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STATE OF MINNESOTA IN SUPREME COURT ADM09-8009 (formerly CX-89-1863)

PROMULGATION OF AMENDMENTS TO THE MINNESOTA GENERAL RULES OF PRACTICE FOR THE DISTRICT COURTS RELATING TO FAMILY COURT MATTERS AND THE PILOT PROJECT ON AUDIO AND VIDEO COVERAGE IN CERTAIN CIVIL COURT PROCEEDINGS

ORDER

In its report filed September 28, 2011, the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the General Rules of Practice recommended amendments to the General Rules of Practice for the District Courts relating to family court matters and the pilot project on audio and video coverage of certain civil court proceedings. This Court established a deadline of November 14, 2011, for submitting comments on the proposal. The Supreme Court has reviewed the proposals and the submitted comments, and is fully advised in the premises. NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 1. The attached amendments to the General Rules of Practice for the District

Courts be, and the same hereby are, prescribed and promulgated to be effective on May 1, 2012. 2. The attached amendments shall apply to all actions pending on the effective

date and to those filed thereafter. 3. The inclusion of Advisory Committee comments is made for convenience

and does not reflect court approval of the comments made therein.
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DATED: January 19, 2012 BY THE COURT:

______________________ Lorie S. Gildea Chief Justice

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Amendments to the Minnesota General Rules of Practice for the District Courts: [Note to publishers: Deletions are indicated by a line drawn through the text; additions are underlined. Markings are omitted for the new advisory committee comments, regardless of their derivation.] Rule 4.03. (a) Procedures Relating to Requests for Audio or Video Coverage of District Court Proceedings Notice. Unless notice is waived by the trial judge, the media shall provide

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written notice of their intent to cover district court proceedings by either audio or video means to the trial judge, all counsel of record, and any parties appearing without counsel as far in advance as practicable, and at least 10 days before the commencement of the hearing or trial. In civil proceedings subject to the pilot project authorized by supreme court order, the media shall also notify their respective media coordinator identified as provided under part (e) of this rule of the request to cover proceedings in advance of submitting the request to the trial judge, if possible, or as soon thereafter as possible. (b) Objections in Civil Cases. In civil proceedings, if a party opposes audio

or video coverage, the party shall provide written notice of the party's objections to the presiding judge, the other parties, and the media requesting coverage as soon as practicable, and at least 3 days before the commencement of the hearing or trial in cases where the media have given at least 10 days' notice of their intent to cover the proceedings. The judge shall rule on any objections and make a decision on audio or video coverage before the commencement of the hearing or trial. However, the judge has the discretion to limit, terminate, or temporarily suspend audio or video coverage of an entire case or portions of a case at any time.

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(c)

Witness Information and Objection to Coverage.

At or before the

commencement of the hearing or trial in cases with audio or video coverage, each party shall inform all witnesses the party plans to call that their testimony will be subject to audio or video recording unless the witness objects in writing or on the record before testifying. (d) Appeals. No ruling of the trial judge relating to the implementation or

management of audio or video coverage under this rule shall be appealable until the trial has been completed, and then only by a party. (e) Media Coordinators for Civil Pilot Project. For civil proceedings

subject to the pilot project authorized by order of the supreme court, media coordinators for various areas of the state shall be identified on the main state court web site. The media coordinators shall facilitate interaction between the courts and the electronic media during the course of the pilot project. Responsibilities of the media coordinators include: (i) Compiling basic information (e.g., case identifiers, judge, parties, attorneys, dates and coverage duration) on all requests for use of audio or video coverage of civil trial court proceedings for their respective court location(s) as identified on the main state court web site, and making aggregate forms of the information publicly available; (ii) Notifying the Minnesota Court Information Office of all requests for audio and video coverage of civil trial court proceedings for their respective court location(s) as identified on the main state court web site;

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(iii) Explaining to persons requesting video or audio coverage of civil trial court proceedings for their respective court location(s) the local practices, procedures, and logistical details of the court related to audio and video coverage; (iv) Resolving all issues related to pooling of cameras and microphones related to video or audio coverage of civil trial court proceedings for their respective court location(s); (v) Making available to participants in the pilot project survey information as directed by the supreme court's advisory committee on the general rules of practice.

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TITLE IV. RULES OF FAMILY COURT PROCEDURE PART A. PROCEEDINGS, MOTIONS, AND ORDERS Rule 301. 301.01 301.02 Applicability of Rules Scope; Time Applicable Statute or Rule Time RULE 301. SCOPE; TIME Rule 301.01 Applicability of Rules

