Frequently Asked Questions

Topic Revised: May 2025

What does "ORCA" mean?

ORCA means the Originating Court or Agencys whose decision was appealed.

What is an opinion?

The court issues written decisions in all cases. All opinions are public information and are available on the Minnesota Judicial Branch public website. Go to the Minnesota Judicial Branch website by clicking this link at www.mncourts.gov . Click Find Courts, Court of Appeals, then Court of Appeals Opinions.

A published opinion is an opinion that the court concludes meets certain criteria indicating that the case involved a significant legal issue not clearly addressed by existing cases or other authorities. All Supreme Court opinions are published opinions.

An unpublished opinion is an opinion that the court concluded did not establish a new rule of law or involve a legal issue that had not already been addressed by existing cases or other authorities.

What is a PFR or PAR?

PFR: Petition for Further Review

PAR: Petition for Accelerated Review

How do I find the appellate opinions?

Opinions can be viewed on the Minnesota Judicial Branch public website under the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals sections. Go to the Minnesota Judicial Branch website by clicking this link at www.mncourts.gov . Click Find Courts, Supreme Court or Court of Appeals, then Supreme Court Opinions or Court of Appeals Opinions.

To view previous opionions you can go to the Minnesota Judicial Branch website by clicking this link at www.mncourts.gov. Click Find Courts, Supreme Court or Court of Appeals, then Law Library Appellate Courts Opinion or Past opinions by the Appellate Courts.

Why can't I see the status of an upcoming opinion?

Parties to a case (and their attorneys, if any) are notified by the court when release of an opinion in their case is imminent. No one else may know until the opinion itself is released.

The supreme court normally releases opinions Wednesdays at 10:00 AM. These are posted on the website, go to Go to the Minnesota Judicial Branch website by clicking this link at www.mncourts.gov . Click Find Courts, Supreme Court then Supreme Court Opinions.

The court of appeals normally releases opinions Mondays. Mondays at 10:00 AM. These are posted on the website, go to Go to the Minnesota Judicial Branch website by clicking this link at www.mncourts.gov . Click Find Courts, Court of Appeals, then Court of Appeals Opinions or Past opinions by the Appellate Courts.

How often is data updated?

Occasionally, the volume of filings may limit court staff’s ability to process filings. Filings receive a date stamp upon receipt, so that even if staff may need to delay entry into MACS, the "Date Filed" should always be correct. (On occasion, time fields are adjusted to reflect the sequence in which multiple related entries were made on the same day, to control display order.)

To confirm data, please contact the Office of the Clerk of the Appellate Courts (651) 291-5297.

Why can't I see a case I believe should be in the system?

There are several reasons why a case might not appear in the public access version of MACS.

If the case is Closed or Archived, you must uncheck the "Exclude Closed/Archived" box on the Case Search page. If you do not find a case, uncheck this box and run the search again.

If the case number is for a trial court case, it will not show in search results. You can only look up appellate court case numbers in MACS. Trial court case numbers are listed on the ORCA Info page for an appellate case, but are not searchable. For further questions, please refer to Viewing ORCA Information.

If the appeal papers are incomplete or have been prepared by someone not authorized to file an appeal, the clerk's office may ask the court for guidance, may contact the party or attorney who submitted the papers to correct the deficiencies, or may return the appeal papers (with instructions on how to correct the deficiencies) without opening a new appeal on MACS.

Make sure you have viewed all pages of the search results. If there is a Next link above the results list, make sure you have checked its contents for the record you want.

Why can't I see a party I believe should be in the system?

If a particular party does not appear on the search, this may be because:

Only individuals and businesses/organizations are searchable. Attorneys and judges are not searchable unless they are/were parties in a case. However, within a specific case, you can view the attorneys in the appellate case and trial court judges.

The party has changed his/her name. The court records parties' name changes, and only displays the current name for a party, even if the party's old name appears in the case title. If you cannot find a case by party, try searching for the case number.

The party's participation in the case is confidential. Participants in adoption, paternity, and delinquency cases are automatically granted confidentiality. By court rule, initials are used for the names of children and parents; their names are not used, and are not searchable. Also, records in a case may be non-public by order of a court; in which case, they will not be available on P-MACS.

The individual or organization may not have been a party to the appeal. For example, an interested observer is not searchable. Parties to the trial court or agency proceedings who are not actively involved as parties to the appeal may not appear in P-MACS' search results.

Make sure you have viewed all pages of the search results. If there is a Next link above the results list, make sure you have checked its contents for the record you want.

Why do some of the Participant Search results look different?

Cases that were originally entered in the TCIS system and then converted to MACS in March 2003 will look different. Party names will appear entirely in capital letters, for instance, because that is how they were recorded in TCIS. Older records that were archived in TCIS and then converted to P-MACS will display party names without punctuation or spaces.

What if I find information I believe to be inaccurate?

(Also see other questions on this list relating to "missing" cases and parties and to the data update schedule.)

If you believe data on P-MACS to be inaccurate, you may submit a comment via P-MACS Public Access Support: pmacs.suppor t@c ourts.state.mn.us

Make sure to include your name, e-mail address or phone number, and the specific case number about which you are inquiring. If you have a document that contradicts the information on P-MACS, please provide information about that as well.

Who can see information in P-MACS?

Information collected and retained by the appellate court system is generally open to the public, unless designated as nonpublic by statute, rule, or judicial order. If you need information that you cannot find on P-MACS, for assistance, please contact the Office of the Clerk of the Appellate Courts at (651) 291-5297

Where can I find the Appellate Court Rules?

Go to the Minnesota Judicial Branch website and click on the Court Rules page located in the bottom of the home page. You can also click on this link https://www.mncourts.gov/SupremeCourt/Court-Rules.aspx.