Electronic Evidence
Fergus Falls
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota has commenced use of electronic exhibits in Judge O'Brien's courtroom in Fergus Falls for all trials and evidentiary hearings.
The Fergus Falls Electronic Evidence Presentation system is not capable of touch screen annotation. Although the Adobe annotation tools are available for that purpose, training on those features will not be provided by the court.
Fergus Falls Evidence Training Video
Fergus Falls Evidence Training Manual
St. Paul/Minneapolis
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota has commenced use of electronic exhibits
in Judge O'Brien's (St. Paul) and Judge Sanberg's (Minneapolis) courtroom for all trials and evidentiary hearings.
Training
The court offers two training classes : a bi-monthly overview of the electronic evidence process and a hands-on training class. Click
here to register.
The overview class will include an overview of evidence presentation equipment, exhibit preparation, format, and labeling, acceptable presentation media and naming convention, and presentation format.
The hands-on training is required for all parties who wish to present evidence or testimony and will include all the information covered in the overview class as well as an opportunity to practice using the evidence presentation equipment.
To register for training, log into CM, select the Utilities menu and select Sign up for Classes.
All training is held at the following locations:
St. Paul
Warren E. Burger Federal Building
and U.S. Courthouse
Courtroom 2C
316 North Robert Street
St. Paul, Minnesota
Minneapolis
301 U.S. Courthouse
Courtroom 8W
300 South Fourth Street
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415
The overview class will be the same in both locations, so once an attorney has attended the overview in one location, the attorney need not attend an overview
in any other location. However, attorneys are encouraged to attend hands-on training before the first trial or hearing in a particular courtroom as equipment, space,
and sightlines vary slightly from courtroom to courtroom.
Laptops
The court provides a laptop at the lectern. Counsel may use this laptop to present the evidence.
Submitting Exhibits
At least 5 days before the hearing, an exhibit list needs to be submitted via CM/ECF.
Exhibits must be submitted 3 working days before the hearing. A .pdf copy of the exhibit list should be included on the CD or flash drive with the exhibits.
Any exhibits not submitted in advance may be introduced only with the Judge’s permission at trial.
Exhibits should be delivered or mailed to the Court Recorder:
Judge O’Brien: Bethany Imdieke
200 Warren E Burger Federal Building and US Courthouse
316 N Robert St
St Paul, MN 55101
Judge Sanberg: Kathy Barksdale
301 U.S. Courthouse
300 South Fourth Street
Minneapolis, MN 55415
If you wish to have your exhibit media returned to you, please make arrangements with the Court Recorder prior to the hearing.
Acceptable Media
Exhibits should be submitted on a CD or flash drive. Video may be submitted on CD or DVD.
Media should be checked for viruses before submission to the court.
Labeling Media
Media submitted to the court should be labeled as follows:
Hearing Exhibits
Debtor Last Name
Hearing Date
Judge
Case Number
Attorney Name
Attorney Telephone Number
Attorney Email Address
Exhibit Format
All exhibits, including pictures, should be in PDF format (.pdf). Large excel documents may be submitted in excel if they cannot be easily converted. Video files will also be accepted. Unique exhibits will be handled on a case by case basis. Please contact the Court Recorder for instructions.
The presentation laptop is equipped with Microsoft Office 2010 and Adobe Acrobat 9. It is each attorney’s responsibility to determine that his or her exhibits are submitted in versions compatible with the court’s applications.
Presentations
PowerPoint may be used for presentations. If any portion is submitted as an exhibit it must be converted to a PDF.
Naming Exhibits
Parties must name the exhibits using the format outlined in the trial order. Debtors and plaintiffs will typically assign numbers to their exhibits and adverse parties and defendants will assign letters.
For example:
1-Debtor’s Last Name.pdf
2-Debtor’s Last Name.pdf
A-Company Name.pdf
B-Company Name.pdf
Please refer all questions to:
St. Paul
Kim Kaul
kim_kaul@mnb.uscourts.gov
Electronic Evidence Coordinator
651-848-1008
Minneapolis
Nick Johnson
nick_johnson@mnb.uscourts.gov
Electronic Evidence Coordinator
612-664-5293
