UPDATE: SENTENCED 22.5 yrs! Trial of Derek Chauvin (Justice for George Floyd) Update: + 20 yrs federal!

playahaitian

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Judge dismisses third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin in the police killing of George Floyd, though charges still remain

On Thursday, a Hennepin County judge dismissed the charge against Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer captured on video pressing his knee against Floyd's neck. The former police officer still faces charges of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for the May 25 death of Floyd, which sparked nationwide protests over police brutality this summer.




UPDATE:



 
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power lord

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
No no no no no this is not the state problem this is the judge problem
the district attorney is who is Prosecuting the case usually fucks it up because they work hand-in-hand the police officers these are the guys that they do cases with these other guys that find their evidence . I hope I am wrong this time.
 

easy_b

Look into my eyes you are getting sleepy!!!
BGOL Investor
the district attorney is who is Prosecuting the case usually fucks it up because they work hand-in-hand the police officers these are the guys that they do cases with these other guys that find their evidence . I hope I am wrong this time.
Wait oh shit I fucked up its the district attorney who’s handling this not the state attorney oh shit let’s see where this goes
 

ZuluSam

Rising Star
Platinum Member
I don’t like this but at least they kept murder to which is the most serious......the state is going to do a good job the problem is the damn jury.
Judge is slick. 3rd degree probably fits, so he dismisses it, knowing they won’t convict him on higher charge, thereby insuring the worse that happens is a conviction on the smallest charge.
 

jagu

Rising Star
Platinum Member
It appears that the judge is a complete idiot after reading his dumb interpretation of the law. He should be disbarred.
 

gene cisco

Not A BGOL Eunuch
BGOL Investor
I don’t like this but at least they kept murder to which is the most serious......the state is going to do a good job the problem is the damn jury.
Wait. What? :confused: ... :hmm:..:roflmao2: The same state that is in bed with the cops. The prosecutors on all levels who work with the pigs. You mean THAT state?
 

lightbright

Master Pussy Poster
BGOL Investor
The trial of Derek Chauvin begins this month in the death of George Floyd. Here's what to know.

Minneapolis is gearing up for this month's trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged in George Floyd's death, which led to nationwide protests and calls for an end to police brutality last summer.

On May 25, Chauvin was seen on video kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd cried out that he couldn't breathe. Floyd, who was accused of using a a counterfeit $20 bill, was handcuffed and pinned to the ground by three officers during the arrest. Chauvin continued to press his knee into Floyd's neck minutes after he became nonresponsive as bystanders repeatedly asked officers to check for a pulse.

Chauvin and three other officers were fired a day after Floyd's death and were charged the following week.

Floyd's name became a rallying cry as protests spread to more than 1,700 cities and towns in all 50 states and around the world.

In Minneapolis, thousands of protesters demanded the officers be held accountable and called for police reform. Though many demonstrations were peaceful, businesses were looted on several nights, and a police station was burned.

Last month, city officials began solidifying security plans and establishing a security perimeter around City Hall, nearby buildings and the courthouse where jury selection will begin Monday. Streets will be closed, businesses will be boarded up and National Guard troops and hundreds of law enforcement officers will be in place in anticipation of potential unrest during the trial, set to begin March 29.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the trial will probably increase trauma for many, especially as the verdict draws near, and safety will be a top priority.

“We believe it is on us to honor the magnitude of this moment and ensure that our families in this city feel safe,” Frey said.

Here's everything you need to know about the trial of Derek Chauvin:

When the Derek Chauvin trial starts
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday. The prosecution and defense are set to start opening statements March 29.

Chauvin's charges

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In May, Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, but he may face additional charges. A Minnesota appeals court ruled Friday that third-degree murder charges should be reinstated against Chauvin.

That count was dismissed in October by Judge Peter Cahill, who said that charge would apply only if a defendant put multiple people in danger and someone died. (According to Minnesota law, third-degree murder involves "perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind.")

The three other former officers involved – Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao – are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter. They are scheduled for trial together in August.

Chauvin posted a $1 million bond in October and was released from state prison.

Chauvin also faces a federal investigation and civil suit
This is not the only time Chauvin may face legal repercussions related to Floyd's death.

The Department of Justice launched an investigation in May into whether Chauvin and the other officers violated Floyd's civil rights. Last week, new witnesses were called and a new grand jury was empaneled in that investigation, according to the Star Tribune and The New York Times.

