Minnesota Court Records

Minnesota Court Records Search

A lot of information can be found on the people through Minnesota court records. It could be through their involvement in a case as a juror, witness, plaintiff, or a defendant. These Minnesota residence may have participated in a lot of cases regarding adoption, taxes, criminal and civil lawsuits, public office appointments, licenses, guardianship, debt, and divorce. Court records can help you find family relationships, places of residence, occupations, description of individuals, and a lot of other family history information.

The only times you will have trouble finding Minnesota court records is if they date back to the time when counties were being created and broken up. During this transition all administrative duties for counties were done by other counties, the practice which went on for a few years before the new establishment took over.

In order to find the Minnesota court records it helps if you know where the cases are dealt at. From 1858 till current day, it is the Minnesota District Courts that are spread out throughout all the counties of Minnesota and responsible for all types of cases.

The district courts receive cases from lower courts like the justices of peace, and the municipal courts before they were abolished in 1970s. These courts hold jurisdiction over a lot of civil and criminal cases which include naturalization cases, and cases of divorce. Many juvenile cases for counties that host more than 40,000 people fall under this umbrella as well. Many counties have transferred older records to the Historical Society; however the indexes have remained within the county.

Indexes of defendants and plaintiffs is with the Minnesota clerk of the district court. This clerk handles death, birth, and marriage records on county level. Therefore all vital records are the responsibility of the county offices, and available at courthouses.

Types of Minnesota Court Records

Minnesota trial court documents include district county files with documents like pleadings, case orders, and other findings from the court.

You cannot view actual court documents online except for when you use the public access system terminal at the courthouse. There is one at the State Library as well.

In order to search for the records online you will need to have the names of parties as well as the court file number.

For every court record document that you print you will be charged a $10 fee for it.

There are set time periods and protocols in the retention schedule of the district court for the transfer or destruction of any court records.

Minnesota Appeals Court Records

The records from the Minnesota Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals include documents that are filed by the parties of the case along with the opinions and orders from the court.

Apart from the public access terminal computer you can view these documents through P-MACS.