Referee, Sixth Judicial District

Are you interested in serving your community through the justice system

Do you have a desire to advance your legal career

Join the Sixth Judicial District as a Referee! The Sixth Judicial District seeks to fill a full-time Court Referee position currently chambered in St. Louis County Duluth. Work will be assigned initially in St. Louis County Duluth and Carlton County and will include district-wide eviction calendar responsibility. Work will also include responsibility for hearing and ruling on certain types of criminal civil juvenile probate family civil commitment and domestic violence cases. This position will perform highly responsible professional legal work in adjudicating assigned case types in a district court in the Minnesota State Court System. Work assignments are carried out with a substantial degree of discretion and independent judgment within the framework of state laws and rules of procedure applicable to the administration of the assigned court and judicial proceedings. Work is reviewed by a judge and prepared for a judges signature. The Referee will not be able to practice law before any court in the Sixth Judicial District.

What You Will Do

The following are examples of major job duties expected of this position:

• Presides over assigned court trials and hearings; reviews court calendars before scheduled sessions of court; accepts pleas; grants continuances; appoints a public defender or guardian ad litem when necessary; reads or listens to allegations and determines if action cited is supported by facts; hears and evaluates evidence of witnesses and technical experts; listens to presentation of case; rules on admissibility of evidence and methods of conducting testimony.
• Conducts hearings and rules on motions and pre-trial hearings performs administrative duties in maintaining communication with referral agencies attorneys social services personnel and probation personnel.
• Signs and enters orders for civil commitment cases.
• Conducts legal research including reviewing analyzing studying searching and annotating laws court decisions documents opinions briefs and related legal authorities to prepare for court proceedings and litigated matters.
• Prepares court orders and reports based on evidence and findings and gives to judge for review and approval.
• Attends conferences with judges and attorneys or conducts conferences to dispose of legal matters and other problems that arise in the processing of cases; gives opinions and recommendations thereon.
• Serves on various judicial improvement committees; drafts legislation needed in new areas or to modify existing laws; confers with legislators judges and other public officials to emphasize the weaknesses or merits of specific bills.

What You Must Have

The Minnesota Judicial Branch recognizes the diverse set of skills strengths and attributes that an individual may bring into a role. If you have any combination of the experience training and education required for this position apply today!

• Possession of a certificate of admission to the bar of the State of Minnesota; eligibility to practice law before the courts of the State of Minnesota.
• Graduation from an accredited law school.
• Five years or more of experience as a practicing attorney or judicial officer

What You Will Bring

• Extensive knowledge of state laws and court rulings as they pertain to the assigned division of the court.
• Thorough knowledge of general and specific law state laws established precedents and sources of legal reference.
• Thorough knowledge of court procedures rules of evidence and trial and courtroom procedures.
• Ability to apply legal principles and specialized knowledge to individual cases and problems.
• Ability to prepare for hearings and trials hear difficult cases and present findings decisions and other material clearly and logically in oral and written form.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
• Ability to counsel persons on sensitive problems.
• Work well under pressure with demonstrated efficient time management and problem-solving skills
• Detail oriented and able to foster cooperation
• Effective interpersonal skills
• Broad organizational perspective to improve the administration of justice in the Sixth Judicial District

What You Will Earn
The hourly rate for this position is $81.94 per hour. This position is exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act and is eligible for State of MN employee benefits.

Supplemental Information
The Sixth Judicial District serves Minnesotas Arrowhead Region including the counties of Carlton Cook Lake and St. Louis (Duluth Hibbing and Virginia).

Working Conditions
Work is performed in an office or courtroom with extensive public contact. Frequent sitting speaking and listening are required while performing the duties of this job. Work is reviewed by a judge; however work assignments are carried out with a substantial degree of discretion and independent judgment within the framework of state laws and rules of procedure applicable to the administration of the assigned court and judicial proceedings.

Logistics:

This is a full-time (1.0 FTE) exempt position classified as Referee within the Minnesota Judicial Branch job classification will be performed at the St. Louis County Courthouse located at 100 N 5th Avenue W Duluth MN and the Carlton County Courthouse located at 1780 Justice Drive Carlton MN. This position may be working in a hybrid role consisting of a combination of remote and in person work. When working remotely access to reliable internet connection is required. Typical hours for this position are 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

In addition to completing the online application all applicants must upload and attach a cover letter.

This position is posted for internal and external application simultaneously.

• Initial application review will begin August 11 2025.
• Applications will be reviewed daily.
• Position will be open until filled.

The selection process is a resume-based skill-matching process. If your skills match the required skills for this position the department may contact you. All employment offers are contingent upon satisfactory results of our background check processes. If you have questions about this position please contact Human Resources at