Attorneys representing Floyd's family filed a civil lawsuit in July in federal court against Chauvin, the other officers and the city of Minneapolis. The lawsuit claims that the officers used excessive force and violated Floyd's constitutional rights and that the city is liable because it failed to properly train the officers.

George Floyd is not alone:'I can’t breathe' uttered by dozens in fatal police holds across US

'He'll never see her grow up':George Floyd mourned by children, family, friends and strangers

How to watch the trial
Chauvin’s trial will be broadcast on Court TV, which will be the only network with cameras in the courtroom.

Visual and audio recordings are not typically allowed in Minnesota courtrooms without authorization from a judge. Cahill upheld his decision to livestream the trial in December because of immense global interest in the case and limited courthouse space.

Two members of the media will be allowed in the courtroom. The USA TODAY Network is sending a team of journalists who you can follow on Twitter for updates as the trial begins: Tami Abdollah, Eric Ferkenhoff, Trevor Hughes, Clairissa Baker and N'dea Yancey-Bragg.

Where is the trial?
The trial will be held in the Hennepin County Government Center Courts Tower in downtown Minneapolis. The building, which has been the site of multiple demonstrations, is surrounded with barbed wire and concrete barriers.

Chauvin will be tried separately to adhere to physical social distancing restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, according to an order from Cahill.

Only those with approved credentials will be allowed inside the courtroom, including one member of the Floyd and Chauvin families, according to an order Cahill issued Monday.

"This has been a deeply painful and emotional year for every member of the Floyd family, many of whom intended to be in the courtroom to witness this trial," family attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci said in a statement Tuesday. "While they understand the judge's reasons to limit attendance in the courtroom, the family is understandably disappointed by this ruling."

07a0b9a9-c3db-472e-a2d2-a7e1d2efb615-AFP_AFP_94867D.jpg
Layers of barbed wire fence and razor wire were built in front of Hennepin County Government Headquarters in Minneapolis. THe security measures were being increased before jury selection begins at the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in George Floyd's death.

What protests are planned?
More than a dozen activist groups, including Black Lives Matter Minnesota and Communities United Against Police Brutality, plan a demonstration outside the courthouse Monday, starting at 8:30 a.m. CST, KARE 11 reported.

"The people demand justice for all stolen lives. Convict all killer cops," the coalition said in a statement. "Derek Chauvin represents what is wrong with police in Minneapolis and in this country, and now is the time to demand due justice for George Floyd and set the precedent in seeking justice for every stolen life."

The George Floyd Global Memorial will hold a gathering with faith leaders at George Floyd Square at 8 a.m. CST, ending in a candlelight vigil at 6 p.m., some of which will be livestreamed, according to the group's website.

How did we get here? A timeline of events leading up to nationwide outcry after George Floyd's death




CONTINUED:
Derek Chauvin trial: What to know George Floyd death, charges, cop (usatoday.com)
 
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lightbright

Master Pussy Poster
BGOL Investor
3rd-degree murder count could be reinstated in George Floyd's death

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota -- The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Friday ordered a judge to reconsider adding a third-degree murder charge against a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd's death, handing a potential victory to prosecutors, but setting up a possible delay to a trial set to start next week.

A three-judge panel said Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill erred last fall when he rejected a prosecution motion to reinstate the third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin. The panel said Cahill should have followed the precedent set by the appeals court last month when it affirmed the third-degree murder conviction of former officer Mohamed Noor in the 2017 shooting death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond. The unarmed Australian woman had called 911 to report a possible sexual assault.

The appeals court sent the case back to Cahill for a ruling consistent with its ruling in the Noor case, giving the judge some leeway to consider other arguments that the defense might make against reinstating the charge.

"This court's precedential opinion in Noor became binding authority on the date it was filed. The district court therefore erred by concluding that it was not bound by the principles of law set forth in Noor and by denying the state's motion to reinstate the charge of third-degree murder on that basis," the appeals court wrote.

It was not immediately clear if Friday's ruling would force a delay in jury selection for Chauvin's case, which is due to start Monday. He's currently charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. Prosecutors did not immediately return a message seeking comment on whether they would seek a delay. Chauvin's attorney had no comment.

Chauvin has the option of appealing the ruling to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which would force Cahill to delay the trial, said Ted Sampsell-Jones, a criminal law expert at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law. But if Chauvin decides not to appeal, the professor added, "then Judge Cahill will almost certainly reinstate the third-degree charge."

