On Monday, legislation to increase judicial transparency and hold Minnesota judges accountable started to move through the Senate. The bill, co-authored by Senator David Osmek (R-Mound), 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.

“Minnesotans deserve transparency from all branches of government, including our judicial branch,” Senator Osmek said. “I often hear from constituents that they can’t easily research how their judges have ruled over their term. This results in a loss of accountability that we certainly should have. I hope we can get this resolved quickly to allow residents to see clearly if their judges have acted in the best interest of their communities.”

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.