Benton County
Created in 1849, Benton County was named in honor of Thomas Hart Benton, a U.S. Senator from Missouri. The county has a population of more than 41,000 people and spans 408.30 square miles. Its county seat is Foley, while its largest city is Sauk Rapids.
Legal disputes arising in Benton County are adjudicated by the district court, the county's only trial court. This court has general jurisdiction over a wide range of cases, including criminal, civil, family, housing, juvenile, traffic, and probate cases. Furthermore, the district court has a conciliation division that handles general civil claims in which the amount of money in dispute is less than $7,500. However, this division does not handle cases involving defamation, class actions, injunctive reliefs, evictions, and title to land.
Benton County public court records are official records, documents, and materials that pertain to legal proceedings in the county. These records include pleadings, judgments, orders, transcripts, pleadings, motions, case files, dockets, and indexes. The Benton County Court Administrator's Office is responsible for processing and managing court records in compliance with Minnesota law.
The following are various types of case records maintained by the district court in Benton County:
- Criminal records
- Family Law records
- Civil records
- Small claims records
- Housing records
- Probate records
- Juvenile records
The district court in Benton County provides electronic access to public case records. As such, interested persons may search for district court records via the Minnesota Court Records Online using party name, citation number, attorney name, or bar number. To access official copies of court records, requesters may call, mail, or visit the district courthouse physically at:
Benton County Courthouse
615 Highway 23
P.O. Box 189
Foley, MN 56329
Phone: (320) 968-5205
Fax: (320) 968-5353
However, note that certain Benton County court records are not publicly accessible because they are declared confidential by law. Examples include sealed records, documents containing sensitive information, and adoption records.
