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Jul 9, 2007 6:32 pm US/Central
Rep. Olson To Use 'Battered Husband' Defense
Elk River, Minn. (AP) ―
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State Rep. Mark Olson was charged Nov. 14 following an argument with his wife at their home. (File)
Courtesy Sherburne County Sheriff's Dept.
State Rep. Mark Olson will claim that he was a "battered husband" in his domestic assault trial, his attorney told a judge on Monday.
"This is a case where there really is a battered husband defense," said defense attorney Jill Clark in court. She gave few specifics about the alleged abuse.
She said she would argue that an alleged assault last November came after Olson, 52, suffered more than two years of abuse at the hands of his wife, Heidi Olson.
Clark said that along with physical abuse, Heidi Olson also threatened to kill her husband on Nov. 7.
Olson was charged Nov. 14 following an argument with his wife at their home. He is accused of pushing her to the ground several times.
The Republican from Big Lake has pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor counts of domestic assault in Sherburne County District Court. Jury selection was expected to begin Tuesday.
Mark Olson is serving his eighth term in the Legislature. He was suspended from the Republican caucus after his arrest, but there have been no attempts to remove him from office, but House Republican leadership has suggested he should resign if convicted.
Also in court Monday, Clark challenged validity of comments that Olson made to police when he took responsibility for the incident. Clark said that because Olson's religious beliefs state he is head of the household, that he is responsible for things what went wrong in the home. Clark says Olson did not mean that he committed any wrongdoing.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
