On Monday, Senator Mark Koran (R-North Branch) presented legislation to increase judicial transparency and hold Minnesota judges accountable. The bill, SF 3356, would require the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission to develop and maintain a publicly searchable database with information on criminal sentences stayed or imposed by the courts.

“Every general election, Minnesotans want to learn about judges and know who is on the ballot and how has their record been over their term,” Senator Koran said. “They want to know if that judge has protected the public, been tough on crime, or been lenient to repeat criminals. With an epidemic of crime gripping the state, it is now more important to our constituents than ever to provide them with completely transparent information so they can what their judges have been doing and hold them accountable for their judicial discretion.”

Minnesota already collects the data, and judges must provide the information, but unfortunately, it is not easily accessible for the public and would require a trip to the courthouse and hours of work to review a judge’s entire caseload.

With the new platform, the public will be able to search by judge and then find out how often that judge gives probation instead of prison time, stays a sentence, departs from the Sentencing Guidelines in either direction, and whether the prosecutor agreed with the judge’s decision.

This bill does not limit a judge’s ability to make a decision. Ultimately, it will result in further transparency of the judicial branch that allows the public greater information to make decisions that best use their tax dollars.