The jury selection began Tuesday at Derek Chauvin’s high-level trial – despite an ongoing legal dispute over the possible reinstatement of a third-degree murder charge against the former Minneapolis police officer.
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill made an unusual decision on Tuesday to pursue the 44-year-old’s trial, worrying prosecutors who argued this week that the prosecution before the third-degree charge was decided by a court of appeal could result in the Chauvin case. being played.
Chauvin, one of four police officers accused of his involvement in the death of George Floyd, currently faces two charges, second-degree murder and second-degree murder, in his trial at Hennepin County District Court. The former police officer is accused of violently arresting Floyd over a counterfeit $ 20 bill on May 25 and kneeling on the neck of the unarmed black man for more than eight minutes. He faces up to 40 years in prison.
On Monday, Cahill delayed the jury selection process, which is expected to take about three weeks, after the Minnesota Court of Appeals said on Friday that the third-degree murder charge against Chauvin should be reconsidered. Cahill, who ruled against the third-degree charge last year, said he would like to hear the appeals court’s decision on whether the new charge should be added to Chauvin’s case.
Chauvin’s defense attorney Eric Nelson previously said he intends to appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court if the third-degree murder charge is reinstated.
Prosecutors argued on Monday that the jury selection should be postponed until the appeal is resolved, arguing that jurors need clarity about the charges that Chauvin will face at the trial. They also want to wait for the appeals court to determine whether the trial can proceed before bringing dozens of potential jurors to the court.
But Monday’s delay did not last long, with the selection board resuming on Tuesday morning by Cahill.
“This court will have jurors for a trial for which we do not yet know what the exact charges will be,” said Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank, the lead prosecutor in the case, on Monday. “Our position is that, while this appeal is pending, the court has no authority to hear the issues that are involved in the trial.”
Prosecutors fear that the decision to move on before the appeals court’s decision has the case fully dismissed. They fear that while the appeals court waits to rule on the third-degree charge, the case is not in Cahill’s jurisdiction.
“[Chauvin] he is effectively in a ‘face I win, crown you lose’ situation, “prosecutors said in Monday’s motion, adding that the former police officer” can take chances at the trial … and if he is convicted, now he can also claim that he is entitled to a reversal because the District Court had no jurisdiction at a crucial point in the trial. “
“The District Court correctly recognized that it lacks jurisdiction even to hear arguments about [Chauvin’s] alternative theories against including a third-degree murder charge, let alone decide on that issue, ”adds the motion. “The District Court mistakenly believes, however, that it can select jurors who will ultimately judge that same charge.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, the appeals court had yet to render its decision.
“We are not trying to delay this case,” said Frank on Tuesday. “We want to try it the right way and we can only try it once.”
Despite prosecutors’ calls for a postponement, Cahill called the first group of potential jurors on Tuesday, telling them that additional charges could be added to the high-profile case.
“I will continue until they tell me to stop,” said Cahill.
On Tuesday afternoon, three of the 12 jurors needed for the trial were chosen – a young chemist who said he had “somewhat favorable” views on the Black Lives Matter movement and a woman from northern Minnesota who said she was a ” friend the kind of person who flows, open-minded. The third juror, who was seated shortly before Cahill closed the court for the day, is a financial auditor who has a friend in the Minneapolis Police Department, but says he does not have a favorable opinion of the “Blue Lives Matter” movement.
“I consider myself a very logical person … I trust the facts and the logic and what is before me. Opinion and facts are important distinctions for me, ”said the first juror, who is white, in court on Tuesday.
It is not yet clear whether there will be another delay in the jury selection process, as the issue of the prosecution of third-degree murder is reaching the courts. Nelson agreed with Cahill’s decision on Tuesday to continue with the jury selection while he appeals.
“We are prepared to judge this case. It is not our intention to cause delays. However, I have an ethical obligation to my client, ”Nelson said in court on Monday.
Jonathan Smith, executive director of the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, said it was unusual to see the third-degree murder charge brought up a few days before the trial began, but he is not surprised that Cahill has moved the trial. front.
He hopes, however, that Cahill’s decision will trigger some kind of delay in starting the opening arguments.
“We will know the answer to the third-degree murder charge before we start the discussions. That’s all that matters, ”he said. “These are the same facts and the accusations are closely related. Essentially, the new charge allows for a lower level of intention requirement. So, I believe that we will move on. There will be an appeal, no matter what happens in this case, so it doesn’t matter. “
Smith noted that the prosecutor’s decision to press for the third-degree murder charge so close to the trial is worrying.
“They don’t want to prove a higher level of intention. Something clearly scared them, ”he said, adding that it would be a“ real blow to them ”if this logistical flaw is not resolved quickly.
“Usually you want to go to trial showing real strength. And to me, it looks like there was a change in strategy at the last minute, ”he added.
Smith believes that one of the reasons for this insistence on delay is the concern that they will not be able to show the level of intention required that Chauvin wanted Floyd to harm – which could cost them the trial that will be watched around the world. He added, however, that regardless of this prolonged appeal decision, the defense will argue for a mistral “more than half a dozen times anyway”.
“I think their biggest challenge will not be the decision on the third-degree murder charge – it will be finding a jury in Hennepin that can be fair, given the press and demonstrations over the summer and everything.”