Sen. Nicole Mitchell seeks to postpone trial to end of legislative session

State Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, wants to delay her burglary trial until after the legislative session, creating a potential political headache for her Democratic-Farmer-Labor colleagues, who are currently deadlocked 33-33 with Republicans in the upper chamber as the Jan. 14 legislative session nears.

The motion filed Friday was first reported by the Star Tribune.

Mitchell pleaded not guilty in August after she was charged with felony burglary for allegedly breaking into her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home in April.

Ahead of the trial this month, the Becker County district judge in the case was expected to hear pre-trial motions Tuesday, which, coincidentally, is the first day of the new legislative session.

Motions were expected to include the prosecutor’s request that Mitchell not be referred to as “senator” during the trial, and that jurors be forbidden from handing down a lesser charge of trespassing, the Star Tribune reported.

The beginning of the Senate’s session was already set to be complicated. Democrats narrowly controlled the chamber 34-33 until the death late last year of Sen. Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis. Gov. Tim Walz called for a special election Jan. 28 to replace her. Until then, the Senate is deadlocked, though Mitchell was not expected to vote remotely during her trial this month, which would give Republicans a 1-vote advantage during that time.

Leaders of the two parties are negotiating how to proceed until the special election to replace Dziedzic, which is expected to again give Democrats a one-vote advantage because of the deep blue partisan lean of the northeast Minneapolis district.

Since Mitchell’s arrest in April, Republicans have said Mitchell shouldn’t be allowed to vote.

“Sen. Mitchell’s motion today delays justice for her victim and further delays an orderly Senate session as she continues to bring the reputation of the Senate into disrepute,” said Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks. “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.”

Democrats, including DFL Chair Ken Martin and Gov. Tim Walz, have sought to force Mitchell to resign. Her Senate DFL colleagues have banned her from their caucus meetings and stripped her of committee assignments, though Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, has said Mitchell is owed due process on her legal case before the Senate begins proceedings to expel her.

Mitchell has continued to deny the charges and maintain her right to stay in office.

Should the judge grant Mitchell’s request to delay the trial, Democrats face the prospect of ongoing political fodder for Republicans demanding expulsion proceedings.

Mitchell was arrested at her stepmother’s house by Detroit Lakes officers responding to a burglary call. Officers searched the basement and found Mitchell dressed in black clothing and a black hat. According to the charges, while being arrested Mitchell said something to the effect of “I was just trying to get a couple of my dad’s things because you wouldn’t talk to me anymore.”

Mitchell told a police officer that her father died and her stepmother had stopped all contact with her and other family. Mitchell said “I know I did something bad,” according to the charging document.

In their attempt to delay the trial Mitchell’s attorneys cite a 2007 appellate ruling stating that legal proceedings involving legislators should be delayed until after the legislative session.