2 Chauvin jurors removed after settlement

MINNEAPOLIS — Two people were removed Wednesday from the jury in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged in the death of George Floyd, after they said they could no longer be impartial because they had seen news reports about a multimilliondollar civil settlement between the city of Minneapolis and the Floyd family.

Jury selection for the trial is still in progress. Of the nine jurors seated so far, seven were selected before the $27 million settlement was announced Friday.

Judge Peter A. Cahill held oneon-one Zoom meetings Wednesday morning with each of the seven, asking if they had heard the news and, if so, whether it would affect their ability to be fair in the criminal trial against Chauvin.

Two jurors — a white man in his 30s and a Hispanic man in his 20s — said they had seen the news and that they no longer believed they could give Chauvin the presumption of innocence.

“That sticker price obviously shocked me and swayed me a little bit, yes,” said the white man, identified only as Juror No. 20. The other man, Juror No. 36, said, “I think it would be hard to be impartial.”

With the dismissals, there were seven jurors remaining, and more potential jurors were scheduled to answer questions from lawyers Wednesday. Ultimately, the court is seeking to select 14 people for the panel — 12 regulars and two alternates.

The process got off to a fast start but has since slowed significantly, upended by concerns that the civil settlement has prejudiced potential jurors. On Tuesday, for instance, no jurors were selected all day, the first time that has happened since the process began a week ago.

Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric J. Nelson, has continued to try to persuade Cahill to delay the trial and has asked to be allowed to strike more potential jurors who may have heard about the settlement, which was announced in the middle of the day Friday at the Minneapolis Convention Center while court was in session nearby. Nelson is also seeking to have the trial moved out of Minneapolis.

Cahill said he was considering Nelson’s motions for a delay and for a change of venue, and would rule on them sometime this week.