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.

Sixth Judicial District Judges | Courtroom Preferences

Neo, Theresa

Judge

St. Louis County

View state court bio

Contact with Chambers

• Preferred method to contact chambers: Email

• To whom may attorneys direct scheduling/logistical questions? Jennifer Wutz at jennifer.wutz@courts.state.mn.us.

• To whom may attorneys direct substantive questions? Jennifer Wutz at jennifer.wutz@courts.state.mn.us.

Motion Practice

• Set forth your practices and procedures for scheduling motion hearings. Contact the clerks in the civil division of court administration.

• Do you accept telephone calls from attorneys to rule on discovery disputes that occur during depositions? Yes.

• How much time do you allot for motion hearings? 30 minutes unless more time is requested.

• Set forth your practices and procedures with respect to attending a hearing by telephone or video conference. Plaintiff attorney contacts respondents and calls the court.

• 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

• Identify what technology you use in the courtroom and state whether you prefer a particular electronic format. We use iSpace and Zoom.

• Set forth your practices and procedures with respect to attorney’s use of technology in the courtroom and during trial. Use whatever they wish as long as it is compatible with our technology. Call ahead to confirm.

• 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? In some cases.

• Set forth your practices and procedures for handling motions in limine. Address them at the pretrial.

• What is your schedule for a typical trial day? 8:30 for any remaining motions; address order of witnesses; break every 90 minutes or sooner; lunch 60-90 minutes; end by 4:30 if possible.

• Set forth your voir dire procedures. Court has 10-12 general questions and then the attorneys take over.

• Set forth your practices and procedures with respect to courtroom decorum, including movement in the courtroom, use of a podium, whether attorneys should sit or stand, and how to address witnesses. Attorneys can use a podium and move around the courtroom.

• 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. We receive everything electronically with exceptions if requested.

• Set forth your practices and procedures with respect to marking and using exhibits. Mark in advance when possible. Provide a list for court and counsel to reference.

• For exhibits uploaded to the Minnesota Digital Exhibit System (MNDES), set forth your preferences regarding naming conventions for files uploaded to the system. No preference other than it should be easy to refer to.

• May attorneys obtain daily transcripts during trial? If so, what procedure should attorneys follow? Yes, but they should alert the court reporter in advance if they think they will be making the request.

• Set forth your practices and procedures with respect to attorney requests to contact jurors at the conclusion of trial. I advise jurors they may be contacted by counsel.

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