By Lori EhdeRep. Doug Magnus (R-Slayton) appeared in Rock County District Court Monday on charges that he violated Minnesota’s Unfair Campaign Practices Act during last fall’s elections.Magnus, through his attorney, Bill Wetering, Worthington, asked that Judge Timothy Connell dismiss the charges for several reasons.In the first place, Wetering argued, Magnus didn’t violate the spirit and intent of the law. "Out of fairness, this matter should be dismissed as being outside the scope of the law," Wetering said.The charges stem from a postcard Magnus mailed on or about Nov. 2, 2002, just prior to the general elections, in which Magnus defeated DFL incumbent Ted Winter for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives.The postcard contained general information about Magnus and encouraged voters to support him in the upcoming election. It failed, however, to say who sent and paid for the solicitation, as is required by state law.The law is essentially designed to prevent candidates from publishing unfair information about their opponents under the guise of anonymity.Wetering argued in court Monday that the literature was about Magnus and was clearly sent by Magnus, even if it didn’t have the disclaimer.In that same vein, he said the material qualifies for an exemption the law allows for personal mail. Since the post cards contained information about Magnus and were sent first-class — not bulk-rate — "it could fall within that definition of personal mail," Wetering said.Finally, Wetering told Judge Connell that charges filed against Magnus should be dismissed because they were politically motivated.Four identical letters, signed by separate individuals in each of the four southwest Minnesota counties Magnus represents, were sent simultaneously to each respective county attorney office.Wetering said the four county attorneys should have considered the source of the complaint before deciding to prosecute. "We wish more discretion could have been given to this," Wetering said.Rock County Attorney Don Klosterbuer, who is prosecuting the case for District 22A, said it’s not unusual for complaints to arise during campaigns, but they’re usually dropped after elections.This one, he said, showed sufficient evidence to indicate a violation of the law, albeit a technical violation, and that’s why he and the three other county attorneys decided to prosecute."I’ve been in this business for only 27 years, but I’ve always been under the impression that dismissals were based on facts or law, not on the motivating factors of the people bringing the charges," he said.Klosterbuer said arguing for dismissal on grounds that the charges were politically motivated, is "embarrassing on the part of the defense."He said the law defines boundaries for political campaigns, and any violations will naturally be pointed out by opposing candidates."Who’s going to make these complaints that aren’t politically motivated?" he said. "These are always filed by people who have political differences of opinion."He said, judging by the previous mailings Magnus sent that year, he knew the requirements of the law, and this mailing in question clearly didn’t meet those parameters."The fact of the matter is the mailing clearly didn’t contain what the statute requires," Klosterbuer said.Connell said he’d take the matter under advisement and rule on it at a later date.The maximum penalty for the charge is a $1,000 fine, 90 days in jail or both.
