Woodbury attorney disbarred after being convicted of swindling client
The Minnesota Supreme Court has banned Woodbury attorney Kristi McNeilly from practicing law in the state, three years after she was convicted of theft by swindle for stealing $15,000 from a man who hired her to defend him in a drug case.
The high court's opinion, rendered Wednesday, upheld a referee's decision, which found that McNeilly 'committed a criminal act that reflected negatively on her honesty and trustworthiness,' according to the opinion. 'She stole $15,000 from a client by telling the client that the money was needed to bribe government officials to dismiss pending drug charges.'
The referee recommended McNeilly, who waived her right to an evidentiary hearing, be disbarred, and the court agreed.
'Misappropriation of client funds 'is a breach of trust that reflects poorly on the entire legal profession and erodes the public's confidence in lawyers,'' the opinion states.
She also was ordered to pay $900 in costs related to the case, the court's opinion said.
McNeilly did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
McNeilly, a criminal defense attorney, was sentenced in Hennepin County District Court in 2022 to 180 days in the county workhouse after being convicted of theft-by-swindle two months prior. She also was ordered to pay back the $15,000 to her client.
She was hired in May 2018 to represent a 39-year-old Minnetonka man suspected of keeping illegal drugs in his home. The drugs were discovered during a search by the Southwest Hennepin Drug Taskforce, according to the criminal complaint. Although the man was a suspect, Her client was not immediately charged with a crime.
In November 2018, McNeilly told her client that she had spoken with the lead investigator and prosecuting attorney in his case, and that it could be resolved if her client made a payment of between $35,000 and $50,000 to a police union.
McNeilly's client was able to collect only $15,000, which he handed over to McNeilly. Three days later, her client changed his mind and asked McNeilly for his money back, but McNeilly said she already forwarded it to the police union, according to the complaint.
After McNeilly's client hired a new lawyer, police discovered that McNeilly had never been in contact with the lead investigator or the prosecutor, and that she spent a portion of her client's money on mortgage and credit-card payments, the complaint said.
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The director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility filed a petition for disciplinary action against McNeilly in connection with the case.
McNeilly, who was admitted to practice law in Minnesota in 2004, had twice been previously disciplined by the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility. She was publicly reprimanded and placed on probation for three years in 2015 and admonished in 2016, the opinion states.
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USA Today
09-05-2025
- USA Today
'Arboreal thuggery': Two men found guilty of cutting down beloved Sycamore Gap tree
'Arboreal thuggery': Two men found guilty of cutting down beloved Sycamore Gap tree Show Caption Hide Caption Arbor Day: What to know about the holiday celebrating trees Arbor Day began in Nebraska in the late 1800s. Here's everything you need to know about the holiday all about trees and nature. LONDON − A British court convicted two men of cutting down a tree in northern England that captivated hearts and minds and was made Hollywood-famous, in a "deliberate and mindless act of destruction." Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, were convicted May 9 of two counts of criminal damage for felling the so-called Sycamore Gap tree on Sept. 27, 2023. The tree majestically stood in a grassy beauty spot near an ancient wall built by Roman Emperor Hadrian almost 2,000 years ago. "The Sycamore Gap has been an iconic natural landmark in the North East of England, bringing immeasurable joy to those visiting the area," the Crown Prosecution Service, a national agency that works with police and courts to keep the public safe, said in a statement. "In just under three minutes, Graham and Carruthers ended its historic legacy." 