And if Chauvin decides not to appeal, Sampsell-Jones said, Cahill could still begin jury selection Monday, then decide in the next three weeks - before opening arguments - whether to reinstate the charge.


A reinstated third-degree murder count could increase the prosecution's odds of getting a murder conviction.

"We believe the Court of Appeals decided this matter correctly," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement. "We believe the charge of 3rd-degree murder, in addition to manslaughter and felony murder, reflects the gravity of the allegations against Mr. Chauvin. Adding this charge is an important step forward in the path toward justice. We look forward to presenting all charges to the jury in Hennepin County."

Floyd, who was Black, died May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee on Floyd's neck while he was handcuffed and pleading that he couldn't breathe. In the wake of his death, civil unrest spiraled into violence locally. Protests spread worldwide and forced a painful reckoning on racial justice in the U.S.

With tensions growing over the looming trial, authorities have already surrounded the courthouse and nearby buildings in downtown Minneapolis with tall barriers of chain-link fencing and razor wire in case protests anticipated before, during and after the trial turn violent.

Cahill ruled last October that third-degree murder under Minnesota law requires proof that someone's conduct was "eminently dangerous to others," plural, not just to Floyd. Cahill said there was no evidence that Chauvin endangered anyone else and threw out the charge. But the Court of Appeals rejected similar legal reasoning in Noor's case, ruling that a third-degree murder conviction can be sustained even if the action that caused a victim's death was directed at just one person.


The appeals court rejected the argument by Chauvin's attorney that the Noor ruling shouldn't have the force of law unless and until it's affirmed by the Minnesota Supreme Court, which will hear oral arguments in Noor's appeal in June. Cahill used similar reasoning last month when he rejected the state's initial motion to restore the third-degree murder count, prompting prosecutors to ask the Court of Appeals to intervene.

OCT. 2020: Judge lets Derek Chauvin, ex-cop charged in George Floyd's death, live out of state after posting bond

Three other former officers - Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao - are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter. They're scheduled for trial in August. Prosecutors want to add charges of aiding and abetting third-degree murder against them, but that question will be resolved later.

3rd-degree murder count could be reinstated against former officer Derek Chauvin in George Floyd's death - ABC11 Raleigh-Durham
 

lightbright

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BGOL Investor

The key question for jury selectors in the George Floyd trial



George Floyd's brother speaks out ahead of Chauvin murder trial 02:22

(CNN)Jury selection is one of the most difficult -- and crucial -- steps in any criminal trial. A veteran defense lawyer once told me, "Jury selection isn't just the most important thing; it's everything. As soon as the jury is chosen, the case is decided."

That process of choosing a jury is especially complicated in high-profile cases that have received wide media attention. And few if any trials in recent memory have been, and will be, the focus of a brighter spotlight than the trials of the four former Minneapolis police officers who are charged with the killing of George Floyd last May.

Judge Peter Cahill recently decided that the four charged defendants will be tried in two groups. First, Derek Chauvin, who pinned his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, will be tried alone, starting with jury selection on Monday. Then, the other three charged defendants will be tried together starting in August. This was a tactical setback for prosecutors, who objected to holding separate trials and asked the court to try all four defendants together. (Indeed, in my experience, it is advantageous for the prosecution to try all defendants at once, both for efficiency and to give the jury a full picture of the charged criminality).

The judge initially had ruled in favor of the prosecution, but then reversed course in January and ordered two separate trials because of concerns over courtroom crowding during the Covid crisis.

In both cases, the very first question will be this: how on earth do the parties select a jury in a case that virtually everybody has already heard about, and on which many already have strongly-held opinions? I've done trials that have received intense media coverage before -- though not on the scale of what we are about to see with the Chauvin trial -- and, in my experience, picking a fair jury will be difficult but not impossible.

The Minnesota rules of criminal procedure provide detailed instructions on the jury selection process. The pool of potential jurors must consist of "persons randomly selected from a fair cross-section of qualified county residents." Within that pool, each potential juror is then subjected to questioning -- called "voir dire" -- by the judge and the lawyers for the parties.
Following that questioning, potential jurors can be removed either "for cause" -- if the judge finds that the juror cannot be impartial -- or by the parties using "peremptory" strikes (not giving a reason) on potential jurors that they want to remove. In a second-degree murder case like the Chauvin trial, the defendant ordinarily has five peremptory strikes and the prosecutor has three. The parties can exercise those strikes for almost any reason, but not on the basis of a potential juror's race, gender or other Constitutionally protected factor.

