Attorneys for Nicole Mitchell are seeking to delay the DFL state senator’s felony burglary trial in northwestern Minnesota until May—which coincides with the end of the legislative session.
On Friday, the Woodbury legislator’s attorneys filed a request to postpone the trial until May 19, the required adjournment date for the 2025 legislative session. They cited a 2007 Minnesota Court of Appeals decision authorizing “the postponement of a judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding in which a legislator is involved as a party.”
The trial, which will take place in Becker County, is currently set to begin on Jan. 27, just two weeks into the legislative session. Mitchell pled not guilty to the charges in August. The motion to delay the start of the trial comes as Republicans and Democrats in the Senate are tied 33-33, following the death of Sen. Kari Dziedzic last month.
Following the motion to delay the trial until after the legislative session, Senate Republicans reiterated their commitment to preventing Mitchell from casting votes and expelling her from the chamber.
“Sen. Mitchell’s motion today delays justice for her victim and further delays an orderly Senate session as she continues to bring the reputation of the Senate into disrepute,” said Sen. Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, the Senate’s top-ranking Republican.
“The Senate cannot tell the Judiciary what to do, but we can and should hold our own members accountable. Senate Republicans stand by our previous votes to not allow her to vote, to not count her vote, and to remove her from the body. We expect the Senate Democrats who called for her resignation will join us in our efforts this session.”
The Republican Party of Minnesota called Mitchell’s request “an attempt to use her position as an elected official to avoid accountability and cling to power.”
Mitchell was arrested and charged with first-degree burglary, a felony, last April after she was found inside her stepmother’s house in Detroit Lakes before dawn. Despite the charges, Mitchell refused to resign. Two of the state’s most prominent Democrats, Gov. Tim Walz and party chair Ken Martin, called for her to step down last spring.
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
