# Washington County Attorney's Office *County prosecutor's office serving Washington County, Minnesota* The Washington County Attorney's Office is the [[county attorney]]'s prosecuting office for Washington County, [[Minnesota]]. The record assembled here places it in three dated matters. The first is the 2013 retrial of [[Nicole Beecroft]] in [[Washington County District Court]], held after the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]] reversed her first-degree murder conviction.[^1] The second is a December 2020 joint review of a St. Paul police shooting with the [[Minnesota Attorney General]].[^2] The third is the April 2021 referral of the charging decision in the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright.[^3] In the 2020 and 2021 matters, the office's work was described in the language of fairness. The Attorney General's 2020 release quotes Orput thanking the Attorney General for helping resolve the cases "in a transparent and fair manner".[^2] The 2021 referral was made, as reported, "to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest."[^3] In April 2021, while people gathered outside his home, the Washington County Attorney called himself "an honest broker" and said he would not "succumb to pressure like that." About six weeks later the case was handed off. A May 2021 release of the Attorney General's Office records the handoff.[^4] ## Who - The Washington County Attorney's Office prosecuted the Beecroft retrial in Washington County District Court. Judge John C. Hoffman entered the 2013 conviction.[^1] - The Minnesota Attorney General appointed Assistant Washington County Attorney Scott Haldeman a Special Assistant Attorney General for the December 2020 joint review.[^2] - Freeman referred the Wright charging decision to the Washington County Attorney's Office in April 2021. The referral followed a five-county practice.[^3] ## What - **Beecroft retrial.** In *State v. Beecroft*, 813 N.W.2d 814 (Minn. 2012), the Minnesota Supreme Court reversed a first-degree premeditated murder conviction and remanded for a new trial in the interests of justice.[^1] - The court based the reversal on emails that James C. [[Backstrom]] sent to [[Dakota County Medical Examiner]] Dr. Lindsey Thomas on September 16 and November 5, 2008. The emails concerned Dr. Susan Roe.[^1] - The court held that the emails were "substantial interference" with the defendant's right to present witnesses.[^1] - On retrial, prosecuted by the Washington County Attorney's Office, Beecroft was convicted of second-degree intentional murder, reduced from first-degree.[^1] - **St. Paul shooting review.** Ramsey County referred a November 28, 2020 St. Paul police shooting to the Attorney General under Minn. Stat. § 8.01. The Attorney General then announced a joint review with the Washington County Attorney's Office.[^2] - **Wright referral.** CBS Minnesota reported on April 12, 2021 that the office would make the charging decision in the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright.[^3] - **Handoff.** The Attorney General's Office issued a May 2021 release recording the handoff of the case from the Washington County Attorney.[^4] ## When - May 23, 2012: the Minnesota Supreme Court reversed the first-degree conviction in *State v. Beecroft*.[^1] - September 26, 2013: the retrial conviction was entered in Washington County District Court.[^1] - November 28, 2020: the St. Paul police shooting occurred. On December 4, 2020, the Attorney General announced the joint review.[^2] - April 12, 2021: the Wright referral to the office was reported.[^3] - April 2021: protests took place at the county attorney's home.[^4] - May 2021: the Attorney General's release recorded the handoff, about six weeks after the protests.[^4] ## Where - The Beecroft retrial was held in Washington County District Court.[^1] - In April 2021, between 150 and 200 people gathered for more than a week outside the Washington County Attorney's home in [[Stillwater]].[^4] ## How - The 2020 matter reached the office through a § 8.01 referral by Ramsey County to the Attorney General. The Attorney General paired that referral with a joint review and a Special Assistant Attorney General appointment from the Washington County office.[^2] - The 2021 matter reached the office through a referral under a five-county practice. The stated purpose of the practice was to avoid an appearance of conflict.[^3] ## In the at-issue record **Beecroft retrial.** The Minnesota Supreme Court reversed the first-degree conviction in 2012. It found that emails to the Dakota County Medical Examiner's office had interfered with the defense's witnesses. The Washington County Attorney's Office then took the retrial. On September 26, 2013, that retrial ended in a second-degree conviction rather than a first-degree one.[^1] **2021 referral handling.** The office accepted the Wright charging decision in April 2021 under a practice meant "to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest."[^3] That month, according to press coverage recorded in the project's at-issue file, the Washington County Attorney spoke to protesters on his lawn. He told them: "I choose not to. You know why? Because I'm an honest broker." Days later he told a reporter: "I'm not going to succumb to pressure like that. It's about the most unethical thing a guy could do." About six weeks later, the case was handed off, as recorded in the Attorney General's May 2021 release.[^4] The record shows the statements and the handoff. It does not establish the reasons for the handoff. ## Notes [^1]: Star Tribune, *Oakdale mom again found guilty of killing newborn baby* (Sept. 26, 2013) — establishes Beecroft's retrial in Washington County District Court, prosecuted by the Washington County Attorney's Office, which ended in a second-degree intentional murder conviction. The 2012 opinion, *State v. Beecroft*, 813 N.W.2d 814 (Minn. 2012), is quoted from the project's validated dossier; the opinion's own URL is not among this pack's allowed sources. https://www.startribune.com/oakdale-mom-again-found-guilty-of-killing-newborn-baby/225572212 [^2]: Minnesota Attorney General, *Press release on the Nov. 28, 2020 St. Paul police shooting* (Dec. 4, 2020) — establishes the Ramsey County referral under § 8.01, the joint review with the Washington County Attorney's Office, the appointment of Scott Haldeman as Special Assistant Attorney General, and the quoted Orput statement. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2020/12/04_PoliceShooting.asp [^3]: CBS Minnesota, *Washington County Attorney's Office Will Make Charging Decision In Fatal Police Shooting Of Daunte Wright* (Apr. 12, 2021) — establishes Freeman's referral and the five-county practice, stated as being "to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest". News source; the pack carries no primary source for this referral. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/washington-county-attorneys-office-will-make-charging-decision-in-fatal-police-shooting-of-daunte-wright/ [^4]: Minnesota Attorney General, *Release recording the handoff of the case* (May 2021) — establishes the official record of the handoff by the Washington County Attorney. The April 2021 protest figures and the doorstep quotations come from Minnesota Reformer and Star Tribune coverage recorded in the project's at-issue file; those articles' URLs are not in this pack. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2021/05/21_Potter.asp