Jury selection is expected to begin Monday morning in State Sen. Nicole Mitchell’s criminal trial at the Becker County Courthouse. The first term DFL senator from Woodbury is facing two felony counts of burglary for allegedly breaking into the Detroit Lakes home of her stepmother in the early morning hours of April 22, 2024.
Last month, Becker County Judge Michael Fritz delayed the trial, because of security concerns following the shootings of Minnesota lawmakers Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman, and their spouses, two days before it was scheduled to begin.
According to court documents, Mitchell allegedly told police she went to her stepmother’s home to retrieve items belonging to her late father, including his ashes. Roderick “Rod” Mitchell died a year earlier. He was 72 and left his entire estate to his wife, Carol Mitchell, who is now 75.
Mitchell, who is a former MPR News meteorologist, is accused of driving through the night from her suburban Woodbury home to Detroit Lakes, where she allegedly broke into the home.
Carol Mitchell called 911 at 4:45 a.m. to report an intruder who ran into the basement. According to the charging documents, when police arrived and found Mitchell, she allegedly said, “Carol, it’s Nicole. I was just trying to get a couple of my dad’s things because you wouldn’t talk to me anymore.”
Mitchell has said in a social media post that she also went to her stepmother’s home to check on the welfare of a family member who has Alzheimer’s disease. Mitchell’s attorneys wanted to present Carol Mitchell’s medical records at trial as evidence but Judge Fritz denied the defense motion.
“Our fundamental strategy is to explain to a jury and to explain to the people of Minnesota why Senator Mitchell entered that home that night,” said Dane DeKrey, one of Mitchell’s attorneys. “That is the central dispute in the case, whether her motives were good or whether her motives were bad, and I think that will be the central focus on whether or not we’re able to secure a ‘not guilty’ verdict.”
DeKrey said a last-minute plea agreement is out of the question. However, it was an option they explored.
"We had many conversations with the county attorney from Becker County,” he said. “And there was just never the Venn diagram that we call it in the defense world where there was a plea agreement offered that both sides maybe didn’t love but would accept."
DeKrey said while any trial brings with it a sense of uncertainty, he is optimistic that jurors will be able to put politics aside.
“We hope that Senator Mitchell gets tried as Nicole Mitchell, a citizen of Woodbury in a court in Becker County, instead of Senator Nicole Mitchell, a Democrat in the State Senate,” Dekrey told MPR News. “And if we can do that, we are confident that we are going to get the fair shake you can get in the fairest justice system that we think exists in the world.
Former state and federal prosecutor Mark Osler, now a law professor at the University of St. Thomas, said the Mitchell trial is unique among prosecutions of politicians because it involves an alleged burglary, rather than political corruption or malfeasance. And he said the case is somewhat complex for both the prosecution and the defense.
“The fact that it’s kind of an intra family dispute underneath all of this does complicate it in terms of, you know, people can be conflicted about testifying,” Osler said. “You’ve got divided loyalties amongst other family members, and, you know, often mixed feelings all around. And so, it does complicate it in terms of the task of bringing forth testimony.”
Osler doubts the one-month delay in the criminal trial will have a profound impact.
“Sometimes you’ll see delays of months, and that definitely can affect preparation,” Osler said. “But here it’s a short enough span that it shouldn’t advantage one side or the other, or frankly, change things very much.”
But he said the circumstances which caused the delay, the shootings that killed former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark and that wounded State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette, could weigh heavily on the minds of jurors, potentially favoring the defense.
“That is something that could happen. There could be sympathy, because we did have this horrific set of murders that just occurred,” Osler said. “However, that’s something that I’m pretty sure they’re going to vet for during jury selection and see if anybody would be swayed by that.”
Defense attorney DeKrey said Mitchell was on the “hit list” of the alleged shooter, Vance Boelter.
Osler said this trial is unlike typical burglary cases. And not just because Mitchell is a politician.
“This is a trial that has a very human aspect to it. You know, one of the things that could be determinative is how much of that story, the fullness of its scope, is allowed to come before the jury.”
DeKrey said Mitchell will likely take the stand in her own defense. Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald was not available for comment. The trial is expected to last more than a week.
DeKrey added that any security concerns that arose in the aftermath of the shootings of the legislators last month have been addressed.
“Since the tragedy happened, we have worked with both the Becker County Court and the Becker County Sheriff’s Department and the police department, and they have been excellent in terms of preparing for this trial,” DeKrey said. “So, there will always be a little residual concern when something like that happens, but we feel comfortable with our safety at this trial.”