Federal lawsuit against Minnesota Public Defender's Office to reveal systemic misconduct and illegal collusion between prosecutors and public defenders
By Timothy Charles Holmseth on August 19, 2018 at 10:45 P.M. CST
Have you ever found yourself five minutes before trial - listening to your public defender tell you he is the prosecutor's daughter's "god-father" as he is pressuring you into pleading no-contest?
I have.
Keep reading.
There is a federal lawsuit being prepared against the Minnesota Public Defender's Office that details allegations of serious corruption by attorneys. The lawsuit details the misconduct of (former public defender) Michael LaCoursiere (now the Red Lake County Prosecutor), Attorney Bruce Ringstrom, and Attorney Gretchen Handy.
LaCoursiere, Ringstrom, and Handy were all attorneys assigned to represent Timothy Charles Holmseth after he was arrested for violating an Injunction issued out of Broward County, Florida.
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| Micheal LaCoursiere | Bruce Ringstrom | Gretchen Handy |
LaCoursiere, Ringstrom, and Handy all have something else in common.
They all refused to argue to the Minnesota court that a domestic violence injunction issued by a court in Florida against Holmseth, regarding a person Holmseth NEVER MET, violates the First Amendment.
However... attorney's that are NOT part of the Minnesota Public Defender's Office all say the court order should have never existed and should been immediately challenged.
One of those attorneys, Steven S. Biss, a trial attorney in the Washington D.C. area said the "whole proceeding violates the First Amendment". Biss is representing Holmseth in a multi-million dollar lawsuit filed in the Eastern Distirct of Virginia.
Biss said no matter how one looks at the Florida order to try to justify it being issued against Holmseth it is always "the wrong answer".
In 2011, Broward County Judge Michael Kaplan issued an 'Injunction For Protection Against Repeat Violence' (Florida Family Law) against Holmseth that said:
THE RESPONDENT SHALL NOT MAKE ANY DIRECT OR INDIRECT REFERENCE ABOUT THE PETITIONER ON THE INTERNET OR BY USE OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION. THE RESPONDENT SHALL REMOVE ALL BOOKS, WRITINGS, VIDEOS, PHOTOS, RECORDINGS, AND/OR MATERIALS CURRENTLY PUBLISHED ON THE INTERNET ABOUT THE PETITIONER FORTWITH.
Holmseth, a former award winning news reporter, conducted several hours of recorded interviews with the petitioner and her husband (two time convicted felon - federal fraud) who proactively telephoned and emailed Holmseth, regarding a national profile kidnapping case - Holmseth only knew the petitioner in the scope of a media relationship.
The Florida order goes so far that it says Holmseth cannot even 'indirectly refer' to the petitioner using "electronic communications" which would include telephone, email, text, fax, etc.
"It's unconstitutional - Tim, it's so broad it would prohibit you from talking to me, " Biss said.
Holmseth was arrested in February of 2018 for publishing already-published court records that according to East Grand Forks City Attorney Ronald Galstad, violates the Florida order.
Holmseth's present attorney, Gretchen Handy, did not plan to make any motion to dismiss the charges until Holmseth began publishing about the matter. Some five months after being assigned to Holmseth's case, Handy caved and told Holmseth she and her supervisor Kip Fontaine had come up with a motion to dismiss based upon 'lack of jurisdiction. However - Handy would not pursue the First Amendment issue.
Holmseth was arrested for violating the same order in 2011 and was represented by Michael LaCoursiere. A few minutes before trial, LaCoursiere revealed to Holmseth he was the god-father to the prosecutor's (Ronald Galstad) daughter, Rachael Galstad, and lied to Holmseth about material facts as he coerced him into pleading no contest.
Bruce Ringstrom replaced LaCoursiere and also refused to address the Constitional issue on behalf of Holmseth. Ringstrom simply acted as a go-between, and convinced Holmseth to agree to drop his BAR complaint agaisnt Galstad, on the condition Galstad give Holmseth back his computer, which the State seized and kept for over four months despite nothing illegal being on the computer.
The Broward order has been used to silence Holmseth, an FBI witness, regarding evidence Holmseth obtained about child pornography of a missing child named HaLeigh Cummings and fake adoptions of infants and children through the U.S. Embassy in New York.
The next court hearing is scheduled for August 31 in Polk County, Minnesota when Holmseth will show the Judge his federal lawsuit has been filed - whereupon Handy will dismiss herself.
Defendaants in Holmseth's federal defamation suit, which was filed in May, are being served.