Michelle MacDonald, the former Minnesota Supreme Court candidate convicted in September on charges related to a traffic stop, was sentenced Wednesday to 30 days of electronic home monitoring and two years' probation.
She must also attend a safe driving course and pay a $350 fine, according to sentencing documents from Dakota County District Judge Leslie Metzen.
A jury convicted MacDonald on Sept. 17 of refusing to submit to a breath test and obstructing the legal process in connection with an April 2013 traffic stop. But she was acquitted of the misdemeanor drunken driving charge.
MacDonald said late Wednesday that she intends to appeal the convictions.
The Minnesota Republican Party had endorsed MacDonald, a West St. Paul attorney, in May to run against Justice David Lillehaug. But it backed away after learning of the charges.
In early September, MacDonald filed a complaint alleging that the Republican Party and several of its members tried to coerce her into abandoning her endorsement. An administrative law judge dismissed the complaint.
"I think if I'd had the support of the executive committee of the Republican Party I would have won," said MacDonald, who received 46.5 percent of the vote, compared with Lillehaug's 53.2 percent.
MacDonald said she intends to vie for the GOP's endorsement when she runs for the state office again.
Emma Nelson and Liz Sawyer
