Accused Floyd killer seeks retrial
Print Edition
The defense attorney for the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of killing George Floyd has requested a new trial, saying the court abused its discretion, and he wants a hearing to have the verdict impeached because of what he says is jury misconduct, according to a court document filed on Tuesday.
Derek Chauvin, who is white, was convicted last month of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of Floyd. Evidence at trial showed Chauvin pressed his knee against Floyd鈥檚 neck for nine and a half minutes as the black man said he couldn鈥檛 breathe and went motionless.
Defense attorney Eric Nelson said he is requesting a new trial in the interests of justice. He said there were abuses of discretion that deprived Chauvin of a fair trial, prosecutorial and jury misconduct and that the verdict was contrary to law.
A request for a new trial is routine following a guilty verdict and often mirrors issues that will be raised on appeal, said Mike Brandt, a Minneapolis defense attorney who has been closely following the case.
If this request is denied, it can add another layer of decisions for Nelson to appeal. Brandt and others have said Chauvin鈥檚 convictions are unlikely to be overturned.
Nelson cited many reasons in his request for a new trial. He said Judge Peter Cahill abused the discretion of the court and violated Chauvin鈥檚 right to due process and a fair trial when he denied Nelson鈥檚 request to move the trial to another county due to pretrial publicity.
He also said Cahill abused his discretion when he denied an earlier request for a new trial based on publicity during the proceedings, which Nelson said threatened the fairness of the trial.
Nelson said that publicity included 鈥渋ntimidation鈥 of the defense expert witness, which he said could have a 鈥渇ar-reaching chilling effect鈥 on the ability of defendants to get expert witnesses in high-profile cases, including the upcoming cases of the three other former officers charged in Floyd鈥檚 death.
鈥淭he publicity here was so pervasive and so prejudicial before and during this trial that it amounted to a structural defect in the proceedings,鈥 the defense attorney wrote.
He also took issue with Cahill鈥檚 refusal to sequester the jury for the trial or warn them to avoid all media, and with his refusal to allow a man who was with Floyd at the time of his arrest to testify.
Nelson said Cahill abused his discretion when he submitted jury instructions that Nelson said failed to accurately reflect the law on the murder charges and use of force, permitted the state to present cumulative evidence on use of force, and ordered the state to lead witnesses on direct examination.
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