'Princess Diana' moment: Why UK is heartbroken by a grisly murder whose victim was a tree For many, the Sycamore Gap tree was an icon of remembrance, making memories and marking time. The tree was planted in the late 1800s and estimated to be almost 200 years old when it was felled. It stood at the center of a pronounced dip in a landscape of rolling hills alongside Hadrian's Wall. The tree was a place for first kisses, marriage proposals, birthday celebrations and intimate ceremonies. It won Britain's National Tree of the Year competition in 2016 and its scenic location was a popular spot for hikers, photographers and stargazers. It featured in the 1991 movie, "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," starring the actors Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman. In the movie, a young boy is pursued by soldiers with dogs for stealing the Sheriff of Nottingham's − played by Alan Rickman − livestock to feed his starving family. The boy hides aloft in the Sycamore Gap tree's branches. His pursuers take out axes to cut down tree before he is saved by Robin of Loxley (Costner) and his trusted bodyguard, friend and adviser, Azeem (Freeman). A national treasure "This wasn't just a tree," said Sarah Dodd, a British lawyer who specializes in tree law. "It was a national treasure." Steve Blair is the manager of Twice Brewed Inn, a family-owned pub and hotel where walkers often gathered for a meal and cozy pint by the fire before making the picturesque one-mile walk to the tree. He said he knew "one gentleman who sprinkled his wife's ashes at the tree's base because it was such an important place for her." When the tree was felled, it landed near where her ashes were sprinkled. "He finds that really offensive, you know?" Graham and Carruthers, who denied cutting the tree down, will be sentenced on July 15. They were found guilty after an eight-day trial at Newcastle crown court. It took the jury five hours to reach unanimous verdicts. The judge in the case said they would face a lengthy jail sentence. The prosecutor, Richard Wright, described the crime as a "moronic mission" and the "arboreal equivalent of mindless thuggery."
USA Today
03-05-2025
- USA Today
'Princess Diana' moment: Why UK is heartbroken by a grisly murder whose victim was a tree
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The defendants in the case − Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, from Cumbria, England − pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal damage when their trial opened on April 28. The trial is expected to last two weeks. Judge Christina Lambert told jurors the case was about a single tree chopped down by a chainsaw. She said they would need to set aside any feelings they might have about the "Sycamore Gap" tree if they were familiar with it. The oldest tree in the world? Meet these hidden tree gems. But the Sycamore Gap tree was no ordinary plant enclosed in bark and shedding leaves in a country that Adam Cormack from the Woodland Trust, a conversation charity, says has more ancient trees than the rest of Europe combined; more than 200,000, according to the trust's Ancient Tree Inventory database. A separate estimate by the University of Nottingham and the Woodland Trust suggests that the actual number of ancient and veteran trees, defined as those older than 150 years in age, in England could be between 1.7 to 2.1 million. "It might be down to what trees symbolize for us," Cormack said. "Endurance, longevity, history, heritage − all of those things are pretty intrinsic to the British national identity. Those ideas may not be unique to Britain. But they are strong here. We're a small island. We're surrounded by history everywhere we go." For many, the Sycamore Gap tree was a landmark and icon of remembrance, making memories and marking time. The tree was planted in the late 1800s and estimated to be almost 200 years old when it was felled. It stood at the center of a pronounced dip in the landscape alongside Hadrian's Wall. It was a place for first kisses, marriage proposals, birthday celebrations and intimate ceremonies. The tree won Britain's National Tree of the Year competition in 2016 and its scenic location was a popular spot for hikers, photographers and stargazers. "I know one gentleman who sprinkled his wife's ashes at the tree's base because it was such an important place for her," said Steve Blair, the manager of Twice Brewed Inn, a family-owned pub and hotel where walkers often gathered for a meal and cozy pint by the fire before making the picturesque one-mile walk to the tree. "When Sycamore Gap was felled it landed near where her ashes were sprinkled. He finds that really offensive, you know?" 