(St Paul, MN) — July 11, 2022 — The Minnesota State Law Library has received the 2022 Excellence in Community Engagement Award from the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL). The AALL presented the award to the State Law Library in recognition of a series of Appeals Self-Help videos produced by library staff.
The State Law Library developed a four-part video series in early 2021 to explain the appellate court process in Minnesota and guide self-represented litigants on filing an appeal and drafting an appellate brief. The videos were designed to supplement the written information available about the appeals process on the Judicial Branch website and provide an alternative format for individuals to learn how to navigate an appeal without an attorney.
The video series includes: The videos are available on the Appeals Guide of the State Law Library website and the Minnesota State Law Library YouTube page. Law Library staff have plans to create additional Self-Help videos, and recently added a video on filing an eviction appeal to the Minnesota Court of Appeals to this series.
Other State Law Library outreach efforts
In addition to the Appeals Self-Help video series, the Minnesota State Law Library also partners with the Minnesota State Bar Association to offer legal advice clinics to assist those navigating the appeals process:
- The Appeals Self-Help Clinic gives individuals representing themselves in appeals to the Minnesota Court of Appeals or Minnesota Supreme Court the opportunity to have a 30-minute consultation with an attorney over the phone.
- The Unemployment Appeal Legal Advice Clinic gives individuals who have been denied unemployment benefits and have exhausted their appeal options with the Department of Employment and Economic Development the opportunity to have a 30-minute consultation with an attorney over the phone.