Ramsey County is the state's most densely populated county, and its seat, St. Paul, is also Minnesota's capital. Criminal cases from St. Paul and the surrounding suburbs, including Roseville, Maplewood, White Bear Lake, Shoreview and New Brighton, are heard by Ramsey County District Court, which makes up the entire Second Judicial District. The Ramsey County Attorney prosecutes every felony and all juvenile delinquency cases, while the St. Paul City Attorney and the suburban cities' attorneys prosecute misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors that occur within their borders. Adults arrested in the county are booked and held at the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center inside the Law Enforcement Center on Grove Street in downtown St. Paul, run by the Ramsey County Sheriff.

Because of its caseload, Ramsey County's criminal process involves more locations, more prosecutors and more specialized programs than a typical Minnesota county. The sections below walk through the courthouses, the first hours after an arrest, the jail, public defense, prosecution and diversion, and the treatment courts, followed by what to expect at each level of charge.

• Ramsey County District Court (Second Judicial District), Ramsey County Courthouse, 15 West Kellogg Boulevard, St. Paul, MN 55102, (651) 266-8266
• Law Enforcement Center (court location and the Adult Detention Center), 425 Grove Street, St. Paul, MN 55101
• Juvenile and Family Justice Center (juvenile court), 25 West Seventh Street, St. Paul, MN 55102
• Ramsey County Attorney's Office, 360 Wabasha Street North, Suite 100, St. Paul, MN 55102, (651) 266-3222
• Ramsey County Sheriff's Office (operates the Adult Detention Center), St. Paul, (651) 266-9333
• Second Judicial District Public Defender (State Board of Public Defense), St. Paul, which represents eligible adults and juveniles in Ramsey County; its main office for Ramsey County is at 445 Minnesota Street, Suite 2000, St. Paul, MN 55101, (651) 352-2500, with a St. Paul satellite office at 555 Park Street, Suite 200, (651) 266-1991

Which court hears your case. Ramsey County has no separate municipal or city courts; Minnesota abolished them, and every criminal case here, from a petty misdemeanor ticket to a murder charge, belongs to Ramsey County District Court. The level of the charge decides the prosecutor and the steps, not the courthouse. A misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor in St. Paul is prosecuted by the St. Paul City Attorney's Office, and the same kind of charge in a suburb is usually prosecuted by that city's attorney, frequently a private attorney the city contracts with. Felonies, wherever they happen in the county, are always prosecuted by the Ramsey County Attorney. Your citation, complaint or court notice lists the courthouse and courtroom where you must appear.

Where pretrial detainees are held. Adults who are arrested by the St. Paul Police Department, the Sheriff's Office, suburban police departments, Metro Transit police or the State Patrol and are not released at the scene are taken to the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center in the Law Enforcement Center at 425 Grove Street, St. Paul. The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office runs the building, and a person awaiting trial remains on Grove Street until bail is posted, a Second District judge orders release, or the case is over. People who are later sentenced to local jail time are often sent instead to the Ramsey County Correctional Facility in Maplewood, which holds sentenced inmates rather than people awaiting trial.

The Second Judicial District operates from several buildings in and near downtown St. Paul. Business hours at all of them are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and the court's main number is (651) 266-8266.

• Ramsey County Courthouse, 15 West Kellogg Boulevard, St. Paul. The historic City Hall and Courthouse building houses court administration and many of the criminal courtrooms where felony hearings, trials and sentencings take place.
• Law Enforcement Center, 425 Grove Street, St. Paul. The same building as the county jail, it also contains court space, which makes it a practical location for hearings involving people who are in custody.
• Juvenile and Family Justice Center, 25 West Seventh Street, St. Paul. Delinquency cases involving youth under 18 are heard here, along with family court and domestic abuse matters.
• Suburban site in Maplewood, 2050 White Bear Avenue, Maplewood. This location mainly serves civil matters such as conciliation, housing and probate cases.

