Update: This story was updated Dec. 13, 2024, to include a comment from Judge Eric Schieferdecker shared with KAXE after this story published.
A state board found reasonable cause to believe a district judge committed misconduct in his interactions with newly elected state Rep. Bidal Duran Jr. while Duran worked as a sheriff's deputy.
The Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards investigated a complaint filed by Duran against Judge Eric Schieferdecker, who presided over a felony drug possession case in which Duran was seeking a search warrant last year.
The Bemidji Republican worked as a Hubbard County deputy and a member of the Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force at the time of the arrests.
In filing a second application for a search warrant of the defendants’ cellphones, Duran revealed the existence of a confidential informant connected to the case, who was not mentioned in his first application.
This prompted Schieferdecker to deny the request and to revoke the limited search warrant he’d already granted. The judge further admonished Duran in a memo where he accused Duran of lying to the court and referred to his conduct as "insidious."
"Based on the omitted information Agent Duran had at the time of submitting the First Affidavit and the extent to which the omissions intentionally or recklessly mischaracterized the truth, the Court is concerned with the truthfulness of Agent Duran and whether there are additional material omissions in the Second Affidavit," stated Schieferdecker's order denying the search warrant.
Schieferdecker is benched in Clearwater County and was first appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton in 2014. His current term expires in 2029. He did not return a request for comment regarding the complaint or misconduct finding before this story published Monday, Dec. 9, but a spokesperson with the Minnesota Judicial Branch forwarded a statement attributed to the judge on Tuesday.
It states Scheiferdecker received guidance from the judicial standards board in making a statement and he is ethically limited to the following response:
"The BJS proceedings do not, and cannot, change the rulings I made concerning Bidal Duran. Search warrant information must be provided to judges under oath and in writing. I offered the prosecution a hearing where Mr. Duran could testify under oath. The prosecutors declined to request a hearing and dismissed the charges against two defendants for possession of more than 100 grams of methamphetamine."
Schieferdecker's ruling prompted an internal investigation into Duran at the time, which ultimately resulted in a conclusion that Duran's alleged policy violations in Hubbard County were unfounded. The report was completed by an investigator in another agency — Sgt. Andrew Bachmann of the Becker County Sheriff's Office. It found that although some interviewed said Duran was sometimes difficult to work with or somewhat lazy in his approach to search warrant applications, he did not appear to be intentionally lying in the case.
"I do feel as though more communication throughout this case, particularly Bidal being given the opportunity to speak with Judge Schieferdecker in person or over the phone and being given the opportunity to explain the case in its entirety would have possibly helped clear up any confusion and would have helped establish clear questions and answers both by Judge Schieferdecker and Bidal," the report stated.
" ... It is Bachmann’s opinion that Bidal is seen as an honest, trustworthy cop, and a person who would not intentionally lie and conducted himself in an appropriate way as it relates to this investigation."
The matter also became an issue in the race between Duran and DFLer Reed Olson, who both sought to represent District 2A in northwestern Minnesota, and it was covered in a story by The Minnesota Reformer.
Reached by phone Thursday, Dec. 5, Duran said he's glad the justice system allowed him the opportunity to show he was telling the truth.
"This was a huge impact on my life," Duran said. "For the last I don’t know how many months I’ve been called a liar, for the last how many months everybody believed I lied to a judge, and it was very hard for people to believe that."
Duran said as he heads down to St. Paul, residents of his district can have confidence in his word, and the experience reminds him to keep an open mind to different sides of a story.
"I’m never going to tell you a lie. I’m always gonna tell you the truth," he said. "So I hope with this being said, people are going to open up their eyes to this, that I am the person I said I was going to be, an honest person."
In the complaint against Schieferdecker — which Duran shared with KAXE — questions are raised surrounding the judge's conduct with law enforcement officials more broadly, with Duran claiming other officers have struggled with communicating with the judge. He noted the impact of the order and memo on his own career, pointing to defense attorneys using the information to attack his credibility in other cases.
“Judge Schieferdecker is known to degrade peace officers who may call him to request a warrant application submission,” Duran wrote. “Many have expressed anxiety and being visibly and physically traumatized before and after entering his courtroom or before calling him.”
Meanwhile, Duran said he was pushed to seek the search warrants in the case by the Hubbard County Attorney's Office and was given assurances he was proceeding in the correct fashion.
"Judge's orders matter and have a significant impact on law enforcement," Duran's complaint stated. “I have a long history of ethical behavior, and I will not stand by and allow Judge Schieferdecker to take that away from me.
"Everyone I have spoken with states that nothing will happen to Judge Schieferdecker and that he is untouchable. I think this is concerning because judges are the ones that hold people accountable for their actions."
The judicial standards board entered into an agreement with Schieferdecker to take unspecified corrective action. The letter informing Duran of the action also did not name the specific conduct by the judge the board is seeking to correct. If Schieferdecker complies with the terms, in two years the board will issue a letter of caution, which is non-disciplinary and advises the judge on future conduct.
In a Friday response to a request for more information from the board, a staff attorney noted it will not confirm or deny the existence of a complaint or private discipline involving state court judges, based on district court rules.
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