Hennepin Courts Return to In-Person Eviction Hearings, Draw Criticism Minnesota Lawyer

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Icy roads have taken their toll in Minnesota recently, even forcing Metro Transit to suspend bus service for a while on Wednesday, January 11. While icy roads are inconvenient for everyone, they can be life-changing for those trying to get to a courthouse, especially when summoned for an eviction hearing.

Citing a large backlog of cases since lifting the pandemic-related eviction moratorium, the Hennepin County District Court has resumed in-person hearings for many cases instead of handling them remotely. As a result, some tenants have received default judgments and will lose their homes, critics say.

Whether you show up in court determines whether you or your family will have a home, said Mary Kaczorek, chief attorney for Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid. If you miss the hearing or come too late, the judge issues a default judgment, the landlord gets the writ of recovery, and the sheriff comes out and puts a 24-hour notice on your door. All this happens in a few days.

Bad roads, no daycare and the inability to miss work are just a few of the reasons some Minnesotans can’t get to court. These reasons existed both before and after the height of the global pandemic. But as the global pandemic upended legal processes in Minnesota and around the world, it also ushered in remote hearings, which removed many of those barriers.

We have proven over the past two years that remote courts can work and defaults are reduced with remote courts, Kaczorek noted.

As life continues to get back to normal, many in-person hearings are resuming. While this is cause for celebration for some, for others it represents a break from better access to justice. This is especially felt in low-income communities, where things like lack of transportation or childcare can prevent participation in the court process, Kaczorek said.

Kaczorek points out that the access to justice offered by remote hearings is particularly important in the context of evictions, given both the stakes and the speed with which they are changing.

The evictions are unique from other civil cases in the extremely short timelines involved, just seven to 14 days before the first court appearance, Kaczorek said, and only seven days to pay whatever is owed.

Although a person can file a petition if they miss court, this often happens too late because the person has already been evicted. And many people who get a writ on their doorstep don’t know their rights and just move on, Kaczorek added. People don’t know the process and they don’t know they have rights.

In addition to not having a home, people have the added burden of an eviction case. This record will make it more difficult to find new accommodation.

The Hennepin County District Court issues a statement in response to a request from a Minnesota attorney:

Some Housing Court hearings are reverting to an in-person format as we have a large backlog of cases. Numerous cases have been filed since the lifting of the moratorium on evictions during the pandemic. For a variety of reasons, we are able to conduct more hearings in person than we can handle remotely.

Kaczorek said that while the court could only process 20 cases in a three-hour deportation schedule block on Zoom, the court could process 35 cases if they were held in person.

Although Kaczorek understands that the courts have to deal with the cases, she disagrees with the solution.

Adjudicators and housing court clerks are doing a great job, but they’ve been given too many cases to handle at once, she said. The political choice to return to deportation court in person prioritizes speed over fairness.

The Minnesota attorney contacted the Minnesota Multi Housing Association, as well as attorneys who represent Minneapolis landlords, to seek comment on the Hennepin County Courts policy change, but they declined to comment on the filing.

No information on the 1st, 5th or 8th judicial districts could be verified, but all other districts in Minnesota have had virtual eviction hearings, according to Kaczorek and legal aid contacts statewide. They said there have been no in-person evictions in Ramsey County.

Kaczorek says Legal Aid continues to advocate a hybrid option, with the default being Zoom, because they assume most people will want to do the hearing remotely. However, they believe that those who choose to be in person, such as those with disabilities or limited access to technology, should have the option to do so.

Fewer defects means more cases judged on the merits. This should be the priority of the courts to ensure families are not evicted from their homes without due process, Kaczorek said.

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