Date: August 20, 2025
Event: On August 14, 2025, Assistant Attorney General Matt Mason filed a notice of appearance in Strickland v. Ramsey County, et al, representing referees Clysdale, Larmouth, Rossow, Elsmore, and court administrator Nicole Rueger in the federal civil rights case.
The Attorney General’s appearance came less than 24 hours after Defendant Kyle Manderfeld submitted a letter requesting a continuance on Plaintiff’s behalf without consent, followed by a memorandum invoking collateral estoppel — a legal theory not previously raised in the case.
Also within that same 48-hour window, the Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board issued a determination letter that:
Though Mason later confirmed that he had never spoken directly with Manderfeld, he did not address whether other attorneys within the Attorney General’s Office had. Given the sequence of events, Plaintiff has publicly raised concerns about strategic alignment between the AG’s office, Manderfeld, and the LPRB.
This alignment is especially problematic given that Mason now represents several defendants accused of procedural misconduct in the very system now attempting to retroactively justify those actions through aggressive defense strategies.