'Act of vandalism': See photos of 200-year-old Sycamore Gap tree chopped down in England The inn in rural Northumberland long ago adopted a silhouette of the Sycamore Gap tree as part of its logo. Blair said it's not yet clear how the tree's chopping down will ultimately impact his business. However, in a reflection of the tree's enduring popularity as a destination he has a world map on the wall that visitors can put a pin in so he can keep track of from where, and how far, they've traveled. Blair thinks there's probably a pin in every single country. "A lot of Europeans. Massive amounts of Americans and Canadians. Samoa, China − all over," he said. People love trees: Saving 'Stumpy': How residents in Washington scramble to save this one cherry tree Sycamore Gap: 'Prince' of trees Sycamore Gap tree was also Hollywood-famous. It featured in the 1991 movie, "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," starring the actors Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman. In the movie, a young boy is pursued by soldiers with dogs for stealing the Sheriff of Nottingham's − played by Alan Rickman − livestock to feed his starving family. The boy hides aloft in the Sycamore Gap tree's branches. His pursuers take out axes to cut down tree before he is saved by Robin of Loxley (Costner) and his trusted bodyguard, friend and adviser, Azeem (Freeman). The National Trust, a heritage and nature conservation organization that manages the land around the tree, says that when admirers visited it with their children they would often try to replicate the scene from the movie where the boy hides out under its stunning canopy. "This wasn't just a tree," said Sarah Dodd, a British lawyer who specializes in tree law. "It was a national treasure." Dodd said that cases involving trees do reach local courts fairly regularly. But those cases tend to involve disputes between neighbors or acts of petty vandalism. She said this one was different because a criminal prosecution was being brought by the Crown Prosecution Service, a national agency that works with police and courts to keep the public safe. Dodd described the Sycamore Tree gap investigation as "significant," with at least 15 witnesses, including from park rangers, and 40,000 pages of evidence. Arbor Day 2025: What to know about the holiday celebrating trees It also includes cellphone data and messages, a license plate number caught on CCTV, a "trophy" wedge taken from the Sycamore Gap tree that has been examined by a forensic botanist and the grainy video shown to jurors which shows a figure who appears to cut at the base of a large tree, which then falls over with a big crash. One of the men accused of chopping down the Sycamore Gap tree − Graham − told police he had been framed as part of a feud. The other − Carruthers − said he didn't know how to operate a chain saw. Dodd said that a criminal prosecution in Britain for cutting down a tree is extremely rare, as is the potential for any prison time for such an offense. If the pair are convicted, and receive the maximum penalty, they could face 10 years behind bars. She said the case was probably unprecedented from a legal standpoint and "pretty extraordinary." Sycamore Gap: 'Princess Diana' moment Edward Hope agreed with that characterization. He is a retired cop who has established a second career as a content creator on YouTube. Hope makes videos about the outdoors, politics and local history in and around Newcastle, a city in northern England that is about a 45-minute drive to the Sycamore Gap tree. He has been documenting the incident as well as following the court case. Sapling: White House replaces 200-year-old 'Jackson Magnolia' Hope said not everyone in Britain has been "shocked and outraged" by the tree's destruction. One of his recent videos titled, "Sycamore Gap Trial - Why It's NOT 'Just A Tree,'" alludes to that. Hope said comments on his videos are "roughly split" between those seething with anger over the felling and those who don't see what all the fuss is about and question whether a high-profile prosecution is a good use of taxpayer money. Hope isn't one of them. "When I woke up and heard about the Sycamore Gap tree I got the same feeling as when I heard that Princess Diana was killed in a traffic accident. Waking up to the news, my jaw hit the floor," he said, referring to when the British royal beloved by many was killed in car crash in a Paris underpass on August 31, 1997. Her death sparked an outpouring of public grief in Britain and around the world. Her funeral was watched by more than 2 billion people. Remembering Diana: What happened when millions of stiff upper lips trembled with grief Still, the Sycamore Gap tree was far from Britain's oldest tree. According to the Woodland Trust that is a yew tree named "Fortingall," believed to be 2,000 to 3,000 years old. It stands in a churchyard in Scotland. The Visit Scotland tourist board says it may even be as old as 9,000 years old, making it one of the oldest living things in all of Europe. A tree's attempted murder In recent weeks, another case of an ancient tree meeting an early end made headlines in Britain. The CEO of Toby Carvery, a pub and restaurant chain, apologized after a 500-year-old oak tree was cut down outside one of its restaurants in north London. The company said it mistakenly believed the felling was necessary to prevent an