Court weighs on murder charge in ex-officer’s trial
MINNEAPOLIS >> An appeals court considering whether to reinstate a third-degree murder charge against the former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd reacted with skepticism Monday to his attorney’s arguments for keeping the charge out.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin next Monday in Derek Chauvin’s trial on charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter. The trial judge dismissed a third-degree murder count last October. But prosecutors asked the Minnesota Court of Appeals to reinstate the charge in light of its decision last month to uphold a third-degree murder conviction against former Minneapolis officer Mohamed Noor for the 2017 shooting death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, an unarmed Australian woman who had called 911 to report a possible sexual assault.
A three-judge panel that heard oral arguments Monday said it would issue an expedited decision as soon as possible given the looming trial date.
Legal experts say reinstating the lesser count could increase the prosecution’s odds of getting a murder conviction in what will be one of Minnesota’s highest-profile trials ever. Floyd, who was Black, died May 25 after Chauvin, who was white, pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck while he was handcuffed and pleading that he couldn’t breathe. Civil unrest after Floyd’s death spiraled into violence locally. Protests spread around the world and forced a painful reckoning on race in the U.S.
“Without action from this court, a landmark criminal case, one of the most important in our nation’s history, will take place with a major part of the case — third-degree murder — missing. Nowhere in it whatsoever,” prosecutor Neal Katyal told the appeals court. “That can’t possibly be the law.”
The appeals judges grilled defense attorney Eric Nelson over his contention that they should ignore their own precedent simply because Noor has appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court, so the law over what constitutes third-degree murder in Minnesota hasn’t reached a final resolution. Nelson argued that Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill got it right last month when he declined to reinstate the charge despite the Noor ruling.
“When the Supreme Court does grant review of our cases, it typically does not vacate our decision or issue any order limiting our decision,” Appeals Judge Michelle Larkin said.
Cahill ruled last October that a third-degree murder charge under Minnesota law requires proof that someone’s conduct was “eminently dangerous to others,” not just to Floyd. Cahill said there was no evidence that Chauvin’s actions were dangerous to anyone else and threw out the charge.