Court rejects Chauvin’s appeal
Third-degree murder charge could be added
The Minnesota Supreme Court rejected an appeal by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on Wednesday, which could result in him facing an additional murder charge in the death of George Floyd.
Chauvin, 44, is accused of killing George Floyd, 46, by pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as he was handcuffed and pinned face-down on the street last May.
The former cop is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter.
Three other former officers, charged with aiding and abetting, are to be tried in August.
Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill announced the ruling during jury selection Wednesday. Cahill said he would consider the ramifications of the ruling Thursday morning before selection continues.
Five jurors have been chosen. Wednesday’s ruling means Cahill may reinstate a third-degree murder charge.
Legal observers said that would give the jury more options as it considers Chauvin’s culpability in Floyd’s death.
“Cahill almost certainly will reinstate the (third-degree) charge,” said Ted Sampsell-Jones, a professor for Mitchell Hamline School of Law in nearby St. Paul.
The unusual, expedited decision by the state’s high court enables jury selection to continue with just a hiccup in the proceedings rather than a delay of weeks or months while it considered an appeal.
Friday, an appeals court ruled that Cahill should not have thrown out the third-degree murder charge last fall. The ruling delayed the start of jury selection Monday because the defense and prosecution disagreed over how that would affect the trial.
“It’s very rare for the parties and the judge, frankly, not to know what the charges are when you are scheduled to start your trial,” said Mary Moriarty, former Hennepin County chief public defender.
According to Minnesota law, thirddegree murder involves “perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind.”
Last fall, Cahill ruled that charge didn’t fit the circumstances of Chauvin’s case because his actions were focused on Floyd and no one else.
That is consistent with how the law has been interpreted in other cases.
But in February, an appeals court upheld the third-degree murder conviction of ex-Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor, who fatally shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond in 2017. Noor’s actions were focused only on Damond.
Based on the ruling in the Noor case, prosecutors in Chauvin’s case asked Cahill to bring back the thirddegree murder charge. He refused.
Prosecutors went to the Minnesota Court of Appeals to ask it to uphold its interpretation of the law and reinstate the additional charge.
Friday, the appeals court said Cahill should not have tossed out the thirddegree murder charge because the Noor ruling, which upheld it, was the precedent.
The appeals court said Cahill can hear other arguments from Chauvin’s defense attorney about reinstating the charge, but his decision must be consistent with the Noor precedent.
The state Supreme Court agreed to review the Noor case in June.
If Chauvin is convicted of only the third-degree murder charge and the court overturns Noor, then Chauvin could go free, Moriarty said.
“The problem for Chauvin,” she said, “is that if he gets convicted of it, he can appeal, but he would probably be sitting in jail until that happens.”