# Nicole Beecroft *Subject profile: a person named in court records, in that capacity only.* Nicole Beecroft was the defendant in *State v. Beecroft*, 813 N.W.2d 814 (Minn. 2012). On May 23, 2012, the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]] reversed her first-degree premeditated murder conviction and remanded for a new trial in the interests of justice. The court found that a prosecutor's emails had produced "substantial interference" with her right to present witnesses.[^1] Her retrial was heard in [[Washington County District Court]] and prosecuted by the [[Washington County Attorney's Office]].[^2] On September 26, 2013, Judge John C. Hoffman found her guilty of second-degree intentional murder, a reduction from first-degree. The mandatory life sentence attached to the earlier first-degree conviction did not follow the second-degree verdict.[^2][^4] The same emails had been adjudicated before the reversal. On June 23, 2009, the Minnesota Supreme Court publicly reprimanded the prosecutor who sent them, James C. [[Backstrom]], after he admitted the allegations.[^3] The project's at-issue record catalogues the sequence as entry AI-Dakota-003: discipline in 2009, reversal in 2012, and a retrial handled by another county's prosecutors.[^4] ## Who - **Nicole Beecroft**: defendant in *State v. Beecroft*. Her first-degree premeditated murder conviction was reversed in 2012, and she was convicted of second-degree intentional murder on retrial in 2013.[^1][^2] - **James C. Backstrom**: the prosecutor whose emails the Supreme Court addressed. He was respondent in *In re Petition for Disciplinary Action against James C. Backstrom*, No. A09-861.[^3] The project files his office under its Dakota County package.[^4] - **Dr. Lindsey Thomas**: the [[Dakota County Medical Examiner]] to whom Backstrom's email was addressed.[^5] - **Dr. Susan Roe**: a defense consulting expert who severed ties with Beecroft's defense team mid-trial. Dr. Ophoven, whose first name the pack does not give, is the second expert named in the court's holding.[^5][^1] - **Judge John C. Hoffman**: the judge who convicted Beecroft on retrial on September 26, 2013.[^2] ## What The Supreme Court's 2012 decision rested on three findings: - The emails created a situation in which "it would be too risky to Dr. Roe's and Dr. Ophoven's professional careers for them to testify."[^1] - That situation amounted to "substantial interference" with the defendant's right to present witnesses.[^1] - "Multiple state actors participated in a widespread, pervasive violation of a statutory and constitutional mandate."[^1] The remedy was a new trial in the interests of justice.[^1] ## When - **June 23, 2009**: The Minnesota Supreme Court publicly reprimanded Backstrom for violating Minn. R. Prof. Conduct 8.4(d) and ordered $900 in costs. He waived his procedural rights and admitted the allegations.[^3] - **May 23, 2012**: In *State v. Beecroft*, the court reversed the first-degree premeditated murder conviction and remanded for a new trial.[^1] - **September 26, 2013**: Beecroft was convicted on retrial of second-degree intentional murder, reduced from first-degree.[^2] ## Where The retrial took place in Washington County District Court, and the Washington County Attorney's Office prosecuted it.[^2] The dossier records that Backstrom's email was sent during a Washington County murder trial.[^5] The at-issue entry describes the case as having "left the county entirely."[^4] The pack does not state which office prosecuted the first trial or where that trial was held.[^5][^4] ## Why The court gave its basis for reversal as the emails' effect on the defense's ability to call expert witnesses.[^1] The record shows the court's stated reason. It does not establish the reasons behind the prosecutor's conduct. On retrial, Judge Hoffman reduced the verdict to second-degree. He found that Beecroft "reacted in a panic mode as a result of being a scared, immature and unsupported young girl."[^2] ## How Backstrom's email to Dr. Thomas made three points:[^5] - He wrote that he was "disturbed that a Deputy County Coroner in our community is testifying as a defense expert in prosecutions." - He called that testimony a "conflict of interest." - He threatened to withdraw support for her appointment as [[medical examiner]] unless she barred her subordinates from defense work. The email was sent mid-trial, and defense consulting expert Dr. Roe then severed ties with Beecroft's team.[^5] In the 2009 disciplinary matter, Backstrom admitted the allegations about this conduct.[^3] ## In the at-issue record Entry AI-Dakota-003 has the following catalogue details:[^4] - **Rank and section**: ranked 3 in the project's Dakota package, under the section *I. The Apex — What the Office Did While Its Holder Described It*. - **Sources**: two, a court opinion and a news report. - **Tags**: venue change; Washington County; second-degree; "remedy-was-removal." The entry lists as its anchor a March 2026 White House presidential action, *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud*.[^6] The pack contains no document connecting that order's subject to the Beecroft case.[^4] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota Supreme Court, *State v. Beecroft*, 813 N.W.2d 814 (Minn. 2012) (May 23, 2012) — reversal of first-degree premeditated murder conviction, remand for new trial in the interests of justice, and the quoted holdings. Pack source: Backstrom_Apex_Dossier_2026-09-02.md §IV (validated); the opinion's URLs are not in the pack's allowed list. [^2]: Washington County District Court, retrial verdict (September 26, 2013) — second-degree intentional murder conviction by Judge John C. Hoffman, reduced from first-degree, and the quoted finding; as recorded from a news report. Pack source: Backstrom_Apex_Dossier_2026-09-02.md §IV (validated); the report's URL is not in the pack's allowed list. [^3]: Minnesota Supreme Court, *In re Petition for Disciplinary Action against James C. Backstrom*, No. A09-861 (June 23, 2009) — public reprimand under Minn. R. Prof. Conduct 8.4(d), $900 costs, waiver of procedural rights and admission of the allegations. Pack source: Backstrom_Apex_Dossier_2026-09-02.md §IV (validated); the order's URL is not in the pack's allowed list. [^4]: Minnesota wiki project, *At-issue entry AI-Dakota-003* (dated 2013-09-26) — catalogue entry, rank, section, tags, and the description of the venue change and the mandatory life sentence. Source: Backstrom_Apex_Dossier_2026-09-02.md §IV. [^5]: Minnesota wiki project, *Backstrom Apex Dossier* §IV (2026-09-02, validated) — content of Backstrom's email to Dr. Lindsey Thomas, its timing during a Washington County murder trial, and Dr. Roe's withdrawal from the defense team. [^6]: The White House, *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (March 2026) — the presidential action listed as the anchor of entry AI-Dakota-003. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/establishing-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/