No settlement emerged from a Dec. 31 court hearing, so Sen. Nicole Mitchell’s trial on a felony burglary charge remains set to begin Jan. 27 in Becker County District Court. Before that, another  hearing will be held Jan. 14 where Judge Michael D. Fritz is expected to rule on a number of pretrial motions.

Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, was arrested in April after allegedly breaking into her stepmother’s house in Detroit Lakes. According to the criminal complaint, Mitchell told the victim she was trying to retrieve a few items of her late father’s since “you wouldn’t talk to me anymore.” Mitchell, a first-term lawmaker, has called the incident a misunderstanding and has withstood several calls for her to resign her Senate seat.

Becker County Attorney Brian W. McDonald filed a motion asking the judge to:

• Prohibit the defense from requesting a lesser offense of trespassing during the trial.
• Direct the defense counsel not to ask prospective jurors whether they have ever been blamed for something they didn’t do because such statements attempt to place the juror in the defendant’s shoes.
• Direct the defense not to refer to Mitchell as “senator” in front of the jury because her political title isn’t relevant to the court proceeding. 

Attorneys in the case reached an agreement that one of the laptops Mitchell had in her possession when she was arrested was hers, which means the prosecution cannot argue she stole it during the incident. The prosecution can use any evidence gathered from the laptop, according to the agreement. A second laptop was also found in her backpack, according to the criminal complaint.

The witness list for the trial includes Carol Lynn Mitchell, the stepmother, as well as several law enforcement officers. The list of physical evidence includes a flashlight with black sock covering, blue crowbar, video from officer’s body cameras, road maps, a Facebook post by Mitchell, a public statement by Mitchell, and data from a forensic image of a laptop.

Several media organizations are requesting to cover the trial by audio and visual means.

Mitchell issued a statement to MPR News through her attorney about the case. “I am confident that a much different picture will emerge when all of the facts are known,” Mitchell said. “I am as committed to my constituents today as the day I was elected, including important work for veterans and children, and I do not intend to resign.”