# August 7, 2025 *Date on which Mary Moriarty announced that she would not seek a second term as Hennepin County Attorney.* August 7, 2025 is the date on which [[Mary Moriarty]], Hennepin County's [[county attorney]], announced that she would not seek a second term.[^1] She had held the office since January 2, 2023, and her term ends January 4, 2027.[^1] The announcement falls within a dated sequence. On April 28, 2025, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office put into effect a written plea-negotiation policy that lists a defendant's "racial identity" among the matters a proposed resolution should consider.[^2] On May 5, 2025, the United States Department of Justice opened a civil rights investigation into that policy, announced in release [[DOJ 25-469]].[^3] The Department closed the investigation on February 26–27, 2026, after the office amended the policy.[^4] The record establishes the order of these events. It does not establish why the announcement was made. ## Who - **Mary Moriarty** made the August 7, 2025 announcement. She is a 1989 law graduate of the [[University of Minnesota]], served as Hennepin County Chief Public Defender from 2014 to 2021, and has been County Attorney since January 2, 2023, with a term ending January 4, 2027.[^1] - **Harmeet K. Dhillon**, Assistant Attorney General, was quoted in the Department's May 5, 2025 release opening the investigation.[^3] As reported, she signed the February 2026 letter closing it.[^4] - **Daniel Borgertpoepping**, spokesman for the County Attorney's Office, called the investigation a "stunt" after it was closed.[^5] - **Successors:** [[Cedrick Frazier]] and Anders Folk advanced from the [[August 11, 2026 nonpartisan primary]] to the [[November 3, 2026]] general election for the office Moriarty will vacate.[^6] ## What The office's [[Negotiations Policy]] for Cases Involving Adult Defendants, effective April 28, 2025, provides: "While racial identity and age are not appropriate grounds for departures, proposed resolutions should consider the person charged as a whole person, including their racial identity and age."[^2] Moriarty defended the policy as reported: "This policy does not instruct our prosecutors to treat someone differently because of their race."[^7] The Department's May 5, 2025 release states that the County Attorney "recently adopted a policy requiring her prosecutors to consider 'racial identity' during prosecutorial decision making." The release quotes Dhillon: "It is unconstitutional and morally abhorrent to make different prosecutorial decisions based on a person's race."[^3] On February 26–27, 2026, the Department closed the investigation after the office amended the policy. The amendment replaced the racial-identity instruction with a direction that prosecutors "be aware of and actively seek to eliminate bias, including race-based bias."[^4] Fox 9 reported that Dhillon's closure letter stated that the Department "appreciate[s] that HCAO now has corrected a policy that clearly violated the Constitution." The letter added that "Closure of our investigation does not foreclose the remedies that private parties may seek against HCAO."[^4] The office's spokesman called the investigation a "stunt."[^5] The documents show a dated order of outputs: 1. The policy text named racial identity as a consideration.[^2] 2. The County Attorney said the policy did not direct different treatment by race.[^7] 3. A federal investigation was opened.[^3] 4. The policy was amended.[^4] 5. The investigation was closed.[^4] ## When - **April 28, 2025:** The Hennepin County Attorney's Office put its Negotiations Policy for Cases Involving Adult Defendants into effect.[^2] - **May 5, 2025:** The Department of Justice announced its civil rights investigation of the policy (release 25-469).[^3] - **August 7, 2025:** Moriarty announced that she would not seek a second term.[^1] - **February 26–27, 2026:** The Department closed the investigation after the office amended the policy.[^4] - **August 11, 2026:** In the nonpartisan primary to succeed Moriarty, Cedrick Frazier and Anders Folk advanced to the November 3, 2026 general election.[^6] - **January 4, 2027:** Moriarty's term ends.[^1] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue record carries one pair dated August 7, 2025: [[At issue 079 - Mary Moriarty announced on August 7, 2025 that]]. The pair places Moriarty's announcement after the opening of the federal investigation (three months earlier) and before its closure (about six months later).[^3][^4] It records this relation as sequence, not causation. The pair names as its anchor the White House presidential action *Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity* (January 2025).[^8] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Mary Moriarty* — education, service as Chief Public Defender 2014–2021, County Attorney since January 2, 2023, term ending January 4, 2027; announced August 7, 2025 that she would not seek a second term. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Moriarty [^2]: Hennepin County Attorney's Office, *Negotiations Policy for Cases Involving Adult Defendants* (effective April 28, 2025) — policy text as filed, including the "racial identity and age" provision. https://kstp.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Negotiation-Policy-for-Cases-Involving-Adult-Defendants.pdf [^3]: U.S. Department of Justice, *U.S. Department of Justice Announces Civil Rights Investigation into the Consideration of Race in Prosecutorial Decision making by Minnesota's Hennepin County* (May 5, 2025, release 25-469) — opening of the investigation; the Department's description of the policy; statement of AAG Harmeet K. Dhillon. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-department-justice-announces-civil-rights-investigation-consideration-race-prosecutorial [^4]: Fox 9, *Feds drop investigation into race-based Hennepin County policy* (February 27, 2026) — closure of the investigation after the policy was amended; the amended language; quotations from Dhillon's closure letter. https://www.fox9.com/news/feds-drop-investigation-race-based-hennepin-county-policy-feb-27 [^5]: Hoodline, *Hennepin County responds after DOJ drops civil rights probe* (February 2026) — HCAO spokesman Daniel Borgertpoepping called the investigation a "stunt." https://hoodline.com/2026/02/hennepin-county-torches-feds-after-doj-drops-civil-rights-probe/ [^6]: Wikipedia, *2026 Hennepin County Attorney election* — Cedrick Frazier and Anders Folk advanced from the August 11, 2026 nonpartisan primary to the November 3, 2026 general election. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Hennepin_County_Attorney_election [^7]: Minnesota Lawyer, *Hennepin race-based plea policy* (May 2, 2025) — reporting on the policy and Moriarty's statement in its defense. https://minnlawyer.com/2025/05/02/hennepin-race-based-plea-policy/ [^8]: The White House, *Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity* (presidential action, January 2025) — the federal instrument named as the at-issue pair's anchor. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/