News Conference: Teamsters Local 320 VS. Minnesota Judicial Branch Court File 62-CV-21-5146

Teamsters Local 320 Files a TRO or Preliminary Injunction Against Minnesota Judicial Branch for IFP (In Forma Pauperis) Transcript Pilot Program

News provided by

Teamsters Local 320

Oct 01, 2021, 13:23 ET

SAINT PAUL, Minn., Oct. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday, October 1, 2021 the IFP (In Forma Pauperis) Transcript Pilot Program ordered by the Minnesota Judicial Branch ends the practice to allow Minnesota State Court Reporters to charge a fee for IFP transcripts and takes away the fee court reporters collect for copies of all transcripts. State court reporters are members of Teamsters Local 320. Furthermore, the order allows for the court administrator or its designee to make agreements with "transcription services" that allows the outsourcing of State Court Reporter transcription services. Under any outsourcing scheme, the integrity and professionalism of the Official Court Record could be at serious risk for all Minnesotans.

On Thursday, September 30, 2021 a hearing was held on a temporary restraining order (TRO) or preliminary injunction brought by Teamsters Local 320 to pause the IFP Pilot Program until the union and the Minnesota Judicial Branch can reach an agreement on terms and conditions of transcript fees during regular collective bargaining meetings tentatively set to begin in early November 2021.

The TRO is the first of many union tactics, including but not limited to a work stoppage, to pause, revise, or terminate the IFP Pilot Program until the collective bargaining meetings remedy the steep financial losses court reporters are set to incur.

What:	News Conference
Who:	Teamsters Local 320 union officials, Legal Counsel Kevin Beck, Kelly & Lemmons, P.A. Minnesota State Court Reporters Shambrie Lesniak and Janelle Gruber from the First and Seventh Judicial Districts
Where:	Zoom Meeting: https://bit.ly/3kZftkN
When:	Friday, October 1, 2021 at 3:00 PM CDT