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Rule 302. Commencement; Continuance; Time; Parties 302.01 Commencement of Proceedings 302.02 Continuances 302.03 Time 302.04 Designation of Parties Rule 303. Motions; Ex Parte Emergency Relief; Orders to Show Cause; Orders and Decrees 303.01 Scheduling of Motions
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303.02 Form of Motion 303.03 Motion Practice 303.04 Ex Parte and Emergency Relief 303.05 Orders to Show Cause 303.06 Orders and Decrees Requiring Child Support or Maintenance Rule 304. Scheduling of Cases 304.01 Scope 304.02 The Party's Informational Statement Initial Case Management Statement 304.03 Scheduling Order 304.04 Amendment 304.05 Collaborative Law 304.06 Continuances Rule 305. Prehearing Pretrial Conferences 305.01 Prehearing Parenting/Financial Disclosure Statement 305.02 Prehearing Pretrial Conference Attendance 305.03 Prehearing Conference Order for Trial or Continued Pretrial Conference Rule 306. Default 306.01 Scheduling of Final Hearing 306.02 Preparation of Decree [Abrogated] Rule 307. Final Hearings Rule 308. Final Order, Judgment or Decree 308.01 Notices; Service 308.02 Statutorily Required Notices 308.03 Sensitive Matters 308.04 Joint Marital Agreement and Decree Rule 309. Contempt 309.01 Initiation 309.02 Hearing 309.03 Sentencing 309.04 Findings Rule 310. Alternative Dispute Resolution 310.01 Applicability 310.02 Post-Decree Matters 310.03-.09 [Deleted effective July 1, 1997] Rule 311. Forms Rule 312. Review of Referee's Findings or Recommendations 312.01 Notice of Assignment to Judge; Parties' Submissions 312.02 Transcript of Referee's Hearing Rule 313. Confidential Numbers and Tax Returns Rule 314. Parentage Proceedings APPENDIX OF FORMS
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Effective January 1, 2008, a All forms previously contained in Title IV have been deleted from the rules. Family Court Action forms are currently maintained on the state court website (www.mncourts.gov). PART A. PROCEEDINGS, MOTIONS, AND ORDERS RULE 301. SCOPE; TIME Rule 301.01 Applicability of Rules

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(a) Applicable Rule or Statute. Rules 301 through 3134 and, where applicable, the Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure, shall apply to family law practice Family Law Actions except where they are in conflict with applicable statutes or the Expedited Child Support Process Rules, Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 351 through 379. (b) Included Proceedings. Rules 301 through 313 do not apply to proceedings commenced in the Expedited Child Support Process, except for Rules 302.04, 303.05, 303.06, 308.02, and 313. The following types of proceedings are referred to in these rules as Family Court Actions: 1. Marriage dissolution, legal separation, annulment proceedings, and child custody actions (Minnesota Statutes, chapter 518, and section 260C.201, subd. 11(d)(1)(iii)); 2. Child custody enforcement proceedings (Minnesota Statutes, chapter 518D); 3. Domestic abuse proceedings (Minnesota Statutes chapter 518B);

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4. Proceedings to determine or enforce child support obligations (Minnesota Statutes, chapters 518A, 518C- U.I.F.S.A., sections 256.87; 289A.50, subd. 5; and 393.07, subd. 9); 5. Contempt proceedings in Family Court (Minnesota Statutes, chapter 588); 6. Parentage determination proceedings (Minnesota Statutes, sections

257.51-.74); 7. Proceedings for support, maintenance or county reimbursement judgments (Minnesota statutes, section 548.091); 8. Third-party custody proceedings (Minnesota Statutes, chapter 257C); and 9. Proceedings pursuant to the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abductions and the International Child Abduction Remedies Act. Other matters may be treated as family court matters by order of the court. (c) Excluded proceedings. Rules 301 through 314 do not apply to proceedings commenced in the Expedited Child Support Process, except for Rules 302.02, 303.05, 308.02, 309, 313, and 314. (d) Applicability of Rules of Civil Procedure. The Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure apply to Family Court Actions as to matters not addressed by these rules. To the extent there is any conflict in the rules, these rules govern.

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Advisory Committee Comment--2012 Amendments

Rules 301 through 314 were originally derived primarily from the Rules of Family Court Procedure as they existed in 1992. These rules have been revised in several important ways in the ensuing years, and were revised and completely restated in 2011. The prior Advisory Committee Comments have been incorporated into a single set of Advisory Committee Comments for the benefit of the Minnesota Supreme Court as well as for courts and litigants. As is consistently made clear by the orders that have amended the rules, the Advisory Committee Comments are not adopted by the Supreme Court and do not have any official status. They reflect the views of the Supreme Court's advisory committees that have recommended amendments of the rules from time to time. Rules 301 through 314 apply in the enumerated proceedings, comprising the majority of types of cases involving family relations. Adoption proceedings are governed by separate Rules of Adoption Procedure, adopted effective January 1, 2005. Minn. R. Gen. Prac. 351.01 states that the Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules of Evidence, and General Rules of Practice shall apply to proceedings in the expedited process unless inconsistent with the Expedited Child Support Rules, Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 351 through 379. With the exception of Family Court Rules 302.02, 303.05, 308.02, 309, 313 and 314, Rules 301-314 are inconsistent with the Expedited Child Support Rules and therefore do not apply to the expedited process.

Rule 301.02 Time Computation of time under these rules is governed by Rule 6 of the Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure.
Advisory Committee Comment--2012 Amendments

The rules relating to computation of time are critical, and it is important that they be clear and predictable to all users of the court system. Rule 6 of the Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure provides the appropriate clarity and makes it expressly applicable in family matters thereby eliminating any room for confusion. Rule 6 is consistent with the general day-counting rules set forth in Minn. Stat.

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