Judge weighs delay or change of venue in Chauvin trial
MINNEAPOLIS — The judge presiding over the murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin said Tuesday he is weighing whether to delay or move the murder trial in the wake of the city of Minneapolis announcing in the midst of jury selection that it pay George Floyd’s family $27 million to settle a lawsuit.
The payout being made to settle the federal lawsuit brought against the city was announced last week as jurors were being questioned about whether they could impartially judge the evidence in the trial of Chauvin, who is charged with causing the death of Floyd last May after kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes.
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill said just before the midday break that he’s considering a delay of the trial or having the proceedings moved to another city in the state. He added that he alone on Wednesday will question the seven jurors who were seated when the settlement was disclosed at a news conference last week. He wants to size up whether their ability to be fair to Chauvin has been compromised.
Cahill said he does not intend to sequester the jury any sooner than when deliberations begin and will not award the defense additional peremptory strikes that can be used to excuse jury candidates. He reinforced that decision Tuesday afternoon, when the defense sought but failed to reclaim from the judge one of its peremptory strikes it felt forced to use in the morning, when one jury candidate said he heard about the settlement but pledged impartiality toward Chauvin.
The settlement “is not just a legal decision, it’s a political one,” Cahill said. “And I think the people in [this] room realize that.”
Before jury selection resumed Tuesday, the judge expressed exasperation that the city’s announcement of the payout came during Chauvin’s livestreamed trial.
Defense attorney Eric Nelson pointed out that in a Washington Post article last week, an unidentified city official said Chief District Judge Toddrick Barnette greenlighted the settlement’s announcement.
Cahill revealed that he spoke with Barnette and said what The Post reported “is not an accurate statement.”
“I think the bottom line is, this was a federal lawsuit, this court was not involved, and as I recall in my discussions with Judge Barnette, the answer was ‘We can’t tell you what to do,’” Cahill said.