An eye on justice: How livestreaming the Chauvin trial enables people to hold system accountable.
Opening statements set to begin in Floyd case
morning in mid-march, Joey Evans woke up in his North Hollywood, California, home and flicked on the television to catch the live proceedings in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis cop accused of killing George Floyd by pinning a knee to Floyd’s neck for 91⁄2 minutes.
When he drove three hours to visit his dad in Fresno, Evans took the trial with him, listening to a livestream on his phone. This week, when the trial begins, he’ll be watching again.
“I do look forward to watching it,” said Evans, 36. “I’m actually very intrigued by it because I just want to know where I stand in this society, being someone of color.”
The Chauvin trial is not only Minnesota’s highest-profile murder case, it’s the state’s first criminal case to be televised and and its first case in state court to be livestreamed, according legal experts. Opening arguments start Monday.
Local activists believe such broad access should be the norm because cameras provide a sense of accountability and let the public see how a criminal trial works. Many of those most impacted by police violence are low-income and people of color. Fewer Black and Hispanic people have jobs that allow them to work from home, where it’s easy to keep a TV on in the background.
“We can’t trust this system; they need to be watched,” said Leslie E. Redmond, former president of the Minneapolis
NAACP.
Minnesota is one of the more restrictive states in the U.S. when it comes to televising courtroom proceedings, but the judge overseeing this case made an exception because of the public interest and because the coronavirus pandemic has limited how many people can be in the courtroom.
Redmond likened livestreaming to body cameras: “Yes, we know the injustice is still going to happen whether we’re watching or not, but we need to be able to comment and to be able to show just how unjust the system is,” she said.
Floyd’s death under Chauvin’s knee was captured on video and seen by millions. It sparked nationwide protests against racial injustice and police brutalevery
ity, and it spurred debate about racial privilege and systemic inequity.
“We oftentimes just see the trial and we don’t have any video of the killing,” said Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, the country’s largest online racial justice organization. This time, “we saw the crime, and now we’re seeing the trial.”
Still, the widespread availability of trial video, particularly clips of key moments, could make it hard to avoid for people who feel overwhelmed by the coverage and the intertwining issues of race and police violence. For jurors, livestreaming makes it that much harder to keep clear of the news and remain impartial.