MINOT — Sarah Kyte is a North Dakota attorney who is running against incumbent Judge Theodore Sandberg in the Northeast Central Judicial District.

According to a filing in a Minnesota disciplinary proceeding, Supreme Court Referee Richard Perkins has recommended that Kyte's law license be indefinitely suspended for a minimum of 60 days due to extensive professional misconduct. The court has not yet acted on the recommendation.

"Respondent has committed professional misconduct by violating seven (7) Rules of professional conduct. Respondent’s violations cover many of the most fundamental aspects of being a lawyer — being honest with the court and others, providing competent representation, respecting the rights of others, and having a good faith reasonable belief in and basis for arguments, motions, and discovery requests," Richard Perkins, the referee, wrote in his recommendation. "Moreover, these violations do not represent a 'brief lapse in judgment.' Rather, throughout this matter, including at the hearing in this case, Respondent has repeated her false statements and argued that her conduct was proper."

The recommendation must now be approved by Minnesota's Supreme Court.

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Among the accusations of misconduct against Kyte is that she altered a public police report using a black marker to conceal material information regarding a witness’s mental health. The complaints against Kyte allege this redacted version was submitted to the court to protect the witness's credibility and falsely bolster Kyte's own arguments, which the court found to be dishonest and misleading. Kyte also repeatedly made knowingly false statements to the court, the complaints allege, accusing an opposing attorney of fraud, lying, tampering with a witness and initiating a false police report.

Perkins concluded that Kyte maintained these claims even after being provided with official evidence to the contrary.

Further, Perkins claims Kyte served a facially invalid subpoena to a third-party mediator, attempting to force the disclosure of confidential and legally protected mediation information.

Perkins also writes that Kyte was copied on and tied to multiple intimidating emails sent by her husband to noticed witnesses threatening legal action if they testified.

"Respondent’s misconduct includes filing a misleading document with the court and making repeated false statements, often against fellow legal professionals," Perkins wrote. "As discussed above, Respondent’s misconduct delayed the underlying proceeding and burdened the court, parties, and third parties. Respondent’s misconduct also necessitated the filing of several motions seeking relief from her improper discovery, subpoenas, and motions, most of which were granted."

Perkins is recommending that "Kyte be indefinitely suspended from the practice of law in the State of Minnesota with no right to petition for reinstatement for a minimum period of sixty (60) days from the effective date of the suspension." She must further pay $900 in costs, plus disbursements, and notify her clients, opposing counsel and tribunals of her suspension.

Kyte and Sandberg will be appearing on the June primary ballot. Since that's a nonpartisan race, the two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the November general election. Since there are only two candidates in that race, both Kyte and Sandberg will advance.

It's not clear what, if any, impact disciplinary action in Minnesota would have on Kyte's eligibility for judicial office in North Dakota. State law says a judicial candidate must hold a valid certificate of admission to the North Dakota state bar and maintain an active annual license from the State Board of Law Examiners.

Under North Dakota's Rules for Lawyer Discipline (specifically Rule 4.4), an attorney who is disciplined in another jurisdiction is legally required to promptly inform the North Dakota Disciplinary Board of the out-of-state discipline. Even if the attorney fails to report it, the disciplinary agency in the practicing state routinely notifies national databases and neighboring state bars.

If Kyte is disciplined in Minnesota, North Dakota would initiate a similar proceeding, giving Kyte an opportunity to argue why her North Dakota license shouldn't also be suspended. If North Dakota did suspend her license, it would seem she would fall short of the requirement that she have an active license to be eligible.

Would she be eligible to appear on the ballot while her license is suspended? I'm not sure current law addresses that question.

"The referee’s findings and conclusions are not conclusive. The final determination shall be up the Minnesota Supreme Court," Kyte told me when I reached her for comment.

She also argued that, if the court upholds the recommendation, it wouldn't impact her eligibility. "A 60-day suspension would not prohibit me from being elected as judge," she said.

I correspondence prior to the recommendation being filed, Kyte said she has done nothing wrong.

"Our judicial system is only as good as each and every single judge on the bench. I want to ensure this type of egregious and unethical conduct does not occur in the future," she said, alleging misconduct by the judge in the case from which this disciplinary matter arose. "If I am elected judge, I would not condone or cover up unethical conduct of anyone, including attorneys. Attorneys need to be held accountable for their actions as do judges."

"Whatever the final result is, the most important thing to me is that I can look myself in the mirror knowing I was always honest and was not afraid to call out the unethical conduct of others," she continued.

She also denied a claim that she had requested that the Minnesota disciplinary proceeding against her be kept confidential or delayed until after the election. "I am well aware that these proceedings are public record, and in fact, I welcome press attention to the matter. I even informed the referee that I had no objection to the presence of media during the proceedings," she said.

When asked whether a suspension of her Minnesota law license would impact her eligibility as a judicial candidate in North Dakota, Kyte said the question was premature as, at that time, no recommendation about a suspension had been made.

Sandberg declined to comment on the matter.

"The Judicial Canons preclude me commenting on any pending disciplinary matter, so I must respectfully decline the invitation to comment," he said.

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The Dickinson Press

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