Justice Served, Housing Preserved: The Ramsey County Housing Court Model

This journal article was authored by Family Housing Fund Vice President Colleen Ebinger and Ramsey County Housing Court Referee Elizabeth Clysdale, and was published by the Mitchell Hamline Law Journal of Public Policy and Practice.

In July 2018, a new Housing Clinic launched at the Ramsey County Courthouse. It had been a year in the making. The goal was a bold one: to reduce evictions by fifty percent in five years. The idea sprung from a chief district court judge and group of community partners who were able to identify gaps in the current system and work together to agree upon the most promising interventions that could improve access to justice for all parties and create better societal outcomes. Eighteen months later, the court clinic has demonstrated its impact: eviction judgements are down; settlements are up; the court trial calendar has been reduced; and expungements have doubled.