Consequences

POSTNOTE Aug 29, 2024: Front page of Minnesota Star Tribune Aug 29, 2024: Nicole Mitchell 8 29 24

Monday of this week I was about to leave for a conversation group I’m part of. I caught the first part of the 6:00 local news on WCCO-TV, and one of the first stories was about the arrest of my State Senator in a town 220 miles from here. By Tuesday, the opposition party was “shocked”. By Wednesday, it was front-page news. Thursday, one of my fellow citizens, in a letter to the editor, demanded that the Senator resign, probably based on no more information than I had. This morning, another long article in the STrib again was based only on currently available information.

At this writing, Friday morning, I know nothing more than anybody else about my Senator and the incident. So goes life in the local world.

I am keeping whatever I see in writing (from the Minneapolis Star Tribune paper edition), and at some point in the future, whenever there is some finality, I will write more. I will also pdf the articles for use at this space.

But you will see no pre-judgement from me. Except to say that in my opinion, she has been an excellent Senator. I didn’t know her when she announced her candidacy two years ago. She met with me on my request back then, and to my knowledge I’ve been to all of her several back-home citizen update meetings, simply as a constituent. Those are my only contacts with her, and they have all been positive.

Meanwhile: As it happens, much of this week has been engaged in following assorted court hearings in New York City, Washington DC and Phoenix, regarding someone else we all know, about events which happened between 2015 and 2021. Yesterday was oral argument at the Supreme Court about Presidential immunity; today, as I write, David Pecker, formerly head honcho of the National Enquirer, is testifying. I tend to follow these kinds of things.

I have no more to say about this either.

I’ll return to all of this sometime later.

POSTNOTE April 30, 2024: The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports this morning that Sen. Nicole Mitchell was back at the Capitol yesterday. In the same issue, on page B1, is a long column by Laura Yuen, very well worth your time. There was also a short letter to the editor, basically anti-DFL. It was the last letter today.

I was thinking of an old saying, probably shared with me by my Dad, about being careful about judging if you haven’t “walked in the other persons moccasins”. I did a search, and found a 2017 blog reprinting an 1895 poem by Mary Lathrap titled “Judge Softly”. You can read the poem here.

POSTNOTE June 1, 2024: May 30 the Manhattan Jury reported out 34 “Guilty” verdicts on all counts. Within a half hour, on local TV news, it was also reported that my local Senator (above) was being asked to resign by the state Democratic (DFL) Chair and the Democrat Governor of Minnesota; and the next days Minneapolis Star Tribune gave nearly a half page (A7) to the State Senator and, of course, nearly three pages to the news from Manhattan.

What I find interesting is that, according to the news article, the Senator has yet to have a first legal hearing in court. The hearing, originally scheduled for June 10, has been postponed until July 1. The former President, on the other hand, after extensive court hearings, now has been convicted, but will not be sentenced until July 11, at earliest, and after that can appeal the sentence, whatever it turns out to be.

The irony is thick. At this point, the Senator has been accused, and that is all; the President, with a complaint going back years, has still not been sentenced, and even that is not certain at this point. It highlights at minimum a quandary in the justice system itself, where innocent until proven guilty seems to have many meanings, depending on who is making decisions, and why.

POSTNOTE September 23, 2025: Nicole Mitchell was sentenced today. The Public Radio report of the sentencing can be read here.

During my work career I daily had to deal with decisions relating to rights and responsibilities. Early on, and throughout my career, my personal standard in the end was “does the final decision make sense?”. Differences of opinion are a given in any case. Rarely, did a ruling not make sense, whether in my sides favor or not…. Regarding the instant issue, my own opinion has to be based what I read in the papers or saw on TV. I thin the judgement makes sense.

I expressed my personal opinion to the Judge before sentencing, and it is added here: Nicole M Sep 24 2-25. It also references the above post, which until this update was last updated June 1, 2024. I especially encourage your reading of the third page of the attachment, which I wrote in February, 2005 after a powerful workshop on Sustainable Peace.

I have had no personal contact with Nicole Mitchell about this case, and don’t plan to. It is a significant event in her life, similar to experiences we all have (or will have) at one time or another in our own lives. My prediction is she will grow from the experience.

I wish Nicole well.

from Carlo, September 24: Our former MN State Senator was found guilty on two counts of breaking into her Stepmother’s house. Yesterday she was sentenced to six months in jail.

She went to school with my daughter, Emily. I am absolutely heartbroken that this young woman found it necessary to break the law. Because of that boneheaded decision she has lost so much. She was a Lt Col., in the MN National Guard, a state Senator, a foster Mom and more. She had to resign all. That little boy had lost a good Mom.

———————-

After watching the trial of former Brooklyn police officer Kim Potter who was found guilty of manslaughter in the death of 20 year old Daunte Wright, and sitting through the trials of the three officers who violated the rights of George Floyd which resulted in his death. I learned the importance of writing a letter to the judge.

And yes, James Robertson and Stephen, you were right! Yeah, you were right! I admit, I was wrong and you were right. Both James and my brother, Stephen, were police officers and expressed their point of views from that standpoint. They reminded me that former Officers Lane and Keung were “Rookies,” second and third days on the job and that I should not hold them to the same standard as a seasoned cop.

Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Keung, were also victims in the whole George Floyd killing. They were “Rookies,” and could not cross Derek Chauvin or they would have paid a price. I was too angry to see that at that time.

And, the judge in that case received a little from a young surgeon, who expressed that same view point. The judge read his letter in court at the Sentencing Hearing

What I did learn from all of those trials was that the police unions and their lawyers used a technique called “The Letter of Support,” in order to help their clients get a reduced sentence. Most citizens are not aware that they can write a letter to a judge before the Sentencing Hearing and share what they feel about the defendant.

Our community and others from around the state wrote letters of Support and Not of Support on our former Senator’s behave. I am proud of them. Thank you. She did not get 20 years, but six months. And will only have to do four with good behavior.

Please remember that letters matter and you as an American Citizen can write letters to a judge expressing your opinion.

Remember this and consider writing a letter when you see a policeman who acted in an unlawful matter that resulted in the death of a person go on trial. If police unions can organize and get citizens to write on the behave of a police officer who has actually killed a person, then we as citizens can write also letters.

Please share with others so they know the have the right to write Letters to the judge regarding defendants.

Off my high horse for today.

And to those of you who wrote letters of support or not on Nicole’s behave, thank you.

Sometimes good people do boneheaded things and may need our help.

JoAnn Ward says:

April 26, 2024 at 11:35 am

Thank you, Dick for this calm and reasoned response to a very difficult and unfortunate situation. We don’t have much information, but whatever the situation, the rush to judgement by some will only harm our efforts for a reasoned democracy. It is also a source of outrage by her colleagues and predecessors. Whatever the circumstances and final judgement, this has harmed everyone who seeks to serve the people of MN, emotionally and perhaps politically. It is a very sad situation.

Carlo Montgomery says:

September 24, 2025 at 10:50 am

Thank you for sharing the above.

Letters Matter!

Thank you for using your platform to let others know that citizens have the right to share “Letters of Support or Letters of Not Support,” with the Judge on a defendant’s behave.

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