Two court decisions upend Minnesota’s legislative session • Minnesota Reformer

Two key court decisions will shape the next few weeks of Minnesota’s already chaotic legislative session, including a postponed special election to decide control of the House of Representatives and a postponed criminal trial that threatens to dominate proceedings in the Senate.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has canceled a special election in House District 40B that had been scheduled by Gov. Tim Walz for Jan. 28, ruling that Walz erred in calling the election Dec. 27 even though the law required him to do so by after December 27th, the legislative session begins on Tuesday.

Walz called the election after Democrat Curtis Johnson resigned from office after a judge ruled that he did not live in the district he wanted to represent.

The result is significant because Republicans currently hold a one-vote lead in the House, 67-66, and the special election in the heavily Democratic northern metro district is expected to bring the House to a 67-67 vote, a power-sharing agreement requires.

So far, Democrats have boycotted Republican-led proceedings in the House of Representatives to deny a quorum, the minimum number of members who must be present to conduct business. The two sides will have oral arguments before the Supreme Court next week.

The postponed special election will force Democrats to hold out longer, exposing them to attacks from Republicans for not showing up to work.

Separately, a judge granted Sen. Nicole Mitchell’s request to postpone her criminal trial until after the legislative session. The Woodbury Democrat pleaded not guilty in August after being charged with burglary for allegedly breaking into her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home in April.

Her lawyers cited a Minnesota law and a 2007 appeals ruling that said trials involving lawmakers should be delayed until after the legislative session.

Becker County District Judge Michael Fritz granted the request, ruling that “if a legislator is forced to stand trial during the legislative session, his constituents will have no vote during that session.”

Republicans have signaled they will increase pressure on Democrats if they continue to let Mitchell get elected.

Sen. Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, called Mitchell’s request “an abuse of her status as a senator.” The Republican leader added: “This is not a victimless crime; This delay has re-victimized those involved, and Senate Republicans will not stand idly by as Senator Mitchell abuses her position to deny justice.”

The Senate is currently tied 33-33, but a Jan. 28 special election in a northeast Minneapolis district is expected to give Democrats a one-seat majority. By then, the two parties have worked out a power-sharing agreement.

Democrats have tried to isolate Mitchell by stripping her of committee assignments and excluding her from their caucus meetings. Leading Democrats, including Walz, have encouraged her to resign. So far, Senate Democratic leader Sen. Erin Murphy has argued that Mitchell deserves due process before the Senate considers expulsion.

The delay in the trial could cause Democrats to rethink their approach.