Resources for Attorneys

Email: Ask A Librarian

Minnesota State Law Library
G25 Minnesota Judicial Center
25 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: 651-297-7651
Hours: 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM, M - F
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• Legal Treatise Finder
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• Law Library Services
• Minnesota Legal Materials
• Browse Other Legal Topics

Online Access

• Current Minnesota Statutes
• Minnesota Statutes Archive

  The Statutes Archive contains all Minnesota statutes going back to 1851
• Minnesota Session Laws (1849 to present)
• Westlaw

  Available from public computers in the library

Print Access at the Minnesota State Law Library

• Minnesota Statutes
• Minnesota Statutes Annotated
• General Laws of Minnesota (1857 to 1913)
• Session Laws of Minnesota (1915 to present)

District Court Resources

• Minnesota District Courts
• Court Forms - Minnesota Judicial Branch
• Minnesota Judicial Branch Help Topics
• E-Filing and E-Service

Court Records

• Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO)

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  MCRO is an application and online platform for public access to state district court records.

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  Documents for cases filed on or after July 1, 2015 may be available in MCRO. Documents filed before July 1, 2015 have limited availability. See https://www.mncourts.gov/mncourtsgov/media/MCRO/Handout-MCRO-Accessible-Case-Types-and-Documents.pdf.
• Minnesota Rules of Public Access to Records of the Judicial Branch
• Limits on Public Access to Case Records

Opinions

• Minnesota Appellate Court Opinions (1996 to present)
• Recently Released Supreme Court Opinions

  New opinions are issued weekly each Wednesday
• Recently Released Court of Appeals Opinions

  New opinions are issued weekly each Monday
• Minnesota Reports (1851 to 1977)

  Available in print in the library
• North Western Reporter (1879 to present)

  Available in print in the library

Digests

• Minnesota Digest

  Available in print in the library

Briefs

The Minnesota State Law Library maintains print briefs for published cases of the Minnesota Supreme Court and Minnesota Court of Appeals. Briefs may also be available electronically through our Briefs archive or through MACS. Contact Ask a Librarian if you need assistance locating briefs. 

• Appellate Briefs (published cases from 2002 to present)
• Finding Appellate Briefs - Minnesota State Law Library

Dockets and Calendars

• Minnesota Appellate Courts Case Management System (P-MACS)

  P-MACS offers remote public access to appellate dockets, orders, and opinions. Courthouse view terminals, available in the Minnesota State Law Library and in state courthouses, allows access to documents marked "Courthouse View."
• Minnesota Supreme Court Calendar
• Minnesota Court of Appeals Calendar

Rules and Procedure

• Minnesota Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure
• Minnesota Supreme Court Rules of Decorum
• Rules of Practice Before the Minnesota Supreme Court for Former Justices and Employees of the Court
• Special Rules of Practice for the Minnesota Court of Appeals
• Special Rules of Practice for the Minnesota Court of Appeals Governing Family Law Appellate Mediation
• Minnesota Court of Appeals Help Topics
• Standards of Review for the Minnesota Court of Appeals

The Minnesota State Law Library maintains print copies of Minneapolis and St. Paul city ordinances. Other city ordinances are available online or in the city clerk's office for that city. 

• City Ordinances
• City Directory - League of Minnesota Cities

• Dunnell's Minnesota Digest by Dunnell, Mark B. (Mark Boothby), 1864-1940

  Call Number: MN Coll KFM5445.1 .D86

• Minnesota Practice Series - Available in print or on Westlaw

  Click below for a list of the titles contained in the Minnesota Practice Series.

