The Minnesota Judicial Branch has successfully reduced its major criminal caseload to pre-pandemic levels, coinciding with high public satisfaction ratings. This achievement follows a strategic effort to address the backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had increased pending cases by 40% due to halted in-person hearings.
Chief Justice Natalie Hudson emphasized the importance of this milestone: "Eliminating the pandemic backlog was a vital step toward ensuring our courts can continue to deliver timely access to justice to the people of Minnesota." She credited district court judges and staff, as well as leadership from the Minnesota Judicial Council and support from State Court Administration, for their roles in achieving this goal.
To tackle the backlog, the Minnesota Judicial Council implemented a multi-pronged strategy that included remote hearings, hiring additional senior judges and staff, and organizing special events focused on reducing open criminal cases.
In conjunction with these efforts, a recent Access & Fairness Survey conducted by the Minnesota Judicial Branch revealed unprecedented satisfaction levels among court users. The survey gathered responses from nearly 15,000 participants between August and November 2023—double the number from previous surveys—and reported record satisfaction since 2008.
State Court Administrator Jeff Shorba expressed his contentment with these findings: “We’re incredibly happy with these results. We’ve worked very hard to make access to justice easier for Minnesotans and it seems people like the changes.”
Key survey results showed an average score of 4.3 out of 5 for questions about court access—the highest since 2008—with attorneys and justice partners participating remotely reporting particularly high satisfaction. Fairness ratings also reached new heights, averaging 4.2 overall and peaking at 4.3 among remote respondents compared to 4.0 for those attending in person.
Additionally, dissatisfaction with court wait times decreased significantly from 47% in 2019 to just 28%. However, some areas for improvement were identified, such as enhancing website navigation—a matter already being addressed by the branch.
The Access & Fairness Survey is conducted every three years by the Minnesota Judicial Branch to guide its strategic planning. The full report is available on their website at mncourts.org.