Within the court, criminal matters are handled by the Criminal and Traffic division, which includes criminal records, the Law Enforcement Center courtrooms, specialized courts and the Violations Bureau that processes payable citations. Always check your paperwork for the exact building and courtroom, because Ramsey County cases can be scheduled at more than one location over their lifetime.

An arrest in Ramsey County can unfold in several ways. For many petty misdemeanors and misdemeanors, officers issue a citation, and the person goes home with a date to appear or an option to pay a fine through the Violations Bureau. More serious arrests, along with domestic assault and many DWI cases, usually mean transport to the Law Enforcement Center on Grove Street.

Booking

Booking on Grove Street means Ramsey County deputies collect personal details, fingerprint and photograph the arrestee, log personal property and run checks for outstanding warrants or holds from other jurisdictions. Some people charged with lower-level offenses can be released fairly quickly by posting bail under the court's bail schedule. Others must wait to see a judge.

The 36-hour and 48-hour limits

Under Rule 4.01 of the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure, anyone still in the Ramsey County jail must get in front of a judge inside 36 hours; that clock ignores the arrest day itself, Sundays and legal holidays. A separate 48-hour deadline applies to warrantless arrests, by which time a Ramsey County judge must have reviewed the police account and found probable cause, or the detainee goes free. In Ramsey County, many of these first appearances for in-custody defendants take place at the Law Enforcement Center.

Release decisions

At the first appearance, a Second District judge decides whether to release the person on their own recognizance or set bail. Minnesota judges typically set two bail amounts: a higher one with no conditions and a lower one with conditions, such as no contact with a victim, alcohol monitoring, electronic monitoring, or reporting to pretrial supervision. Commercial bail bonds are legal in Minnesota, so a family can hire a bondsman and pay a nonrefundable fee rather than the full bail. Pretrial staff with Ramsey County Community Corrections may interview the defendant beforehand and provide information the judge considers in setting release terms.

The Adult Detention Center is the county's pretrial jail. It is located in the Law Enforcement Center at 425 Grove Street in St. Paul and is operated by the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office. Every arresting agency in the county brings adult arrestees here for booking, so it holds people charged with everything from misdemeanors to homicide while their cases are pending.

Most stays are short: many detainees are released within a day or two after posting bail or being released at their first appearance. People charged with serious felonies who cannot post bail may remain for months. The Sheriff's Office handles questions about custody status, release and booking records; its Criminal History Unit at 425 Grove Street processes requests for booking photos during weekday business hours. For general calls, the Sheriff's main number is (651) 266-9333.

Once a case ends with a jail sentence, the person may serve that time at the Ramsey County Correctional Facility in Maplewood, which is run by the county for sentenced adults, rather than at the Adult Detention Center.

Public defense in Ramsey County is provided by the Second Judicial District Public Defender's Office, part of the statewide State Board of Public Defense. Its attorneys represent eligible adults charged with misdemeanors that can bring jail, gross misdemeanors and felonies, and they represent children in delinquency cases.

Eligibility is based on income and assets. A defendant fills out a financial statement, and the judge decides at the first appearance whether to appoint a public defender. Someone who is in custody at the Law Enforcement Center will usually meet a public defender at or shortly before that first hearing. People who are released with a court date should ask for appointment of counsel at their first appearance or contact the court beforehand. Felony defendants are often assigned a public defender who stays with the case through trial or plea, while misdemeanor clients may see different attorneys at different hearings.

Two kinds of prosecutors work in Ramsey County District Court. The elected Ramsey County Attorney prosecutes all adult felonies and all juvenile delinquency cases in the county, plus misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors from areas that are not covered by a city prosecutor. The St. Paul City Attorney's Office prosecutes non-felony offenses committed in St. Paul, such as theft under $1,000, fifth-degree assault, domestic assault, trespass and DWI. Suburban cities handle their own non-felony cases, usually through private attorneys who serve as city prosecutors.

