MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A juror candidate who lived in the neighborhood where George Floyd was arrested told the lawyer of a former officer accused of Floyd’s death that he had a personal reason for wanting to be on the jury.
“Because I, as a black man, you see a lot of black people being killed and no one responsible for it, and you wonder why or what the decisions were,” said judge 76 under questioning during the jury selection in Derek Chauvin murder trial. “So, with that, maybe I’ll come into the room to find out why.”
But the man will not be in the room. Although he said he felt he could weigh the evidence fairly, he was hit by the defense. It was an illustration of how difficult it can be for people who say they have personal experience with police misconduct to be on the jury that holds them accountable.
“We have a black man who was probably in the best position to judge the case being excluded,” said Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer and head of a community activism organization called the Wayfinder Foundation.
The man said he suffers from racism on a daily basis and strongly agrees that the police are more likely to respond strongly against blacks than against whites. Levy Armstrong called the jury’s exclusion “a big slap in the face” that “just underscores why people believe there is systemic racism at work in these lawsuits”.
The selection of the jury in the Chauvin case is almost complete, with 12 of the 14 necessary judges selected by Thursday. So far, the racial composition of the jury is divided equally; six of the jurors are white, four are black and two are multiracial, according to the court.
Floyd he was pronounced dead last May after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against the black man’s neck for about nine minutes while he was facedown on the floor and handcuffed. Floyd pleaded for air several times and was finally quiet.
But local activists like Levy Armstrong say police brutality was rampant long before Floyd’s death.
Judge 76 – they are being summoned to court only by number to protect anonymity – said Minneapolis police “were walking around the neighborhood with ‘Another bites the dust’” after a local resident was shot or arrested.
Levy Armstrong said that such a context would be essential for the group of 12 people who will decide Chauvin’s fate. Local activists noted that several selected jurors have relationships with police officers and asked themselves: Why can’t a black man who has had negative experiences with the police be included in the jury?
Nelson used one of his peremptory attacks fire the man after trying and failing to get him beaten “for cause” – citing his negative opinion of the Minneapolis police and his claims that Floyd was “murdered”.
Prosecutors argued against the strike for a cause, saying the man was simply reflecting on the reality of his experience, and pointed out that he said he could put his personal feelings aside.
Nelson’s peremptory attack, which was not contested, required no explanation. Lawyers cannot attack a juror based on race.
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill said he did not think a dispute would have worked in this case, citing the man’s negative statements about the Minneapolis Police Department.
But he noted that the man’s statements also showed that he could be fair.
“My inference from what he said is, ‘I can put it aside and, if he is not guilty, I can reach that verdict because I feel comfortable telling people why it happened,'” said Cahill, adding that ” would correct it in the middle, as much as fair and impartial. “
Alan Turkheimer, a Chicago-based jury consultant, said he was not surprised that the defense would try to keep someone who experienced police brutality outside the jury.
“Sometimes people just can’t be fair, even if they don’t know it,” he said. “It is so ingrained. It’s so hard to shake something like that. “
He added that questioning – and ultimately impressing – potential jurors based on their experiences provides a “built-in advantage for law enforcement officers”.
During racial justice rallies this week, many turned their attention to systemic racism within the justice system and how juries are selected, said Jaylani Hussein, a local activist and executive director of the Minnesota section of the Council on American-Islamic Relations .
“It is a horrible and racist thought process: we have to prevent people who may be angry – you know the black man or the angry black woman – from being on the jury because they are not going to take it seriously,” he said.
For the judge, the idea of being part of the formation of Chauvin’s verdict was something that he considered a matter of weight. He said he avoided watching in-depth news coverage of Floyd’s death, even avoiding the issue with his wife.
“I didn’t form an opinion about Mr. Chauvin because I didn’t know him,” said the juror. “It’s sad. It’s another black man being murdered at the hands of the police. That’s all I could say.”
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Groves reported from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
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Find full AP coverage of George Floyd’s death at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd