Hennepin County Court Information

Hennepin County is served by Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District. The Hennepin County Court is the largest trial court in the state and receives as many as 800,000 cases in a year. It is thus not surprising that there would be 62 judges, 16 referees, and more than 500 staff members at the Hennepin County Court to carry out the legal processes.

Authority of the Hennepin County Court in Minnesota

The Hennepin County Court is a state trial court possessing general jurisdiction rights. Various divisions within the court–the Civil Court, the Conciliation Court, the Criminal Court, the Family Court, the Housing and the Juvenile Courts, and the Probate/Mental Health Court–are given specific powers to decide the various types of cases that are generated every year.

The Civil Court of Hennepin County processes all civil cases and is also responsible for dealing with harassment charges. It is responsible for the orders filed at the Fourth Judicial District Court, collecting and processing filing fees, and administrative defaults. You can obtain information about the Civil Court judges at http://www.mncourts.gov/district/4/?page=1271.

Conciliation Court

The Conciliation Court is also known as the Small Claims Court. This branch of the Hennepin County District Court deals with all civil cases where the amount of controversy is $7,500 or less. The legal processes followed here are inexpensive and simple, and attorney fees are nominal. However, do remember that cases at the Conciliation Court come up for hearing approximately five months from the date of filing.

If you have mailed your filing, you have to add two more weeks for processing purposes. Records of the cases that have been tried at this court are accessible online at http://www.mncourts.gov/district/4/?page=1712. The cases are grouped under Civil, Family, and Probate Cases.

Family and Juvenile Courts

The Family Court Division of the Hennepin County Court is empowered to deal with family issues like divorce and paternity suits; domestic abuse charges; and child custody, support and visitation rights. It also presides over dissolution and annulment of marriages and legal separation issues. Contact information on the court’s judges and referees are found at http://www.mncourts.gov/district/4/?page=364.

The Juvenile Court deals with cases involving children of less than 18 years. These persons have been charged with performing actions that are otherwise considered of criminal nature in case of adults. In this court, cases are classified as either a delinquency or a child protection issue.

In delinquency cases, the person concerned is said to have violated a Minnesota state law, which may be anything from staying out after curfew hours to something as grave as committing a homicide. In cases involving child protection rights, the parents are charged with risking the welfare of the child or actually harming the child. 

Most Juvenile Court delinquency case records are out of reach from the public, except those dealing with grave crimes committed by children over 16 years of age. All child protection records, except cases of truancy and runaways, are accessible to the public. These records are available at http://www.mncourts.gov/district/4/?page=372.

The Probate Court presides over cases that deal with disposing property belonging to deceased persons, administering trusts supervised by courts, and creating guardianships and conservatorships for minors or incapable adults. The Mental Health Court is obliged to arrange for treatment facilities to persons with mental illnesses, retardation, chemical dependencies, and psychopathic leanings, based on the directives of the Criminal Court. You can find information on Probate/Mental Health Court judges at http://www.mncourts.gov/district/4/?page=374 .

The Housing Court is a specialty court that handles landlord-tenant disputes, eviction charges, and protection of tenant rights.