Minn. Supreme Court Candidate Could Face Probation For The Second Time

From the Minnesota Reformer:

By Rilyn Eischens

October 21, 2020

A candidate for Minnesota Supreme Court made “knowingly false statements” about Dakota County Judge David Knutson during an interview with WCCO in October 2018, less than a year after she had been suspended and placed on probation for comments about the same judge, according to court filings published Tuesday.

A judicial referee — a district court judge assigned to conduct disciplinary proceedings — recommended that Michelle MacDonald be placed on supervised probation for one year over her comments about the judge and the state’s legal system, according to the documents. The state Supreme Court will review the disciplinary recommendation and make a final decision.

MacDonald is challenging Justice Paul Thissen in her fourth campaign for a Supreme Court seat. A MacDonald victory would potentially set up an odd outcome: A Minnesota Supreme Court justice on probation.

MacDonald, a family lawyer and critic of the family court system, said the disciplinary case was politically motivated — possibly even “election interference” — and an effort to stop her from speaking out about “corruption.”

“I think (the board) is being exposed for what they really are, and they’re a cover-up organization,” MacDonald said, referring to the state Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility that oversees the discipline system for lawyers. “They pick on attorneys that actually want to help people and change the system.”

MacDonald’s 60-day suspension and two-year probation in 2018 followed her work on the case of Sandra Grazzini-Rucki, a Lakeville resident convicted of six felonies for hiding her daughters from their father for two years. MacDonald sued Knutson, the judge, alleging he wasn’t impartial in the case and acted maliciously against her and Grazzini-Rucki.

A judicial referee determined that MacDonald had “failed to competently represent” Grazzini-Rucki, made false statements about Knutson’s integrity “with reckless disregard for the truth,” and behaved disruptively in the courtroom, resulting in her arrest in court.

During the WCCO interview in October 2018, MacDonald said court orders are “damaging people and families,” and that Knutson violated Grazzini-Rucki’s rights. In making these statements and others, MacDonald “caused harm to both the public and the legal profession … also maligned the administration of justice in the state of Minnesota,” according to the disciplinary recommendation.

MacDonald also ran into a fracas during a 2014 run for the state’s highest court. She was acquitted of a DUI charge but convicted of obstruction of a legal process, a misdemeanor, for refusing to take a breath test until she could see a judge.

The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell..