A Republican MN House Candidate Is Being Sued After Allegedly Sawing His Neighbor's Garage In Half

[progree]

12. Airing Minnesota's dirty laundry on DU's front page, ehhhh? Well, what about this character --

The below are excerpts from 3 articles (anything in ()'s are mine)

[] Republican Minnesota Supreme Court candidate acquitted of DWI (in a trial. But got hit with 2 gross dismeanors -- one for refusing to be alcohol-tested. Michelle MacDonald), MyFoxTwinCities, 9/17/14
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http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/26561765/republican-supreme-court-candidate-acquitted-of-dwi

She was pulled over for speeding along Highway 3 in Rosemount, Minn., last year, and the officer who made the stop said he could smell alcohol. In the 40-minute dashcam video jurors saw, MacDonald said she had not been drinking and therefore did not commit a crime, repeatedly refusing to get out of her car.

MacDonald did not cooperate with officers and physically struggled against the two officers who dragged her from her vehicle because they were suspicious of her odor, slurred speech, and watery eyes. She also refused to submit to alcohol testing, but the jury ultimately decided the evidence just wasn't there to prove she was driving drunk -- but that doesn't mean she was let off the hook. She was found guilty of two gross misdemeanors:

- Obstructing the legal process/resisting arrest
- Refusing to submit to a test

.. the verdict delivered by the 6-member jury after the 3-day trial in Dakota County court,

[] Another: http://www.twincities.com/crime/ci_26553957/court-candidate-michelle-macdonald-cleared-dwi-guilty-obstruction
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MacDonald was going 8 mph over the posted 30 mph speed limit, shortly before midnight on April 5, 2013

the officer testified during the Hastings trial that he became suspicious when MacDonald identified herself as "a reserve cop," which she wasn't. He also said he detected a faint odor of alcohol. (nothing in the article about watery eyes and slurred speech, hmmmm)

She did not take a blood-alcohol breath test within the required time frame. About 4:25 a.m., she obtained a private blood test from a hospital that showed a blood-alcohol concentration of less than 0.01 -- the lowest reading the test could give. (me: if she was arrested shortly before midnight, say at 5 til midnight, that's 4 1/2 hours or enough time to get rid of 4.5*16*.001 = 0.072, so she could have been 0.08 at midnight, but just barely)

She's a 52-year-old family law attorney (so that's why she felt she knew enough to tell the cops to F.O.).

[] After trial, Michelle MacDonald vows to continue campaign for supreme court, Minnpost, 9/19/14
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http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2014/09/after-trial-michelle-macdonald-vows-continue-campaign-supreme-court

Thursday evening, MacDonald joined Congressional candidates Torrey Westrom and Stewart Mills and several other Republican candidates at an event. She was ignored by the other candidates at the program but greeted warmly by the Beltrami County crowd.

Early in the week, MacDonald had been found NOT guilty of fourth degree driving while intoxicated but found guilty of obstruction of legal process, resisting arrest and refusal to take a breath test. Sentencing and a court-ordered psychological evaluation (LOL) will not take place until after the election (drat). MacDonald is opposing incumbent Supreme Court Justice David Lillehaug.

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Back to Progree mode: some might be pissed that she got out of a DWI by refusing to take a breathalyzer or other chemical test. But a regular DWI (like 1st time, without a child in the car, and not above 0.15, yada) is a misdemeanor, while refusing to take the test is a gross misdemeanor, so punishment-wise, she's likely worse off for refusing the test. Though reputation wise, being found not guilty of a DWI is a big plus. (In much of Minnesota, refusing one of those "big government" tests is another big plus).

She might very well have been nowhere near the DWI limit at the time of the test (certainly the "watery eyes" and the "slurred speech" in one new stories might have been a cop's subjective exaggeration, and it certainly seems to be contradicted by the private test 4 1/2 hours later yada), but the way she handled it doesn't quite sound to me like a great example of judicial temperament.