Michael O. Freeman

Michael Orville Freeman (born May 7, 1948) is an American attorney and politician serving as the county attorney for Hennepin County.[1]

Michael O. Freeman
County Attorney of Hennepin County
Assumed office
January 3, 2007
Preceded byAmy Klobuchar
In office
1991–1999
Preceded byTom Johnson
Succeeded byAmy Klobuchar
Member of the Minnesota Senate
from the 40th district
In office
1983–1991
Succeeded byPhil Riveness
Personal details
Born
Michael Orville Freeman

(1948-05-07) May 7, 1948
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Children5
ParentsOrville Freeman
Jane Shields
Alma materRutgers University (BA)
University of Minnesota (JD)
OccupationAttorney, politician

Early life and education

Freeman received a Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University in 1970 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1974.[2] He is the son of Jane Shields and Orville Freeman, who was a Minnesota governor and Secretary of Agriculture under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.[3]

Career

A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, Freeman was elected to the Minnesota Senate in 1982, representing the old District 40, which included the city of Richfield and a portion of Bloomington in Hennepin County. He was re-elected in 1986, serving as Majority Whip during his second term (19871991). He was also vice chair of the Finance Committee from 1987 to 1991, and of the Economic Development and Commerce Committee from 1983 to 1986. He also chaired the Economic Development Subcommittee from 1983 to 1986.[2]

Freeman was elected Hennepin County Attorney in 1990, serving until 1999. He again ran for and was elected county attorney by a wide margin in 2006, after incumbent Amy Klobuchar opted to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mark Dayton.[1]

Freeman ran twice for governor of Minnesota. In 1994 he lost the DFL Party endorsement to John Marty. Marty was later defeated in the general election by incumbent Governor Arne Carlson. In 1998 he won the DFL Party endorsement but lost the primary election to Skip Humphrey, who went on to lose the general election to Jesse Ventura.[1]

In 2019, Freeman took a short leave of absence to enter a treatment program for alcohol addiction.[4]

As County Attorney, Freeman has notably dealt with several police brutality cases. Freeman filed charges against Mohamed Noor for the shooting of Justine Damond,[5] but declined to charge the officers involved in the shooting of Jamar Clark[6] or the shooting of Thurman Blevins.[7] In 2020, Freeman filed charges similar to Noor's against officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd.[8] In the wake of the George Floyd killing, a group launched a petition drive to have Freeman recalled.[9] On September 11, 2020, Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill banned Freeman and three of his staffers from working on the case against the former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd’s death. The ruling related to a meeting some staff lawyers had with the Hennepin County medical examiner, a likely witness in the case, which allegedly violated the rules of professional conduct for attorneys.[10]

See also

References

  1. "Minnesota Legislators Past & Present - Legislator Record - Freeman, Michael O". Leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 22, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Stout, David (February 22, 2003). "Orville Freeman, 84, Dies - 60's Agriculture Secretary - Obituary; Biography". NYTimes.com. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  4. "Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman to enter alcohol treatment". Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  5. Furber, Matt; Smith, Mitch (March 20, 2018). "Minneapolis Officer Charged With Murder in Australian Woman's Death". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  6. "No Charges in Hennepin County for 2 Minneapolis Officers in Jamar Clark Shooting". KSTP. March 30, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  7. "What we know about the decision not to charge two MPD officers for killing Thurman Blevins. And where things go from here". MinnPost. July 31, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  8. "Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman faces new challenge in case against former Minneapolis police officer". Star Tribune. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  9. "George Floyd's family applauds charges against four fired Minneapolis officers". Star Tribune. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  10. "Judge disqualifies Mike Freeman's office for 'sloppy' work in George Floyd case". Star Tribune. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
Party political offices
Preceded by
John Marty
Endorsed Gubernatorial Candidate,
Minnesota DFL State Convention

1998
Succeeded by
Roger Moe
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.