Diversion can keep a first case off a person's record. Prosecutors in Ramsey County may offer diversion for some first-time or lower-level offenses, under which the defendant completes conditions such as classes, restitution, community work or treatment and the charge is dismissed or never filed. Separate from formal diversion, negotiated outcomes like a continuance for dismissal or a stay of adjudication are common in misdemeanor and lower-level felony cases. Whether diversion is available depends on the charge, the person's record and the prosecutor's policies, so defendants should ask their attorney early.

The Second Judicial District's Criminal and Traffic division includes specialized courts for defendants whose offenses are connected to substance use, mental illness or military service. These programs, often called treatment courts, have historically included courts focused on repeat impaired driving, substance use disorders and veterans. They replace part of the traditional sentence with an intensive, closely supervised program.

Participants typically appear before the same judge on a regular schedule, undergo frequent testing, attend treatment and meet with a probation officer or coordinator. Progress earns fewer court appearances and other incentives, while missed tests or new offenses bring sanctions. Completing the program can lead to a reduced charge, a shorter sentence or, in some cases, dismissal. Entry is voluntary and requires screening; the defendant's attorney, the prosecutor and the treatment court team usually all play a part in the referral. Ask your lawyer whether your charge and history make you eligible for one of the current Ramsey County programs.

Ramsey County handles a very large volume of non-felony cases, which fall into three classes. A petty misdemeanor is not a crime, and the most a judge can impose is a $300 fine. A misdemeanor carries up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. A gross misdemeanor carries up to 364 days and $3,000.

How a St. Paul or suburban misdemeanor starts

Many cases begin with a citation; payable offenses can often be resolved through the Violations Bureau without a hearing, while others require a court appearance. A person booked into the Adult Detention Center may be released on the bail schedule or held until a judge sees them within the 36-hour limit.

The arraignment

At a misdemeanor arraignment, a Second District judge informs the defendant of the charge, the maximum penalties and the right to counsel, appoints a public defender if the person qualifies and jail is possible, and sets release terms using the two-amount bail approach and any conditions. Domestic-related cases commonly include a no-contact order.

Pretrial and trial

After a not-guilty plea, the case is set for a pretrial conference with the city prosecutor or the County Attorney. Typical resolutions include a lesser charge, diversion, a continuance for dismissal, a stay of adjudication that avoids a conviction once probation is complete, or a guilty plea with probation or limited jail time. Ramsey County misdemeanor juries seat six people, and all six must agree on the verdict.

Penalties in Ramsey County District Court

• Theft in St. Paul or the suburbs: $500 or less is a misdemeanor; from $500.01 to $1,000 the St. Paul or suburban prosecutor can charge a gross misdemeanor; over $1,000 is a felony charged by the County Attorney.
• Fifth-degree assault in Ramsey County: a misdemeanor for a first offense and a gross misdemeanor for a person with a qualifying prior.
• Trespass: usually a misdemeanor with up to 90 days.
• A first DWI arrest in Ramsey County: fourth-degree DWI is a misdemeanor with up to 90 days and $1,000. Add one aggravator, and the St. Paul City Attorney or suburban prosecutor will typically file third-degree DWI instead, a gross misdemeanor with a 364-day, $3,000 ceiling; the usual aggravators are a test at 0.16 or higher, a passenger under 16, or refusing to test. The administrative license revocation is separate from the criminal case, a chemical use assessment is required, and aggravated cases can bring ignition interlock, plate impoundment and vehicle forfeiture.

Most Ramsey County misdemeanor cases finish in one to four months, though busy calendars can stretch some longer.

The Ramsey County Attorney charges felonies by complaint; only offenses punishable by life imprisonment must go to a grand jury.

Rule 5 first appearance

A felony defendant held at the Law Enforcement Center must appear before a judge within the 36-hour limit, and a warrantless arrest requires a judicial probable-cause finding within 48 hours. That Rule 5 hearing is where a Ramsey County judge walks through the complaint, puts eligible defendants in touch with the Second District Public Defender, and settles bail and conditions, frequently after hearing from Community Corrections pretrial staff.

