Michelle MacDonald, the Republican-endorsed candidate for the Minnesota Supreme Court, was ticketed last week for violating the terms of a limited license as she awaits trial for alleged drunken driving and resisting arrest.
he citation, filed Aug. 4 in Wright County District Court do not specify when and where she was tickted, Politics.MN, first reported that the incident occurred Aug. 1 along Interstate 94.
According to the court record, police encountered a stalled vehicle, where MacDonald was identified by a campaign sticker and the vehicle was registered to her. MacDonald told the officer she went to St. Cloud to meet her campaign manager.
"She is running for MN Supreme Court licensed attorney," the officer notes read. "No office in St. Cloud per her. Changed story a couple of time(s) then pleaded with me not to cite her."
MacDonald was ticketed for violatng the terms of a limited license, a misdemeanor. Her vehicle, which had overheated, was towed to Monticello.
MacDonald said Thursday that the incident occurred at 11 a.m., on I-94 when she was within her restrictions of driving from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. She said she flagged down help and was approached by a Minnesota State trooper.
"He never took my driver's license or ID But I showed him some campaign materials on my passenger seat and told him I was running for Supreme Court Justice." MacDonald said, adding that she was never told why she received the ticket.
MacDonald, a family law attorney who was endorsed at the Republican Party's convention in May, faces trial in September for a 2013 arrest in which police allege she resisted arrest and refused a breath test after an officer said he smelled alcohol during a traffic stop. The state's GOP leadership said they did not know about the arrest when delegates endorsed MacDonald, but most members of the party's Judicial Election Committee have remained steadfast in their support while criticizing party leadership for not backing her. Members of the committee say they were aware of MacDonald's pending case when they presented her for endorsement. MacDonald is running against Justice David Lillehaug, who was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton.
"We were impressed by her qualifications and believed that her candidacy and message would 'go viral' because of the abuse she has received at the hands of the judges, prosecutors and other employees of the Dakota County judicial system." read a recent e-mail to delegates signed by most committee members.
