Minn. R. Juv. P. 6.08
As amended through October 28, 2024
If there is unnecessary delay by the prosecution in bringing a respondent to trial, the court may dismiss the petition, citation or indictment.
Minn. R. Juv. P. 6.08
Previously, this rule only related to petitions in juvenile court. Due in large part to the high volume of gross misdemeanor alcohol related driving offenses, the law was amended to permit tab charges and citations for these offenses to get cases to court more promptly. In 2015, all references to tab charges were removed from the rules to eliminate tab charges as a valid method of charging in juvenile cases.
Minn. R. Juv. Del. P. 6.06, subd. 2 provides that the court administrator shall promptly schedule the matter for hearing when a charging document is filed with the court.
Minn. R. Juv. Del. P. 6.03, subd. 2 provides that a petition shall be signed by the prosecuting attorney before it is filed with the court. Minnesota Statutes, section 260B.141, subd. 1 (2002) provides that any reputable person having knowledge of a child who is a resident of this state, who appears to be delinquent, may petition the juvenile court.
Minn. R. Juv. Del. P. 6.03, subds. 3 and 5 set forth the necessary contents of the petition. A sample petition form as well as a listing of the administrative content approved by the Juvenile Delinquency Rules Committee have been published by the State Court Administrator on the Minnesota Judicial Branch website. The reference to the Minnesota Offense Code was removed from this rule in 2015 in recognition of the possible transition away from the use of MOC codes and to another coding system that will serve the same purpose. Although the reference to the MOC codes was removed from the rules, the MOC code is still required as part of the "other administrative information" that was approved by the committee and published by the State Court Administrator. Any changes regarding what is required for coding purposes will be addressed in that document.
The references to citations filed by electronic means are intended to recognize that in some counties law enforcement has already begun to electronically file citations in juvenile cases. It is understood that electronic filing of tab charges and citations and petitions is not available statewide at this time. The rule authorizes and requires electronic filing in the locations where the technology is available, and anticipates the expansion of the practice in other locations as facilitated by State Court Administration. Juvenile citations in paper form currently vary statewide. It is anticipated that a statewide standard will be created for use in juvenile cases, in consultation with justice agency partners, which will either be similar to or a modification to the current adult standard commonly referred to as the Statewide Standard Citation. When a statewide standard for juvenile citations is created, it will be published on the Minnesota Judicial Branch Statewide Standard Citation website and communicated statewide. Once the juvenile standard citation is available, its use will be mandatory in juvenile cases.