MINNESOTA COURT RULES

GENERAL RULES OF PRACTICE

Rule 809.Discrimination Prohibited

A citizen shall not be excluded from jury service in this state on account of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, age, occupation, sexual orientation, or economic status.

(Amended effective January 1, 1994; amended effective July 1, 2015; amended effective November 22, 2023.)

Advisory Committee Comment - 1994 Amendment

This rule is amended to add "physical or sensory disability" as types of discrimination specifically prohibited by the rule. This amendment is made to conform the rule to the legislative mandate against discrimination on these bases adopted by the legislature in 1992 and at Minnesota Statutes, section 593.32, subdivision 1.

Advisory Committee Comment - 2015 Amendments

Rule 809 is amended to include a specific prohibition against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in jury service. This change is consistent with terms used in legislative definitions of prohibited discriminatory conduct. See, e.g., Minnesota Statutes, section 363A.02 (Minnesota Human Rights Act); 82B.195, subdivision 3 (vii) (real estate appraisers).

Advisory Committee Comment - 2023 Amendments

Rule 809 is modified in 2023 to remove redundant language. Disability is more fully addressed in Rule 808.