Minnesota County Court Information

The State of Minnesota can be divided into 87 counties. The trial courts of the state are located in all the counties and have been organized into ten judicial districts. The Minnesota County Court where the case originates usually determines the judicial district of the region. Each district consists of several counties although courthouses are present in every county of Minnesota. The judicial districts usually have jurisdiction over 2 to 17 counties while the second and the fourth districts of the region are confined to a single county each.

Jurisdiction

The district courts are the courts of first instances where the case begins. There are almost 289 district court judges in the State of Minnesota who hear every kind of case from traffic violations, civil disputes and even cases of first degree murder. Since the number of cases filed in the state amounts to well over two million, each court has been further subdivided according to the type of case handled. Consequently, it is possible to find separate civil, criminal, probate, family and juvenile courts within each judicial division.

A chief judge is aided by an assistant chief judge while presiding over the court system of each judicial district of the state. The court administrator, on the other hand, maintains the day to day operations of each Minnesota County. The court system of Minnesota is totally funded by the state and aims to provide equality and justice to all its residents. You can check out other relevant information about the judicial system of the state by logging on to http://www.mncourts.gov/ . It is also possible to visit the Minnesota judicial branch at 135 Minnesota Judicial Center,  25 Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd,  St. Paul, MN 55155.

Problem Solving Courts

Problem solving courts are not only concerned with penalties and punishing the offender by incarceration. The officials of the court are required to interact with prosecutors, social workers, probation officers as well as public defenders. The problem solving courts do not believe in locking up the offender for an extended period of time away from the community. The entire punishment is broken up into probationary measures and correctional facilities.

Regular alcohol and drug tests are carried out on the offenders as well. Problem solving courts include drug courts, mental courts as well as truancy courts. Community courts and domestic violence court also deal with the offenders in a similar manner. The Problem solving court of  Minnesota State  is located at Minnesota Problem-Solving Courts Program, 105 Minnesota Judicial Center (MJC) , 25 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155. You can also access their details by visiting http://www.mncourts.gov/?page=626 .

Ramsey County

The second district court basically acts as the county court of Ramsey. It is a unified court and has jurisdiction over all types of civil and criminal cases. The court has a total of 29 judges and two magistrates. Four referees are also appointed by the 2nd district court of Minnesota. 

The court is authorized to maintain an additional suburban court which is located in Maplewood. All kinds of civil commitments and probate matters are heard by the civil division of the court. Probate, conciliation as well as housing disputes make up the remainder of the civil suits liable to be heard at the 2nd district court of Minnesota.

The criminal division handles all violations of the law including traffic offenses. The bureau for traffic violations is located at: Main Office, 15 W Kellogg Blvd, Room 130, St Paul MN 55102. Information pertaining to all kinds of traffic offenses can also be obtained over the phone by calling (651) 266-9202.

Hennepin County

Hennepin County is the only county situated within the fourth district court. It is the largest trial court in the state with 800,000 cases being heard every year. There are 62 judges serving this particular district court along with 16 referees. More than 550 staff members make up the entire judicial team of the fourth district court of Minnesota.

All courtroom documents can be requested by mail at: Records Center, Hennepin County Government Center, B-Level, 300 S. 6th St. Minneapolis, MN 55487 or over the phone at (612)348-3170. Family court records are available at: Family Court Records Center, Family Justice Center, Room B-17 (lower level), 110 S. 4th St. Minneapolis, MN 55402. You can also call them during business hours at (612)596-1089.