Derek Chauvin trial: the appeals court orders the court to reconsider the motion for third-degree murder charges against Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd

Derek Chauvin trial: the appeals court orders the court to reconsider the motion for third-degree murder charges against Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd

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The jury’s choice at the Chauvin trial on charges of second degree unintentional murder and wrongful death begins Monday. He had been charged with murder in the third degree, but the charge was dismissed by a judge in October.

The former officer pleaded not guilty. It is unclear what impact, if any, the decision could have on the trial’s start date.

Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, declined to comment to CNN about the appellate court’s decision.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a motion last month asking a district judge to reinstate the third-degree murder charge, alleging that a recent appeal decision in the sentence of another former Minneapolis police officer, Mohamed Noor, “is precedent and now provides this Court with clear guidance on the elements of third-degree murder.”

The appellate court judge, Michelle Larkin, wrote that the district court “erred in concluding that it was not subject to the principles of law established in the Noor and denying the state’s motion to reinstate the third-degree murder charge based on that. ”

“Therefore, we have reversed the district court order and ordered the district court to reconsider the state’s motion to reinstate the third-degree murder charge in light of the previous opinion of this court in Noor,” wrote Larkin to the panel of three judges.

In a statement to CNN, Ellison said: “We believe that the Court of Appeals has ruled this matter correctly. We believe that the third-degree murder charge, in addition to manslaughter and willful crime, reflects the seriousness of the charges against Mr. Chauvin. “

Under Minnesota law, the maximum sentence for second-degree murder is 40 years and for third-degree murder is 25 years.
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In October, Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill dropped the third-degree murder charge against Chauvin, ruling that the charge “can only be sustained in situations where the defendant’s actions were ’eminently dangerous. to other people ‘and were not specifically addressed to the particular person whose death occurred. “

The evidence presented by the state does not show that Chauvin’s actions were “eminently dangerous” for anyone other than Floyd, the decision said.

Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died on May 25 after Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly eight minutes while Floyd told Chauvin and three other officers that he was unable to breathe.

These three former officers – Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao – are accused of assisting and encouraging second-degree murder and assisting and complicity in wrongful death.

They are due to be tried this summer. All four former officers are on bail.

Noor was sentenced in June 2019 by Judge Kathryn Quaintance to 12 ½ years in prison for the fatal shooting of a woman while answering her 911 call.

He was convicted of third-degree murder and wrongful death in the death of Justine Ruszczyk.

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