Every or nearly every potential juror will have heard of Floyd's death before the trial begins. But that alone does not disqualify a potential juror. The key question is whether a juror can be impartial and can decide the case solely on the basis of the evidence at trial, and not on any pre-existing opinions or outside media coverage. If so, the potential juror can serve on the jury. And, if not, the judge and parties can prevent that person from sitting on the jury. The process is not perfect -- it is impossible to truly know whether a potential juror has a pre-existing bias, or has been or will be influenced by media coverage -- but it does build in vital safeguards intended to ensure an impartial jury.

Jury impartiality is a cornerstone of our legal system. Public confidence in a trial, and the verdict, largely depends on whether the jury is capable of ruling in an unbiased manner, based solely on the evidence produced in the courtroom. And that public confidence will never be more important than in the upcoming trials of Chauvin and the other former officers in Minnesota.


Opinion: The key question for jury selectors in the George Floyd trial - CNN


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lightbright

Master Pussy Poster
BGOL Investor
Intimidation tactic': Advocates on edge amid stepped-up security for Derek Chauvin trial in George Floyd's death
Floyd family lawyer calls the trial a 'referendum' on cops killing Black people.

Fortified fencing, barbed wire and concrete barricades have gone up around the courthouse and police stations in Minneapolis in preparation for the landmark murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd.

But what may seem like necessary preparations for unrest that could accompany the trial, in a city still recovering from the violence and destruction that erupted there last summer after Floyd's death, to others is a frustrating sign that government officials don't understand the source of tensions between police and community in the first place -- aggressive police posture.

Kandace Montgomery, a local community activist who helped organize protests over the killing of Floyd, said seeing taxpayer money allocated to ramping up security measures for a police department that she has supported defunding has been unsettling.

"As the people of Minneapolis and Minnesota are calling for justice and healing, and care, state officials have been responding in some ways by basically preparing to go to war with folks," the 30-year-old Montgomery, director of the non-profit activist group Black Visions Collective, told ABC News. "So, I do think it’s meant to be an intimidation tactic."

Chauvin's trial is set to begin on Monday with jury selection, but city officials said they have been preparing for the event for seven months. Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo and other state and city government leaders have unveiled a multi-pronged plan to avoid a repeat of the widespread destruction that occurred when violence erupted during protests in the city in the immediate aftermath of Floyd's May 25 death.

Police conduct and interactions with protesters have been a subject of intense scrutiny for months, since an estimated 15 million to 26 million people took to streets nationwide over the summer to protest Floyd's death, which was captured in agonizing detail on bystander video. Violence erupted in a number of cities, including Minneapolis, with images of burning buildings, vandalism and looting, overshadowing the overwhelmingly peaceful protests against police brutality.

Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Binder pointed out during a briefing by officials on security planning this week that city leaders haven't, to her satisfaction, adequately acknowledged during preparations the "pain and suffering" the city has endured over the "horrific way" Floyd died. She alleged that "law enforcement escalated" last summer's violence and "created the conditions for folks to come from outside our community to cause more harm."

"I still think too many city leaders, despite all of this, dismiss the work to create a different system of safety as childish or silly, that too many city leaders think that the most grownup response to a problem is always with force and always to begin by sending people with guns, and I just don't agree," Binder said. "I don't think that we can police ourselves out of police violence."






CONTINUED:
'Intimidation tactic': Advocates on edge amid stepped-up security for Derek Chauvin trial in George Floyd's death - ABC News (go.com)


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playahaitian

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Certified Pussy Poster
Jury selection on hold for the trial of Derek Chauvin as prosecution seeks appeal for third-degree murder charge



Jury selection for the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd, was put on hold Monday after prosecutors asked the judge for an appeal. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter.


 

lightbright

Master Pussy Poster
BGOL Investor
First three jurors picked

Juror 1
  1. Appears to be Caucasian in his 20s or 30s
  2. Told the court he could be fair and impartial; an advocate for community policing
  3. Stated he hasn't seen the video of Floyd's death, but has seen a still photo

Juror 2
  1. Appears to be a person of color, biracial in her 20s or 30s
  2. Described herself as a "go with the flow, open minded" kind of person
  3. Saw the video, said she had a "somewhat negative" impression of Chauvin

Juror 3
  1. Caucasian in his 30s
  2. Supports Black Lives Matter in the general context, but doesn't like everything they have done
  3. Has not seen entire Floyd video; recalls Floyd had a "checkered past".... :hmm:



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