This website uses cookies to store information on your computer. Some of these cookies are used for visitor analysis, others are essential to making our site function properly and improve the user experience. By using this site, you consent to the placement of these cookies. Click Accept to consent and dismiss this message or Deny to leave this website. Read our Privacy Statement for more.
Attached is a letter from the Chief Justice sent to legislative leadership re: statutory changes the courts are requesting in light of the changed court schedule due to the coronavirus.
The operations of the Minnesota Judicial Branch continue during the current emergency, subject to
modifications we have made based on recent guidance from state and national health officials. As
modified, court proceedings and hearings are occurring daily in the district and appellate courts of
Minnesota. But residents of Minnesota and judicial branch judges and staff face challenges in attempting
to meet deadlines established by statute, across civil and criminal matters, due to the impact of the
emergency on daily lives. On behalf of the Judicial Branch, I write to ask the Legislature to enact
legislation that would toll deadlines as necessary to ensure that rights are protected. The legislation the
Judicial Branch requests would toll the expiration of deadlines during the current emergency and for a
limited time after the emergency diminishes or abates. This request encompasses two specific areas of
tolling.
Email to a Friend