There has been much talk of the government shutdown in the state of Minnesota, scheduled for July 1 if the legislators and governor are unable to reach an agreement on the budget. As of now, an agreement does not seem promising, and both sides are taking further steps to protect programs during the shutdown.
Both sides are now turning to the courts to help them. Governor Dayton is requesting a mediator or special master to help either settle the dispute or have control over spending in the future. Four Republican senators have filed a brief with the Minnesota Supreme Court trying to bar any involvement by a special master or mediator, and list the necessary functions that would continue in the event of a shutdown. The two sides of the debate do not agree on what the essential services are.
In the bigger picture, the shutdown could affect the court system as all of the court’s duties are not looked at as essential. There is no way to predict how that would affect people’s abilities to enforce their rights in court, since there is already such a backlog in the court system from the budget cuts in recent years.
