The Minnesota Supreme Court made history on April 1 by holding its first virtual oral arguments ever in a scheduled case.

ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Supreme Court made history on April 1 by holding its first virtual oral arguments ever in a scheduled case.

In an effort to adhere to social distancing guidelines, and being mindful of the safety and health of court participants, the Supreme Court conducted the oral arguments in State v. Huisman (Case No. A18-1710) via WebEx, a video conferencing tool.

The proceedings were available as a live feed to the public, and have been archived on the Minnesota Judicial Branch website along with almost every other oral argument video since 2005.

The Court offered to conduct oral arguments via WebEx for all cases that were previously calendared for April. The attorneys and their parties were given the option to appear by WebEx, submit their cases on the merit of their briefs, or postpone their arguments. All were postponed or placed on the non-oral calendar, except for State v. Huisman, given that all parties and attorneys in the case agreed to appear by WebEx.

The seven members of the Court, the attorneys, and the parties were all in different locations. Five justices participated from home offices, one from his judicial office, and Chief Justice Lorie S. Gildea participated from Courtroom 300 in the Minnesota Judicial Center. All parties participated from remote locations.

“There is work going on all across Minnesota using remote technology tools, and the Minnesota Supreme Court is no different. The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred the Minnesota Judicial Branch to double down on our commitment to innovation and we are up for the challenge. We are pleased that our first all-remote hearing was a success and look forward to continuing to use this technology to uphold the fundamental rights of all Minnesotans during the pandemic,” said Chief Justice Lorie S. Gildea.

It is anticipated that the cases scheduled in May will take place via video conference. A link to view a livestream of oral arguments is available on the Court’s page on the Minnesota Judicial Branch website shortly before each session of arguments start.