Court Opinion

ID: 9709555
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 03:50:53.609532+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:50.075104
License: Public Domain

PAUL H. ANDERSON
(concurring in part and dissenting in part),
I concur with most of the majority’s opinion, but dissent in part because of my colleagues’ conclusion that it is necessary to temporarily suspend the Kandiyohi County Attorney’s privilege to use Minn. R.Crim. P. 26.03, subd. 13(4). I do not believe that *486imposition of this sanction is necessary nor do I believe that it is a proper use of our power to impose any sanction at this point in time.
The majority is correct when it says that the Kandiyohi County Attorney’s repeated use of Rule 26 to target Judge Lindstrom for removal was a misuse of the rule and most assuredly violated the intent of the rule. Indeed, this misuse does strike “at the very heart of judicial independence, which is so essential in a free society.” As a co-equal branch of government, we have a mandate to be vigilant in our efforts to prevent the erosion of our independence. Today, we are exercising this vigilance by speaking loudly and clearly when we tell the County Attorney that his use of the rule is improper and that we will not tolerate any further misuse.
Whether a prosecutor is a municipal attorney, county attorney, federal district attorney, or special prosecutor, he or she is a “minister of justice” who has an obligation to seek justice rather than convictions at any price. See State v. Salitros, 499 N.W.2d 815, 817 (Minn.1993). When seeking justice, there is an obligation to follow the rules— both in letter and in spirit. The Kandiyohi County Attorney followed the letter of the rule and thus did not technically violate the rule, but he most assuredly misused it in a manner that violated its spirit and prejudiced the administration of justice. This was wrong and, as an officer of the court and a powerful elected official, he should have perceived that his use of the rule was wrong. But Rule 26 is a rule promulgated by our court. Therefore, if, as drafted, it is open to an interpretation that leads to this type of abuse, we bear some obligation to be tempered in our response when we first clarify the rule and define its proper use.
Prior to today, we have not had the opportunity to address the issue of whether use of the rule to target a particular judge is improper. Furthermore, the Kandiyohi County Attorney is not the first person to misuse the rule in this manner. I am aware of numerous other similar abuses of the rule. I do not know why these other instances of abuse did not come to us for review or why it took so long for the Kandiyohi County Attorney’s abuse of the rule to come before us. Nevertheless, we have now spoken on this issue. I have no doubt that, because we have now spoken, the abuse of the rule by the County Attorney will stop. The County Attorney will respect our ruling and in the future will follow the rule. It is wrong for us at this stage in the proceedings to impose a sanction either on the basis of past behavior or based on the assumption that the County Attorney will not follow the rule in the future. Rather, if the County Attorney should continue to misuse the rule, then that will be the proper time for us to use our power to impose sanctions.
For the above-stated reasons, I conclude that a six-month suspension is neither necessary nor warranted. I would reverse the lower courts and remand the two cases before us for hearing before Judge Lindstrom, subject only to the County Attorney’s right to remove for good cause. I would not temporarily suspend the County Attorney’s privilege to use Minn. R.Crim. P. 26.03, subd. 13(4).