Rule 8, omnibus and trial

The second appearance, known as the Rule 8 hearing, typically comes a few weeks later, when discovery is shared and plea offers are discussed. At the omnibus hearing, the judge rules on motions challenging probable cause or the legality of searches, seizures and statements. Cases that do not resolve at a settlement conference go to trial before a 12-person jury, which must be unanimous. Defendants who formally demand a speedy trial in Ramsey County must have that trial start within 60 days. If the case ends in a conviction, Ramsey County Community Corrections writes a presentence investigation for the sentencing judge.

Sentencing under the Minnesota guidelines

Every felony sentence in the Second Judicial District starts from the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines. On that grid, the row is the ranking of the crime and the column is the defendant's criminal history score; their intersection tells the St. Paul judge whether probation (a stayed sentence) or prison (an executed sentence) is presumed and for how long. Going outside that presumption requires substantial and compelling reasons, stated on the record.

• Felony theft in Ramsey County: the County Attorney can seek up to 5 years once the value passes $1,000, with the ceiling moving to 10 years above $5,000 and 20 years above $35,000.
• Burglary: the most a Ramsey County judge can impose is 20 years for first-degree burglary, 10 years for second-degree and 5 years for third-degree.
• First-degree drug sale: up to 30 years.
• Second-degree assault (dangerous weapon): up to 7 years, and Ramsey County judges must impose a statutory minimum prison term when the weapon was a gun.

With a stay of imposition, a Ramsey County felony conviction is later entered as a misdemeanor if probation goes well. Someone sent to prison from St. Paul generally spends two-thirds of the pronounced term inside and finishes the last third on supervised release. Plan on four to twelve months for a typical felony here.

Ramsey County sees more violent felony prosecutions than most Minnesota counties, and they follow the felony steps above. Bail is usually set very high, and many defendants spend the pretrial period at the Adult Detention Center. In St. Paul, a first-degree murder case reaches court only after a Ramsey County grand jury votes to indict.

Penalties

• First-degree murder: mandatory life, which for premeditated murder and a handful of other forms means life with no release; other first-degree convictions allow release to be considered after 30 years. The state's death penalty was repealed in 1911, so no Ramsey County case can end in execution.
• Second-degree murder: up to 40 years; third-degree murder: up to 25 years.
• First-degree criminal sexual conduct: up to 30 years; the guidelines presume 144 months for a Ramsey County defendant with no prior record.
• First-degree aggravated robbery: up to 20 years.

Defense, victims and timing

The Second District Public Defender assigns experienced trial attorneys to eligible defendants in these cases. Victims have rights under Minnesota Statutes chapter 611A to notice of hearings, to be present, and to address the court at sentencing, and the County Attorney's Office provides victim and witness services. Given forensic testing, expert witnesses and complex motions, violent felony cases in Ramsey County frequently take one to two years or more.

Youth under 18 accused of offenses in Ramsey County are handled by the juvenile division of the District Court at the Juvenile and Family Justice Center, 25 West Seventh Street in St. Paul. The Ramsey County Attorney files delinquency petitions, including for offenses that occurred in St. Paul or a suburb. A youth who cannot go home is held at the Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center in St. Paul rather than on Grove Street, and a juvenile judge reviews that detention at a hearing within 36 hours, a deadline that does not run on weekends or holidays.

Diversion is common for first-time and lower-level offenses, and completing it can mean no petition is ever filed. For a serious felony by a 14- to 17-year-old, the Ramsey County Attorney can ask for an Extended Jurisdiction Juvenile designation: the youth gets juvenile programming, and an adult sentence hangs in the background, stayed, in case the terms are broken. Prosecutors may instead move to certify a youth 14 or older for trial in adult court. For 16- and 17-year-olds, Minnesota law presumes certification when the offense carries presumptive prison or a firearm was used, and at those ages a first-degree murder charge is filed directly in adult court. Second District public defenders represent qualifying youth at the Juvenile and Family Justice Center. Most Ramsey County juvenile files are not open to the public, but some felony matters involving 16- and 17-year-olds can be.

