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211C.05 SUPREME COURT REVIEW OF PROPOSED PETITION.
    Subdivision 1. Assignment for hearing. Upon receiving a proposed petition from the
secretary of state, the clerk of the appellate courts shall submit it immediately to the chief justice of
the Supreme Court, or, if the chief justice is the subject of the proposed petition, to the most senior
associate justice of the Supreme Court. The persons proposing the petition shall provide to the
reviewing judge any materials supporting the petition. The officer who is named in the proposed
petition may submit materials in opposition. The justice, or a designee if the justice has a conflict
of interest or is unable to conduct the review in a timely manner, shall review the proposed petition
to determine whether it alleges specific facts that, if proven, would constitute grounds for recall of
the officer under the Minnesota Constitution, article VIII, section 6, and section 211C.02. If it does
not, the justice shall immediately issue an order dismissing the petition and indicating the reason
for dismissal. If the proposed petition does allege specific facts that, if proven, would constitute
grounds for recall, the justice shall assign the case to a special master for a public hearing. The
special master must be an active or retired judge. The justice shall complete the review under this
section and dismiss the proposed petition or assign the case for hearing within ten days.
    Subd. 2. Hearing; report. A public hearing on the allegations of a proposed petition must be
held within 21 days after issuance of the order of the justice assigning the case to a special master.
The special master shall report to the court within seven days after the end of the public hearing.
In the report, the special master shall determine:
(1) whether the persons proposing the petition have shown by a preponderance of the
evidence that the factual allegations supporting the petition are true; and
(2) if so, whether the persons proposing the petition have shown that the facts found to be
true are sufficient grounds for issuing a recall petition.
If the special master determines that these standards have been met, the report must include a
statement of the specific facts and grounds for the recall petition.
    Subd. 3. Supreme Court; decision. The Supreme Court shall review the report of the
special master and make a decision on the petition within 20 days. If the court decides that the
standard expressed in subdivision 2 has not been met, the court shall dismiss the petition. If the
court decides that the standard for decision expressed in subdivision 2 has been met, the court
shall prescribe, by order to the secretary of state, the statement of the specific facts and grounds
that must appear on the petition for recall issued under section 211C.06. If the court dismisses
a petition under this section because the persons proposing the petition have acted in bad faith
in violation of section 211C.09, the court may assess the persons proposing the petition for
reasonable costs of conducting the proceeding.
History: 1996 c 469 art 2 s 6

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes