The criminal trial of Michelle MacDonald, the Republican endorsed candidate for the Minnesota Supreme Court, began yesterday in Dakota County.

As first reported by the Star Tribune, MacDonald was arrested in April 2013 on suspicion of drunk driving and resisting arrest. As I wrote in previous post, MacDonald is one of the only candidates for statewide office in the modern political history of Minnesota to face a criminal trial during the election season.

The process of selecting the jury (four women and four men) who will ultimately decide MacDonald's fate occupied most of the court's time yesterday. In opening statements made by the prosecutor Benjamin Colburn, MacDonald was speeding and driving erratically on the night she was stopped by Rosemount police and she later refused field sobriety tests and additional alcohol tests at the police station.

MacDonald's attorney, Stephen Grigsby, said in his opening remarks that MacDonald "may have been speeding", but there was no justification for her arrest and no evidence of her driving while intoxicated. MacDonald's legal team lost a bid last week for cameras to be allowed in the courtroom for her trial, which is expected to last until Wednesday. I'll have additional updates today on MacDonald's trial, so please check back.

UPDATE: September 17, 2014 - 8:24 AM - Yesterday's the jury was shown video of MacDonald's arrest and heard testimony from officers who arrested MacDonald. A lab technician from Fairview Ridges Hospital testified MacDonald's blood was taken at 4:25 AM on April 6, 2013, a few hours after her arrest. The amount of alcohol in MacDonald's blood was less than .01, which is the lowest amount the machine testing the blood could register. On cross examination, prosecutor Benjamin Colburn, established the limits of the machine could not prove MacDonald did not have alcohol in her system.

The trial is scheduled to resume this morning with closing arguments and then jury deliberations. Please follow my Twitter account for immediate updates and check back to this post for a detailed update at the conclusion of the trial.

UPDATE: September 17, 2014 - 4:19 PM - Michelle MacDonald was found guilty today of refusal to submit to testing and obstructing the legal process or arrest, but was found not guilty of driving while intoxicated. MacDonald was arrested in April 2013 on suspicion of drinking and driving and resisting arrest. Judge Leslie Metzen also found MacDonald guilty of speeding and she was ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation before she is formally sentenced on November 12, 2014.