In Minnesota, there are nearly 300 district court judges who preside over matters in ten judicial districts. While the Minnesota Rules of Court provide attorneys with significant information applicable to court proceedings, each judge may have his or her individual preferences with respect to motion practice and courtroom conduct.

In an effort to assist attorneys who may be appearing before a judge for the first time, the MSBA Civil Litigation Section Governing Council provided all district court judges with a brief survey. The responses that we received are organized on the right by judicial district and then alphabetically by judge’s name. We hope you find these responses to be helpful in your preparation for district court appearances.

For information about this project or to report an error in any judicial directory listing, contact Kara Haro, MSBA staff liaison to the Civil Litigation Section.

Tenth Judicial District Judges | Courtroom Preferences

Jasper, Jenny Walker

District Court Judge

Anoka County

View state court bio

INFORMATION COLLECTED APRIL 27, 2023

Contact with Chambers

• Preferred method to contact chambers: Email to law clerk.

• To whom may attorneys direct scheduling/logistical questions? Katie Westlund, court administration.

• To whom may attorneys direct substantive questions? Law Clerk

Motion Practice

• Set forth your practices and procedures for scheduling motion hearings. Contact court administration to secure a date.

• Do you accept telephone calls from attorneys to rule on discovery disputes that occur during depositions? No.

• How much time do you allot for motion hearings? 20 minutes.

• Set forth your practices and procedures with respect to stipulations of the parties, including stipulations for protective orders. I trust the parties in their stipulations, they know more about the case.

• Do you have any particular requests or procedures relating to requests to amend the scheduling order? If both parties agree to amend scheduling order they may do so as long as court dates the parties have picked are cleared with court administration.

• Do you want to receive paper courtesy copies of the parties' written submissions? If you do, set forth the number of courtesy copies and identify any document type you do not want to receive. No.

Pre-Trial Procedures

• Set forth your practices and procedures with respect to the submissions of additional legal authority or other materials at or after oral arguments. The record is closed after oral argument unless the court specifically allows the record to remain open.

• Set forth your practices and procedures with respect to attorney’s use of technology in the courtroom and during trial. Attorneys may use whatever they can operate.

• Do you permit parties to bifurcate oral argument so different attorneys address different legal issues? Yes.

In-Person Trials

• Are you willing to provide a date certain for trial? Rarely.

• Set forth your practices and procedures for handling motions in limine. Motions can be heard 2 weeks prior to trial.

• What is your schedule for a typical trial day? Start at 8:30 and the jury comes in at 9. Break for lunch 12-1 and done with the jury at 4:30.

• Do you impose time limits with respect to opening statements and closing arguments? No.

• Identify what technology you use in the courtroom and state whether you prefer a particular electronic format. None.

• Set forth your practices and procedures with respect to attorney’s use of technology in the courtroom. Whatever they wish to use is fine.

• Set forth your practices and procedures with respect to marking and using exhibits. Follow the rules. No exhibits may be used in opening unless they are stipulated to.

• For exhibits uploaded to the Minnesota Digital Exhibit System (MNDES), set forth your preferences regarding naming conventions for files uploaded to the system. I hate MNDES.

• Set forth your practices and procedures with respect to handling objections. State the objection and the basis. Argument will be handled out of the presence of the jury.

• Set forth your practices and procedures with respect to the use of deposition testimony. Follow the rules.

• May attorneys obtain daily transcripts during trial? If so, what procedure should attorneys follow? Contact the Court Reporter to work out the logistics.

• Set forth your practices and procedures with respect to attorney requests to contact jurors at the conclusion of trial. Attorneys can contact jurors and jurors can speak with them if they wish.

• If your practice differs for trials by remote means, please describe the differences. No.