While the jury selection continued for a third day on Thursday at the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, a judge was dismissed by the court with just cause after explaining that she could not “deflect” what she described as the “traumatizing” viewer video showing a knee pressed to George Floyd’s neck – and stating that the turmoil after his death was necessary to advance the BLM movement.
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill dismissed the woman identified as “juror # 37”, expressing doubts that she could assume that Chauvin is innocent until proven guilty. At the end of Wednesday, five jurors – out of a total of 14 wanted – were seated, and the interrogation continues on Thursday.
“I’m going to focus on an issue that is the presumption of innocence,” said Cahill, addressing “Jury # 37”. “Do you think you could do that – presume he is innocent when you go to court?”
“I would not like that verdict,” she said, before the judge interposed: “So, if I were ‘innocent’.”
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Cahill honestly thanked the woman and dismissed her. Addressing the defense and prosecutors after she left, the judge explained: “When I finally gave her the space to say, how do you feel, you think you are sitting here now and it has to be now, not later , can you presume that the defendant is innocent? She answered unequivocally, no. “
In an earlier line of questioning conducted by Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, the woman reiterated that she wrote a long paragraph in her questionnaire to jurors that she believed Chauvin had a “hateful expression on his face” when he pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck in the viewer video that went viral online last May.
In this video image, defense attorney Eric Nelson, on the left, and the defendant, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, on the right, hear Judge Peter Cahill of Hennepin County during the pre-trial motions, before continue jury selection at the Chauvin trial, Thursday, March 11, 2021, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn. Chauvin is charged on May 25, 2020, death of George Floyd. (Court TV / Pool via Pool)
She said in the questionnaire that she had a neutral opinion of Floyd because she didn’t know him personally, but she saw media reports from relatives saying he was a “good guy”. Before filling out the questionnaire, the woman said she watched footage from the police body camera showing Chauvin and Floyd’s interactions on May 25, 2020 about three or four times – but she was only able to see the viral video from the beginning. to the end due to its strong emotional response.
“The one where you can hear him crying out for his mother,” she said. “I was only able to watch this once.”
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The judge wrote in the questionnaire that she cried while watching the video. As the viewer’s video is sent as evidence in the case, Nelson pointed out that anyone on the jury would need to watch the video again.
The judge wrote in the questionnaire that her community was negatively and positively affected.
“I mean negatively affected because a life was taken – positively affected because it became a movement and the whole world knows it,” she told the court, explaining the answer.
Nelson pressed to see if she considered the damage to property that occurred during the disturbances after Floyd’s death to be a negative impact.
“I feel that this was what needed to happen for this to be brought to the attention of the world and this was what needed to happen,” she said.
Nelson read the next question in the questionnaire that asked: “No matter what you saw or heard about this case and no matter what opinions you may have formed, you can put it all aside and decide this case based on the evidence you receive. in court, follow the law and decide the case fairly and impartially? ”
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The woman wrote, “Yes, I can be fair and follow the law, but I can’t see this video.”
“This is what I am asking you to do, it is to look into your heart and mind, can you assure us unequivocally that you can put all of this aside? All of this and focus only on the evidence presented in this court?” Nelson asked.
“I can assure you,” she replied. “But, as you mentioned before, the video will be a big part of the evidence and there is no way to change my opinion about it.”
In this image taken from the video, Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill speaks during the pre-trial motions, before continuing the jury selection at the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, Thursday, March 11, 2021, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn. Chauvin is charged on May 25, 2020, death of George Floyd. (Court TV / Pool via AP)
After the judge’s resignation, State Special Prosecutor Steven Schleicher objected to the fact that the court moved to dismiss her with just cause, arguing that she said she could put her opinions aside in the case and if the defense wanted to use its peremptory contests to remove it, they could have.
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Nelson said the defense made a motion because of “several misconceptions” made by the judge about his ability to be impartial in terms of how the video impacted her emotionally. Cahill granted the motion and dismissed it with just cause on the question of the presumption of innocence.
“I recognize that this judge said she could put aside her opinions,” said Nelson. “However, whenever pressed even by the state, she had a lot of difficulty, a very difficult time to recognize that she could apply the presumption of innocence because of her showing the video. And then it would essentially be that she had already invented it in mind. . “