How Minnesota handles a case
What happens after an arrest anywhere in Minnesota: who decides release first, how fast a person sees a judge, which courts hear the case, and who runs the offices around them. Every county in the state works under these rules.
From arrest to court
- Who decides release first
Police and the jail must cite and release most people arrested for misdemeanors. A person still held may post bail under the district court's bail process or schedule, or sees a district judge, who sets release conditions. A 2018 Judicial Council policy says it ended bail schedules statewide, but the rule still mentions them, so whether jails release on a money schedule is unclear.
Minn. R. Crim. P. 6.01Minn. Stat. 629.72House Research, Bail and Pretrial Release in Minnesota (Aug. 2024)Minnesota Pretrial Assessment Tool Validation Study (May 2023)- Time to see a judge
A person arrested and not released must see a judge within 36 hours, not counting the day of arrest, Sundays, and legal holidays. After a warrantless arrest, a judge must also find probable cause within 48 hours, counting every day.
Minn. R. Crim. P. 4.01, 4.03- Money bail
Minnesota courts may set money bail. A judge who sets conditions must also set an amount of money bail without other conditions, which the person can post instead.
Minn. R. Crim. P. 6.02Minn. Const. art. I, sec. 7- Pretrial risk assessment
Since 2018 the Judicial Council has required a validated pretrial risk tool in every county. Most counties use the Minnesota Pretrial Assessment Tool; five counties, including Hennepin, use their own validated tools.
Minnesota Pretrial Assessment Tool Validation Study (May 2023)- Courts
Minnesota has one trial court, the district court, which hears every felony, gross misdemeanor, and misdemeanor. There are no municipal or justice courts.
Minn. Stat. 484.01Minn. Stat. 484.87- Judges and magistrates
Voters elect district judges to six-year terms on the nonpartisan ballot, and candidates must be licensed lawyers. When a seat opens mid-term, the governor appoints a judge who later runs for a full term.
Minn. Const. art. VI, secs. 7-8Minn. Stat. 204D.08, subd. 6Minn. Stat. 204B.06- Prosecutors
Each county elects a county attorney to a four-year term, who prosecutes felonies. City attorneys prosecute most misdemeanors in cities over 600 people, and in some metro counties gross misdemeanors too.
Minn. Stat. 388.01Minn. Stat. 388.051Minn. Stat. 484.87, subd. 3- Public defense
The State Board of Public Defense runs public defense statewide. It appoints a chief public defender for each judicial district.
Minn. Stat. 611.26- Jails
The county sheriff runs the county jail. A few groups of counties share a regional jail.
Minn. Stat. 387.11
Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. Some of this is medium confidence and still being checked. Bail schedules: the 2023 judicial branch validation study says Judicial Council Policy 524 (2018) eliminated bail schedules statewide, but Rule 6.01 still says a person may be held until bail is posted under the district court's bail process or schedule, and a 2024 House Research brief says some offenses have a schedule. District standing orders (Hennepin, Ramsey) on pre-appearance release could not be opened (mncourts.gov blocked). Regional jails are from general knowledge.