22 pages.

"Recognizing that actual bias and the perception of bias are severely damaging to the courts, the 1990 Minnesota Legislature and the Supreme Court undertook to examine the extent to which racial bias exists throughout the state's judicial system. In December 1990, Chief Justice A.M. (Sandy) Keith signed an order creating the Minnesota Supreme Court Task Force on Racial Bias.

The Task Force on Racial Bias was chaired by Justice Rosalie Wahl and was composed of 36 members, 8 of whom are judges. People of color comprised a significant percentage of the Task Force. The membership was also diverse along gender, age, and geographic lines.

The specific charge was to:

1. Explore the extent to which racial bias exists in the Minnesota state court system, by ascertaining whether statutes, rules, practices or conduct work unfairness or undue hardship on minorities in our courts.
2. Document, where found, the existence of discriminatory treatment of minority litigants, witnesses, jurors, and of discriminatory hiring and treatment of minority judicial, legal, and court personnel.
3. Recommend methods to eliminate racial bias in the courts including the development and provision of necessary judicial education, the passage of legislation, and the promulgation of court rules and policy revisions.
4. Report the findings of its investigation to the Supreme Court by April 30, 1993.
5. Monitor, thereafter, the implementation of approved reform measures."

Includes several appendices. Total report length: 355 pages.

Video available English, Hmong, Somali, and Spanish "designed to help immigrants, refugees, and others better understand the Minnesota court system and be prepared to go to court." 27 minutes long.

You might have been expecting an organizational chart? No, this is not one. It is really a jurisdictional and flow chart, handy in its own right, that shows what kinds of cases start where in the Court system, and to where they can be appealed.

26 pages.

28 pages.

2 pages.

A survey conducted in the fall of 2006 reported 80% of Minnesotans reported confidence in Minnesota's courts. "Eighty-one percent ... gave Minnesota judges a positive rating, compared to only 34% in a national poll. ... About half ... said that the courts favor the rich and white people over people of color, the poor and non-English speakers[.] ... In the next few months, we will complete work on a new statewide case records system that will be searchable from the Internet."

"This publication describes the structure, functions, personnel, and finances of the judicial branch of state government. It does not address substantive or procedural aspects of criminal or civil law.

The purpose of the publication is to help legislators understand the court system so that they can better evaluate proposals for affecting the structure, function, staffing, or financing of any of its components."

The summary says this docuemtn reflects state law at August 1, 2008.

38 pages.

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