Sen. Nicole Mitchell’s court hearing pushed back as she challenges arrest on burglary charge

DFL state Sen. Nicole Mitchell has challenged the grounds for her April arrest on a first-degree burglary charge and her scheduled Monday hearing was postponed a week.

In a Becker County District Court filing by her defense attorneys, Mitchell seeks to dismiss the charge against her on the grounds that she didn’t commit a crime while inside the Detroit Lakes home of her father’s widow, identified only as C.M. in court documents.

The hearing was rescheduled for 10 a.m. July 9, but that will likely change because the prosecution has filed to remove Judge Douglas Clark from the case.

In advance of the hearing, Mitchell’s attorneys, Dane DeKrey and Bruce Ringstrom Jr., asked investigators for a forensic analysis of the computer that the alleged victim claims was stolen April 22. The request seeks to determine if and when the computer was connected to a Woodbury internet provider address before Mitchell’s arrest.

Mitchell, a freshman DFL senator, lives in and represents Woodbury.

Her attorneys also are seeking the alleged victim’s medical records pertaining to dementia-related conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease.

Mitchell’s attorneys said in the filing that they need the additional information to challenge the charge against her.

The senator’s arrest shocked colleagues and created disruptive tension through the end of the 2024 legislative session. Mitchell returned to the Senate floor a week after her arrest and GOP senators have filed an ethics complaint against her that is still pending.

When she was arrested, Mitchell was dressed in black and admitted to entering her stepmother’s house through a sliding basement window, the criminal complaint said. A backpack containing a laptop was wedged in the open basement window.

In a phone interview Monday, DeKrey said, “We believe there will be evidence that shows she was in possession of this computer long before the night of this incident.”

In other action on the case, Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald filed a motion Monday to remove Clark. McDonald wasn’t required to provide a reason. Each side in a case is given one opportunity to remove a judge.

Clark was reprimanded in April by the state Board on Judicial Standards. Among other things, the board found that Clark’s “aggressive demeanor” has caused attorneys to regularly remove him from hearing their cases. The board said Clark raised his voice, failed to remain impartial and inappropriately interrupted witnesses in court.