REPORT OF THE CHIEF TRIAL COMMISSIONER
Three matters were referred to the Chief Trial Commissioner during the past year:
Brother Andrew J. Teigen, a member of Mankato Lodge No. 12 in Mankato, was expelled from all rights and privileges of Masonry for unMasonic conduct, following his guilty plea to a felony level charge of criminal sexual activity with a minor in Blue Earth County District Court on July 30, 2021. The recommendation of the Trial Commission was expulsion and said recommendation was approved and so ordered on December 26, 2023, by M. W. Brother Dayton L. Berg, Grand Master of Masons in Minnesota.
Worshipful Brother Steven Anderson, a member of North Star Lodge No. 23 in St. Cloud, was suspended for a period of three years on January 27, 2024, from all rights and privileges of Masonry for unMasonic conduct, because of his admitted misappropriation of lodge funds over a period of several months while serving as a lodge officer. The recommendation of the Trial Commission was suspension for three years and said recommendation was approved and so ordered by M. W. Dayton L. Berg, the Grand Master of Masons in Minnesota.
Brother David Hartman, a member and officer of Minnehaha Lodge No. 165 in Minneapolis, was ordered to be suspended from all rights and privileges of Masonry for a period of five years, following his guilty plea to a gross misdemeanor charge involving his act of moral turpitude in Hennepin County District Court on September 23, 2019. The recommendation of the Trial Commission was suspension for a period of five years and said recommendation was made on January 19, 2024, and approved and so ordered by M. W. Dayton L. Berg, the Grand Master of Masons in Minnesota. Brother Hartman has contested these decisions and has appealed his sentence to the Appeals and Grievances Committee. At the time of this report being written, no decision on the matter has come from the Appeals and Grievances Committee. But as Brother Hartman’s appeal was based on his misinterpretation of the Trial Commission process, it is anticipated that the decision of the Chief Trial Commissioner will be upheld. Brother Hartman also contested the five-year suspension and whether or not this is changed will depend on the Appeals and Grievances Committee and whether or not the Grand Master decides to make a change in the sentence.
Respectfully submitted,
Douglas J. Campbell,
Chief Trial Commissioner