DFL Sen. Nicole Mitchell’s lawyers seek to postpone burglary trial until late May

Lawyers for DFL state Sen. Nicole Mitchell filed a motion Friday that seeks to postpone her Becker County burglary trial until late spring, citing case law that allows legal proceedings to be postponed for legislators until after the session ends.

The House is already embroiled in a battle for partisan control with DFLers threatening not to show up for the first day of session. The Senate also faces a potentially destabilizing discussion on opening day as Mitchell’s status is unsettled.

At the “insistence of counsel,” Mitchell’s request seeks to postpone her trial until the Legislature’s required adjournment on May 19. The motion cited a 2007 state Court of Appeals decision authorizing “the postponement of a judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding in which a legislator is involved as a party.”

Prosecutors filed a response to the request on Friday demanding a speedy trial.

Judge Michael Fritz had scheduled a hearing Tuesday to consider pretrial motions, including a request from prosecutors that Mitchell not be referred to as a senator in front of the jury and that the jury not be allowed to consider convicting her of the lesser charge of trespassing. Mitchell’s defense lawyers opposed both requests.

In the new motion, the defense suggested that Tuesday’s hearing be conducted on the sole issue of postponing the trial. The defense also requests that Mitchell be allowed to appear remotely from her Senate office as she will be in St. Paul for the start of session.

The judge granted the request for a remote appearance.

Underlying the case are the events of an early Monday morning in late April when Mitchell was arrested at the Detroit Lakes home her late father shared with her stepmother. Mitchell, a first-term senator from Woodbury, was charged with first-degree burglary. Mitchell has pleaded not guilty and both sides agreed that the laptop in her possession at the time of her arrest was not stolen.

The arrest roiled the end of the 2024 session when DFLers held a 34-33 advantage. Republicans argued strenuously that Mitchell shouldn’t be allowed to vote on major legislation. GOP senators filed an ethics complaint and sought an ethics investigation into her arrest. That complaint and possible investigation await the resolution of the court case.

In 2024, Mitchell lost her committee assignments and did not participate in the DFL caucus meetings, but she continued to vote on bills for the remainder of the session over the objections of Republicans.

The defense motion to postpone the trial has the potential to ignite yet another pitched partisan battle at the Capitol.

Because of the recent death of Sen. Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis, Democrats and Republicans are currently tied at 33 members each in the Senate. Given the demographics of the Minneapolis district, a special election at the end of the month to fill Dziedzic’s seat will likely bring a new Democrat to the Senate and return the DFL to a 34-33 advantage.

If Mitchell wasn’t allowed to appear remotely for trial on the first day of session, it could have given the GOP a 33-32 advantage in the Senate.

In filing the motion, Mitchell’s lawyers cited a state law that excuses legislative members, officers and attorneys from court duty when the Legislature is in session. This year’s session, which requires the Legislature to pass a two-year budget, must be completed by May 19.

GOP Senate leader Mark Johnson said in a statement that Mitchell “continues to bring the reputation of the Senate into disrepute.”

“The Senate cannot tell the Judiciary what to do, but we can and should hold our own members accountable,” he said. “Senate Republicans stand by our previous votes to not allow her to vote, to not count her vote, and to remove her from the body. We expect the Senate Democrats who called for her resignation will join us in our efforts this session.”

DFL Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy said Mitchell is “acting in her self interest as an individual and a legislator, and that is her right,” but last year Republicans used her case “as a way to disrupt the work of the Senate.”

“I have been looking forward to the resolution of her case,” she said.

Mitchell’s trial, which is expected to last five days, is set to begin Jan. 27. The motion requests to start Mitchell’s trial at the first possible date after adjournment.