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  Administrative Practice and Procedure (v. 21)
  Appellate Rules Annotated (v. 3)
  Business Law Deskbook (v. 20, 20A)
  Business Regulation in Minnesota (v. 20B, 20C, 20D)
  Civil Practice Forms (v. 15, 16)
  Civil Rules Annotated (v. 1, 1A, 2, 2A)
  Collections Handbook (v. 26)
  Corporation Law and Practice (v. 18, 19)
  Courtroom Handbook of Minnesota Evidence (v. 11A)
  Criminal Law and Procedure (v. 7, 8, 9, 9A)
  Elements of an Action (v. 28)
  Employment Law and Practice (v. 17)
  Evidence (v. 11)
  Family Law (v. 14)
  General Rules of Practice Annotated (v. 3A)
  Insurance Law and Practice (v. 22)
  Insurance Statutes (v. 22A)
  Juvenile Law and Practice (v. 12, 13)
  Methods of Practice: Civil Advocacy (v. 5)
  Methods of Practice (v. 5A, 6, 6A)
  Minnesota DWI Handbook (v. 31)
  Minnesota Employment Laws (v. 17A)
  Minnesota Jury Instruction Guides: Civil (CIVJIG) (v. 4, 4A)
  Minnesota Jury Instruction Companion Handbook: Civil (v. 4B)
  Minnesota Jury Instruction Guides: Criminal (CRIMJIG) (v. 10, 10A)
  Minnesota Motions in Limine (v. 29)
  Minnesota Probate Deskbook (v. 24)
  Minnesota Real Estate Laws (v. 25A, 25B)
  Products Liability Law (v. 27)
  Real Estate Law (v. 25)
  Summary Judgment and Related Termination Motions (v. 30)
  Trial Handbook for Minnesota Lawyers (v. 23)
  General Index

• Minnesota Legal Periodical Index

  Search all Minnesota periodicals 1984-present
• Full-Text Online Law Review/Journal Search - American Bar Association

  Free search engine searches the free full-text of over 400 online law reviews and law journals, as well as document repositories hosting academic papers and related publications such as Congressional Research Service reports

• Google Scholar This link opens in a new window

  Searches scholarly periodicals and case law

You may also access periodicals in the library through:

• HeinOnline
• Westlaw

Minnesota's constitutional convention resulted in two versions of the state constitution.  More information about the convention and resulting documents can be found on the Minnesota Historical Society website.

• Minnesota Constitution - Minnesota Historical Society
• Constitution of the State of Minnesota - Democratic Version (1857)
• Constitution of the State of Minnesota - Republican Version (1857)
• Minnesota Constitution - 50Constitutions.org

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  Created by the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School

• Court Forms - Minnesota Judicial Branch
• Hennepin County Court Forms

  Includes Civil, Conciliation, Criminal, Family, General, Housing, Judgments, Juvenile, Probate, Traffic, and
  Other Legal Forms for Hennepin County District Court.
• Tenth Judicial District Forms

  The forms listed below are for use only in the Tenth Judicial District (Anoka, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Pine, Sherburne, Washington and Wright Counties). To use these forms in another court, you must contact that specific county Court Administration and confirm they will accept the form.

• Civil Practice Forms (Minnesota Practice vols. 15-16A) by David F. Herr & Sonja Dunnwald Peterson

  Call Number: KFM5480 .M53 v. 15-16A
• Minnesota Civil Practice, 4th ed. by Douglas D. McFarland & William J. Keppel

  Call Number: Getting Started Room KFM5930 .M3

  Publication Date: 2008 (updated)
• Minnesota State District Court Civil Practice Deskbook, 4th ed.

  Call Number: KFM 5930 .M565

  Publication Date: 2024
• Minnesota Litigation Forms Deskbook with eFormbook by Minn. CLE

  Call Number: Main KFM 5930 .A65 M56

  Publication Date: 2022

In our positions as librarians, not lawyers, we can suggest resources but cannot give legal advice (such as which form to file) or legal opinions (such as how a statute might apply to particular facts). To do so could be considered the unauthorized practice of law. Even though we try to suggest materials that will be of help, more research is often required to find a complete and correct answer. For many questions, the best answer may be to consult an attorney.

• Finding an Attorney