Sen. Nicole Mitchell leaves floor of special session for burglary pretrial hearing

Democratic Sen. Nicole Mitchell on Monday juggled a special legislative session and a virtual pretrial court appearance in Becker County District Court.

Judge Michael Fritz allowed the senator to appear remotely from the State Capitol given the special legislative session.

Minutes before her 3:45 p.m. hearing, she left the Senate floor with her laptop in the midst of speeches regarding a bill on MinnesotaCare eligibility. She returned within an hour, just in time to vote no on the bill that passed a citizenship requirement for MinnesotaCare.

Mitchell commented briefly in court only to say that she understood the charges against her as she was arraigned on a second burglary charge filed against her earlier this year.

It was the last virtual court hearing scheduled before Mitchell returns to Detroit Lakes, where the case originated in April 2024 when she allegedly broke into her late father’s home where her stepmother lives.

Fritz on Monday heard arguments related to several remaining motions and housekeeping items ahead of her long-awaited trial that was postponed due to the recent legislative session. The judge said he will issue written decisions on all motions by the end of day Tuesday in order to proceed with trial next week.

“I know the timeframe we are under,” Fritz said.

Officers responding to a burglary call around 4:45 a.m. on April 22, 2024, found Mitchell, dressed in black, in the basement of the home. The first-term senator from Woodbury was charged with first-degree burglary.

Mitchell told police she was trying to get some of her dad’s things after her stepmother stopped talking to her. Mitchell’s dad died in 2023.

In a jail interview after her arrest, Mitchell said she drove up from Woodbury that morning, according to charges. She left around 1 a.m. and said she’d had “a lot of sleepless nights.” She claimed she was there to retrieve her dad’s ashes.

Ten months later, prosecutors in February charged her with possession of burglary tools, a felony, for allegedly having a crowbar.

According to the amended criminal complaint, Mitchell’s stepmother told police she found a crowbar that wasn’t hers in a window well.

Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald argued that “there is no presumption of vindictiveness in pretrial decisions.”

“How could it be vindictive if I did it five to six months before a scheduled trial date?” McDonald said in court Monday.

Weeks after Fritz granted Mitchell a delayed trial start, which prosecutors opposed, prosecutors filed the second felony charge.

Dane DeKrey, one of Mitchell’s attorneys, said in a phone interview Friday that the secondary charge was lodged against Mitchell in retaliation.

“They are only burglary tools if you’re committing a burglary with them. Otherwise, it’s just a crowbar that someone has in the back of their pickup truck. That’s not illegal to have that. And so that’s also why we don’t really understand the point of adding this charge. It’s not different conduct,” DeKrey said.

DeKrey asked Fritz to allow the defense to examine the prosecution and ask why they filed the second felony charge. He said the judge could find there is an overarching due-process challenge rather than weigh in on the vindictive allegation.

David Schultz, a Hamline University political science and legal studies professor, previously told the Minnesota Star Tribune that it’s unusual for the defense to “try to put the prosecutor on the witness stand.” He said the defense will have to meet an “enormously high” bar to prove vindictiveness.

Mitchell did not enter into a plea Monday, which her attorneys said would be the case. Mitchell has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Both sides agreed that the laptop in her possession at the time of arrest was not stolen.

DeKrey said it’s unclear what, if anything, Mitchell allegedly stole.

Defense filed a new motion on Monday morning compelling the state to disclose stepmother Carol Mitchell’s medical records related to her April 17, 2024, appointment at Sanford Medical Clinic in Fargo.

“The state pointed to C.M.’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis and continuing cognitive deterioration as a reason to expedite trial,” the defense’ motion states. “The disclosure requested here is directly related to Nicole’s guilt or innocence in that it corroborates Nicole’s statements that she was concerned for C.M.’s cognitive state at or around the time the alleged offense was committed.”

The defense is also requesting the state to provide proof of residency and payment of a new apartment that Carol Mitchell has moved into since the alleged break-in.

A couple of months ago, the state filed a notice of restitution that says, if the senator is found guilty, Carol Mitchell is asking for $12,000 to cover the apartment that she’s moved into because she’s too scared to live in her own house.

The judge will quickly rule whether prosecutors have to produce Carol Mitchell’s medical records and proof of residency.