Research Guides: Case Records & Briefs Research Guide: Minnesota State Courts

MN Appellate Courts - Online Sources

Subscription & Fee-Based Sources

Bloomberg Law This link opens in a new window
Bloomberg Law's docket coverage of Minnesota Supreme Court and Court of Appeals cases is from 2008 to present.
Lexis This link opens in a new window
Lexis offers a collection of briefs, motions and pleadings. Coverage is from 2000 to current ("atypical update schedule; as received from provider"). It contains a variety of Minnesota state cases that include the supreme, appeals, and district court levels. Lexis also provides docket information for Minnesota Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and Minnesota District Court (no details on scope of coverage).
Westlaw This link opens in a new window
Coverage of briefs begins with 2001 with a limited number of selected briefs available from earlier years. Docket information is available for cases on March 3, 2003 and later. Also contains Minnesota District Court Orders (trial court) from 2001 to current with a limited number of documents available from earlier years.

Freely Available Web Sites

Minnesota Appellate Court Briefs & Oral Arguments (Minnesota State Law Library)
The State Law Library is the official depository for Minnesota appellate briefs. Beginning with cases reported in 705 N.W. 2d, full text PDF copies of select civil case briefs are available from their website. Information on the State Law Library's print copies of briefs and the Minnesota Supreme Court's oral arguments video archive is also provided
Access Court of Appeals & Supreme Court Records (P-MACS)
Provides access to case records information for Minnesota Court of Appeals and Supreme Court records through the appellate courts case management system, known as P-MACS. P-MACS coverage for cases open on Mar. 3, 2013 or later includes: case title, appellate case number, parties, attorneys, docket entries, and links to orders or opinions issued in the case after March 3, 2003. For cases that were archived before March 3, 2003, only case title, case number and abbreviated party information are available. A link to information for requesting documents not currently available through P-MACS is also provided.
Records and Briefs in Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of Minnesota (Hathi Trust)
Case records and briefs from the April, 1890 term - October, 1911 term. Case records are arranged by calendar number. You can find the Calendar number by consulting the Law Book Catalogue of the Minnesota State Library (available online from Hathi Trust). Use the, Index of the Paper Books and Briefs of the Supreme Court of Minnesota", (located on page 419) to look your case up by case name and find the corresponding Calendar number. A full-text search engine is also available.
Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
The University of Michigan Law School's Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse is a growing collection of case documents and other information about civil rights cases in over 20 selected case categories across the United States. Coverage includes case filings and transcripts from state and federal courts at all levels (trial to highest appellate).

MN Appellate Courts - Print & Microform Sources

Law Library Print Collection 1887 - 1983

A print collection of records and briefs for the Minnesota Supreme Court spanning the years 1887-1983) is available on the 3rd floor, Section F, (Call no. KFM 5445.9 .M56) These volumes are arranged by Minnesota Reports citation and/or docket number. Note: this hard copy set includes only Supreme Court records and briefs (the Minnesota Court of Appeals was established in Nov. 1983).

Law Library Microfiche Collection 1980 - Current

Microfiche collection is located in Storage/Basement (Request at Circulation Desk or Reference Office). Cabinet 20 (Call no. KFM 5445.9 M56). The collection is arranged by Northwestern Reporter 2nd Series citation, beginning with 300 N.W. 2d.

MN Trial Court Documents

Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO)
MCRO provides remote access to many trial court documents filed after July 1, 2015, and many court-authored documents filed after July 1, 2005. The MCRO website provides greater detail about which types of cases are accessible through the system.

Lexis This link opens in a new window
Lexis offers a collection of briefs, motions and pleadings. Coverage is from 2000 to current ("atypical update schedule; as received from provider"). It contains a variety of Minnesota District Court cases. Lexis also provides docket information for Minnesota District Court cases (no details on scope of coverage).
Westlaw This link opens in a new window
The Minnesota Dockets database contains civil information from the District Courts of Minnesota. Full coverage begins 1/04/2005 with newly filed dockets added daily. Dockets are also updated 65 days after the filing date or upon demand using the "Update Link." Case types in the database may include the following: civil, probate, and domestic relations.The Minnesota Trial Court Orders database contains selected civil, criminal, and bankruptcy court orders from Minnesota state and federal trial courts. Coverage begins with 2001. A limited number of documents for earlier years are available.

Minnesota Historical Society Guide

Court Records Minnesota Historical Society
An excellent guide to conducting court records research for Minnesota courts including District (trial), Probate, Appeals Court, Supreme Court and various other Minnesota courts. Provides helpful advice in locating court records held by the Minnesota Historical Society.