For Ramsey County, the federal courthouse is a few blocks from the county's own. St. Paul is the seat of Division 3 of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, and Division 3 cases are heard at the Warren E. Burger Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 316 N. Robert Street, St. Paul, MN 55101 in downtown St. Paul. Jurors for Division 3 trials report to St. Paul or Minneapolis, so a Ramsey County resident called for federal jury service could serve in either building. Early proceedings in a Ramsey County case, such as the initial appearance and detention hearing, are often held in St. Paul, though some are set across the river at the Minneapolis courthouse. The Clerk of Court's main line is (612) 664-5000.

When an arrest in St. Paul or the suburbs becomes a federal case

Federal court handles violations of federal law, and those cases are usually built by federal agencies: the FBI, DEA, ATF, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IRS Criminal Investigation, often working with St. Paul police or the Ramsey County Sheriff on joint task forces. Frequent categories in the east metro include:

• drug trafficking, especially large quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine or cocaine, or supply lines that cross state lines;
• felon-in-possession, machine-gun conversion devices and other firearms offenses;
• fraud schemes involving banks, health care programs, pandemic relief or the mail;
• child exploitation, including online offenses;
• bank robbery and carjacking;
• immigration crimes such as reentry after removal.

A case can start with a state arrest and a Ramsey County charge and then be "adopted" by federal prosecutors, and the state case may then be dismissed. Because the state and the United States are separate sovereigns, the same conduct can lawfully be charged in both systems.

Prosecutor, defender and Marshals

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota has a St. Paul office in the Burger building at 316 N. Robert Street, Suite 404, St. Paul, MN 55101, (651) 848-1950, and its main office at U.S. Courthouse, 300 S. 4th Street, Suite 600, Minneapolis, MN 55415, (612) 664-5600. Defendants who qualify for appointed counsel are represented by the Office of the Federal Defender for the District of Minnesota, 107 U.S. Courthouse, 300 S. 4th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55415, (612) 664-5858; if that office has a conflict, the court appoints a private lawyer from its CJA panel. Custody is the job of the U.S. Marshals Service, whose St. Paul office is at (651) 848-1435 and Minneapolis office at (612) 664-5900.

The federal process, step by step

Federal agents make the arrest, or the person is picked up on a federal warrant or indictment. At the initial appearance, a U.S. magistrate judge explains the charges, advises of rights and appoints counsel. When the government seeks detention, the detention hearing is usually held within three court days. The Bail Reform Act directs release on conditions, supervised by U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services, unless the judge finds no conditions will reasonably assure the defendant's appearance and the community's safety. Federal court does not use bail bondsmen, and a money bond is rare, which surprises families used to Ramsey County bail practice.

A defendant charged by complaint must be indicted by a grand jury within 30 days of arrest, or receive a preliminary hearing, before arraignment on the indictment. The Speedy Trial Act requires trial within 70 days of indictment or first appearance, though continuances are common in complex cases. Most federal cases end in plea agreements. If a case is tried, a 12-person jury must reach a unanimous verdict.

Sentencing typically comes about three months after a plea or verdict, once U.S. Probation prepares a presentence report. The judge applies the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines along with any mandatory minimum. Federal sentences carry no parole; with good-conduct time, a person serves at least about 85% of the term in a Bureau of Prisons facility, then a term of supervised release. Appeals are decided by the Eighth Circuit. Federal prosecution of people under 18 is rare.

Finding a federal detainee

The Marshals Service does not operate its own jail in Minnesota. It houses pretrial detainees in county jails it contracts with throughout the state and sometimes out of state, so someone arrested in Ramsey County may be held in another county and moved between facilities as the case proceeds. The Marshals' St. Paul or Minneapolis office can tell family members where a person is being held. Once someone is sentenced, the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator lists the prison where that person is designated.