Judge says courts must be funded in shutdown

Posted at 1:40 PM on June 28, 2011 by Paul Tosto (0 Comments)
Filed under: Courts

A judge rules Minnesota courts must be funded in a shutdown.

From MPR News reporter Tom Scheck:

A judge has ruled that Minnesota's Judiciary should continue running even if state government shuts down on July 1.

Retired Judge Bruce Chrisopherson has ruled that the state's courts should continue operating even if Gov. Dayton and the Legislature fail to agree on a budget. In his order, Christopherson said the state should continue to fund the courts at least through July 30th.

The decision comes one day after the Attorney General, the governor's office and public defenders argued in court that the judiciary should continue to receive funding. In his order, Christopherson said that due process and other constitutional protections require the courts to continue running.

A ruling is still pending from another judge on whether other essential government functions should continue if no budget deal is reached by Friday.

Here's the document.

Here's the background story.