accident. But local authorities had described the tree as a "fine specimen" with centuries to live. Nor is Britain the only country to grapple with a bizarre murder case involving a tree. Logging: Trump's plan to cut down more trees faces a host of problems In May 1989, the attempted murder of a 500-year-old tree known as "Treaty Oak" in Austin, Texas, by a man named Paul Stedman Cullen gripped the nation and made worldwide news. Prosecutors argued that Cullen sought to poison the tree using a herbicide as part of an occult ritual to dampen his infatuation with his counselor at a drug clinic. Cullen was convicted of poisoning the tree and sentenced serve nine years in prison as well as pay a $1,000 fine. He served three of those years. When he was released, Cullen moved California. He died in 2001. The tree survived and today stands at the northeast corner of Baylor Street and 6th Street in Austin. Blair, the manager of the Twice Brewed Inn, said the logo for the business he manages would not be changing though the Sycamore Gap tree no longer exists. He said that when he visited the spot where the tree used to stand the last week of April he saw some small green shoots on the side of the stump that indicated it was still alive. He said he's not sure the Sycamore Gap tree will ever grow back to be the tree it once was, that if it does it will likely take several hundred years. Blair said he hopes visitors will still come to look at what used to be there. In terms of the legal case, he said the most important thing is to find out why anyone would chop down such a special tree.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Yahoo
Minnesota Supreme Court reverses woman's indecent exposure conviction
May 1—ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Supreme Court overturned the indecent exposure conviction of a woman who exposed her breasts in a Rochester gas station parking lot in 2021. The court's unanimous opinion, filed on Wednesday, April 30, determined that the state did not provide evidence to prove that Eloisa Rubi Plancarte "lewdly" exposed her body parts. Plancarte, of New Prague, was convicted in Olmsted County District Court of a misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure in December 2022. "Criminalizing the exposure of female — but not male — breasts does not provide Minnesotans with adequate notice as to the conduct the indecent exposure statute prohibits because a binary approach to breasts fails to recognize the more nuanced physical realities of human bodies, whether they are intersex, transgender, nonbinary, or breast cancer survivors," Associate Justice Sarah Hennesy wrote. "Would a transgender man be prohibited from exposing his chest?" Hennesy continued. "What about a transgender woman who has had top surgery? Where do the chests of intersex and nonbinary persons fit within this dichotomy? And how do we treat the exposed chest of a breast cancer survivor who has had a mastectomy?" The case stems from an incident on July 28, 2021 when a Rochester police officer responded to a call of a woman walking around a gas station parking lot with her breasts exposed, court documents said. Officers arrived and observed Plancarte walking around without her shirt on. When an officer asked Plancarte why she kept exposing herself, Plancarte told him she was a stripper. Plancarte was charged and convicted in Olmsted County with willfully and lewdly exposing her private parts in a public place. Plancarte argued the conviction violated her right to equal protection under the law when she appealed her case in 2023, which resulted in a divided opinion, according to court documents. The Minnesota Supreme Court was petitioned to review three issues: whether female breasts are "private parts," whether evidence proved Plancarte "lewdly" exposed her breasts, and whether the statute violates the federal and state guarantees of equal protection. In Hennesy's concurrence, she wrote that the state failed to prove that Plancarte "lewdly" exposed her breasts. Hennesy also determined that because breasts are not reproductive organs nor excretory organs," they are not "private parts." "Female breasts, on the other hand, are sexualized by societal stereotypes, and there is a great risk — an unacceptable risk, in my view — that any determination of whether their exposure constitutes 'conduct of a sexual nature' will be based on oversimplified beliefs or assumptions based on gender," the justice wrote. However, Hennesy wrote, local government entities can craft policies to limit the public exposure of breasts as long as the policies align with the constitution's due process and equal protection principles. Justice Karl Procaccini concurred with Hennesy. Justice Theodora Karin Gaïtas took no part in the opinion.
