Editor's note: The court proceedings for the 42-year-old Cass Lake woman charged in the death of a vacationer from Rochester last summer won't be over any time soon.
It could be months before the case of Laurine Marie Beaulieu goes to trial.
Beaulieu pleaded not guilty Dec. 17 to seven counts of crimes in an amended complaint including three counts of criminal vehicular homicide.
She is charged in the death of Paul P. Howard, 52, who died in a car-bicycle accident the morning of July 24 on Highway 71 near Itasca State Park.
At her last court appearance, public defender Paul Sellers asked Judge Robert Tiffany for a future date that will give him time to prepare for trial.
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Hubbard County Attorney Don Dearstyne estimated the trial could take five days.
Jurors will consider two matters: the criminal charges against Beaulieu and Dearstyne's arguments for an aggravated sentence.
Each count of criminal vehicular homicide carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail and/or a $20,000 fine.
The criminal vehicular homicide charges are described differently in the amended complaint.
The first alleges the defendant caused the death of a human being while operating a motor vehicle in a negligent manner while under the influence of alcohol and/or a controlled substance.
The second count adds the allegation that she failed to stop or remain at the scene of an accident resulting in...death.
The third, an additional count from the original complaint, alleges that while operating a motor vehicle in a negligent manner, she had a metabolite of cocaine, a Schedule II drug, in her body.
The additional charges are second degree DWI-Under Influence of a controlled substance, second degree DWI-with any amount of Schedule I or II controlled substance, driving after revocation and failure to produce proof of insurance.
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Beaulieu remains in custody on $100,000 bail.
