Viewing Douglas A. Hedin, "Multi-Judge Panels in the District Courts of Minnesota, 1875-1977."Douglas A. Hedin, "Multi-Judge Panels in the District Courts of Minnesota, 1875-1977."In 1875 the 17th Legislature authorized the two judges on the Court of Common Pleas in Ramsey County to preside together over trials and it added a curious proviso--all motions for a new trial must be heard by both judges. In the following decades that odd mandate was omitted from laws permitting a district court judge to invite another judge in the same district to preside with him over a trial. A century later the Legislature repealed the law authorizing multi-judge panels in district courts. This article attempts to explain why and in what cases district court judges used the law authorizing multi-judge panels. It is but one chapter in the history of Minnesota courts. |