jurisdiction because it can only hear and decide cases which claim damages of $7500 or less.

Venue

Venue is frequently confused with jurisdiction. While jurisdiction asks whether a court system has authority to hear a case, venue asks which court within a jurisdiction should hear and decide a case. In Minnesota, a case is usually brought in the county in which the claim originates or where one or more defendants resides. For example, if a person is hit by a car in Duluth, and the car was driven by a person from St. Paul, an action against the driver could be filed in either St. Louis County (Duluth) or in Ramsey County (St. Paul). Change of venue can be requested by either of the parties. For example, a corporate defendant in Rochester might request a change of venue to Moorhead because adverse publicity in Rochester makes it impossible for the corporation to get a fair trial in Rochester or because most of its files are located in Moorhead. The defendant could not request that the trial be moved to Milwaukee because the Wisconsin court lacks jurisdiction.

State and Federal Courts

As previously mentioned, there are two separate court systems: state and federal. Which court system a person enters depends on a number of factors: whether a court has exclusive jurisdiction over the subject matter of the case, the amount of damages involved, and the locations of the parties in the case.

State Courts

Minnesota has three levels to its court system: district courts, the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court. There are two special courts which are not in the judicial system and were created by the executive branch to address specific areas -- Tax Court and Workers' Compensation Court.

Minnesota has divided its 87 counties into ten judicial districts. Each judicial district is composed of anywhere from one to 17 counties. Each district court hears cases in each county within its district at some time. As previously mentioned, the district court has general subject matter jurisdiction and handles a wide variety of cases, both civil and criminal. The district courts are courts of original jurisdiction, that is, cases start there. That is where trials are held, witnesses testify, evidence is presented, and judgments are rendered. Depending on the size of the district, some have created specific divisions to handle certain matters such as probate and family. Conciliation court is a division of district court and appeals from conciliation court are heard there. A person who loses a case in district court may appeal the decision. Appeals from district court are typically brought to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals was created in 1983 to assist the Minnesota Supreme Court with its workload. Unlike the district courts which hear trials with witnesses, jurors, and evidence, the Court of Appeals' primary function is to determine whether there has been an error at the district court level, and if so, to remedy it. The Court of Appeals reviews the transcript from the district court and may also consider written and oral arguments. The Court of Appeals can reverse or affirm a district court ruling or send it back to the district court for additional action. The Court of Appeals hears most appeals from the district courts unless the law specifically states that a particular appeal goes directly to the Minnesota Supreme Court. The Court of Appeals is made up of 16 judges who are divided into rotating three-judge panels. These panels travel throughout the state hearing appeals. Appeals from this court are sent to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the state. Like the Court of Appeals, it does not hold trials but reviews transcripts, takes written and oral arguments, and determines whether there has been an error at the district court level. It may also reverse, affirm, or remand a case. The Supreme Court is the rule-making body for the state courts and has administrative responsibility for the operation of the state court system. The Minnesota Supreme Court is composed of seven justices who hear appeals in St. Paul. A Minnesota Supreme Court decision is a final decision in Minnesota and may be appealed to the United States Supreme Court only if there is a federal issue involved.

Federal Courts

The federal court system hears both civil and criminal cases and is also broken down into three levels. There are generally three ways a case can be filed in federal court: the case involves a federal law, the case raises a question of United States Constitution interpretation, or the case involves parties from more than one state and the amount in question is more than $50,000.

The federal government has divided the United States into federal judicial districts. The state of Minnesota makes up one federal judicial district. The federal district court for Minnesota has offices in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth. Like the state district courts, the federal district court holds trials in cases over which it has jurisdiction. Appeals from the federal district court go to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Included in the federal system is the bankruptcy court. Federal bankruptcy courts have exclusive jurisdiction over bankruptcy matters. There are four bankruptcy court offices in Minnesota -- Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, and Fergus Falls.

The federal government groups the United States' federal judicial districts into circuits, and each circuit has a court of appeals. Minnesota is in the Eighth Circuit along with Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals hears the appeals from federal district courts within the circuit. As in the Minnesota Court of Appeals, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals does not try cases, but only reviews cases from lower courts within the circuit. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has an office in St. Paul and its main office in St. Louis, Missouri. Appeals from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals are heard at the United States Supreme Court.

The United States Supreme Court hears appeals from the circuit courts of appeal and state supreme courts, and other cases in which it has jurisdiction -- cases between states, for example. The court is made up of nine justices and is based in Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court has very broad discretion to decide which cases it will review and only a small percentage of the cases appealed to the United States Supreme Court are actually heard. As with other appellate courts, the refusal to hear an appeal lets stand the lower court's ruling.