Minn. GOP Had No Idea Their Supreme Court Nominee Has DWI Case Pending

Article by: ABBY SIMONS , Star Tribune Updated: June 13, 2014 - 9:13 AM

Only a few knew about Supreme Court candidate Michelle MacDonald’s arrest.

Attorney Michelle MacDonald, the GOP’s endorsed candidate for the Minnesota Supreme Court, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and resisting arrest last year, and her case will head to trialthis fall, during the general election.

State Republican Party Chairman Keith Downey on Thursday said he was unaware of MacDonald’s 2013 arrest until notified by a Star Tribune reporter. The revelation comes less than two weeks after party delegates in Rochester endorsed MacDonald to run against Justice David Lillehaug.

“None of us, including the convention delegates, were aware of this information about the candidate,” Downey said. “She, of course, is innocent until proven guilty, but at the same time, the delegates did not have the full disclosure they should have.”

He declined to comment on whether the party would withdraw its endorsement. MacDonald, 52, who practices family law, maintains that she was not drinking the night she was pulled over by Rosemount police and is taking the case to trial.

A police report said she refused a field sobriety test and did not take other tests that could have determined her blood-alcohol level.

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