Minneapolis remained on edge on Monday with the selection of the jury scheduled to begin at the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who pressed the knee to the back of George Floyd’s neck before his death while in custody last May.
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill ruled on Monday that the jury selection could proceed despite a pending petition from the state Supreme Court over the restitution of a third-degree murder charge.
On Friday, a panel of judges at the appeals court asked the judge to consider reinstating a third-degree murder charge that he rejected last fall. Prosecutor Matthew Frank on Monday formally asked Cahill to stop the jury selection process until after the Supreme Court makes a decision, citing concerns that the selected jurors may now be rejected if the minor charge is reinstated.
But Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, told the judge that he thought the jury’s selection could go on. Nelson said he would file an appeal with the Minnesota Supreme Court as soon as possible, no later than Tuesday. He technically has 30 days to file the petition, but Nelson said his goal was “not to cause delays”.
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On Monday morning, protesters marched peacefully through the streets on their way to the courthouse, where jury selection was due to begin after 9:00 am CT.
After violent riots and destruction that seized Minneapolis and several cities in the United States in the days following Floyd’s death on May 25, city and state officials prepared security measures months before Chauvin’s trial. Fences and barricades have been erected around the Hennepin County Government Center, as well as in various city police stations.
Several demonstrations across the city over the weekend remained peaceful, reported the Minneapolis Star Tribune, but one at George Floyd Square, at the intersection of E. 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, renamed to honor Floyd, became more intense. A 30-year-old man was shot dead in the area on Saturday night.
How the jury selection process works
The selection of the jury will end after the selection of 14 persons – 12 jurors who will deliberate the case and two alternates who will not be part of the deliberations, unless it is necessary. The process is estimated to take about three weeks and opening statements will begin on March 29, at the latest.
Jurors will be escorted to court daily and abducted during deliberations. Their names will be kept confidential until further court order.
Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, argued that the pre-trial publicity of the case and the subsequent violent unrest in Minneapolis would make it impossible to find an impartial jury in Hennepin County. But Judge Peter Cahill said in recent years that moving the trial would probably not solve the problem of a potentially contaminated jury pool because “no corner of the state of Minnesota” has been protected from pre-trial advertising.
Potential jurors – who must be at least 18 years old, American citizens and residents of Hennepin County – received questionnaires in December to determine how much they heard about the case and formed an opinion. In addition to biographical and demographic information, jurors were asked about previous contacts with the police, whether they protested against police brutality and whether they believe the justice system is fair.
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Some of the questions are specific, like how often a prospective juror watched a video of a spectator from Floyd’s prison or whether they carried a sign in a protest and what that sign said.
Unlike typical jury selection procedures, this group of juries will be questioned one by one, rather than in a group. The judge, defense attorney and prosecutors may ask questions. The defense can object to up to 15 potential jurors without giving a reason; prosecutors can block up to nine for no reason. The other side can oppose these so-called peremptory challenges if it believes that the only reason to disqualify a juror is race or gender.
Both sides can also argue to fire an unlimited number of jurors “for good reason”, which means that they must provide a reason why they believe the juror should not serve.
Two main questions: Did Chauvin’s actions cause Floyd’s death and were his actions reasonable?
Chauvin’s judgment must boil down to two main questions: did Chauvin’s actions cause Floyd’s death and were his actions reasonable?
The second-degree murder charge requires prosecutors to prove that Chauvin caused Floyd’s death while committing or attempting to commit a crime – in this case, third-degree assault. The wrongful death charge has a lower limit, requiring proof that Chauvin caused Floyd’s death through negligence that created an irrational risk, and knowingly took the chance to cause serious injury or death.
Exactly how Floyd died is becoming a major turning point in the trial.
Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, argues in court documents that Floyd probably died of the fentanyl he consumed, or a combination of fentanyl, methamphetamine and underlying health problems – not as a result of Chauvin’s knee in his neck.
But Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill wrote last fall that, for the second-degree murder charge, prosecutors need not prove that Chauvin was the sole cause of Floyd’s death – only that his conduct was a “factor.” substantial causal “.
An autopsy report by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, Dr. Andrew Baker, said that Floyd had no bruises on the back of his neck, the amount of fentanyl in his body was greater than in patients with chronic pain and that his lungs weighed two to three times as much. normal weight due to excess fluid, reported the Minneapolis Tribune. Floyd posthumously tested positive for COVID-19.
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The coroner considered death a homicide for “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating subjugation, restraint and compression of the neck”. Baker also cited “arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease” and drug use as “other significant conditions”.
Floyd’s family paid to perform a separate autopsy, which he considered asphyxiation as the cause of death.
Prosecutors, however, presented a list of previous cases in which Chauvin used bottlenecks or similar restrictions at work. Cahill decided that they can admit only one as evidence: a prison in 2017, in which Chauvin restrained a woman by placing her knee on her neck while she was lying on the floor.
Cahill also determined that prosecutors could tell jurors about a 2015 incident in which Chauvin saw other officers put a drunken suicide man in a recovery position after using a paralyzing weapon against him. Cahill said prosecutors could present this if they could show that Chauvin was present when a medical professional said the man could have died if the police had prolonged his detention.
Security preparations
Minneapolis and Hennepin county officials said they would spend at least $ 1 million to erect fences and other barricades before the trial against Chauvin.
Minneapolis officials estimated that $ 645,000 would be spent to protect the city’s five police districts, the City Hall and the Public Service Building. County officials said the initial cost to rent and install barriers around the Hennepin County Government Center is about $ 420,000.
“Some of our communities may find some of the environmental structures they see – barricades, barriers and fences – perhaps a little scary,” said Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo at a news conference last week. “But, as we have seen the events of January 6, this is the preventive tool that we must consider and examine.”
Arrandondo was referring to the US Capitol insurrection on January 6. Some members of the City Council and community groups criticized the security efforts and plans to bring in thousands of police and members of the National Guard, fearing that this would only increase tensions in the community.
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But others say they want city leaders to do everything they can to avoid a repeat of last year’s protests, which became violent after Floyd’s death. The unrest that started in Minneapolis has spread around the world and has led to a national race reckoning.
Hennepin County is using money from its facility services budget to cover costs. Minneapolis leaders hope to be able to use state aid to cover expenses, said city coordinator Mark Ruff.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.