LAWYER SEEKS NEW TRIAL FOR CHAUVIN
MINNEAPOLIS — The defense attorney for the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of killing George Floyd has requested a new trial, saying the court abused its discretion, and he wants a hearing to have the verdict impeached because of what he says is jury misconduct, according to a court document filed Tuesday.
Derek Chauvin, who is white, was convicted last month of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and seconddegree manslaughter in the May
25 death of Floyd. Evidence at trial showed Chauvin pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck for 9½ minutes as the Black man said he couldn’t breathe and went motionless.
Defense attorney Eric Nelson said he is requesting a new trial in the interests of justice. He said there were abuses of discretion that deprived Chauvin of a fair trial, prosecutorial and jury misconduct and that the verdict was contrary to law.
A request for a new trial is routine following a guilty verdict and often mirrors issues that will be raised on appeal, said Mike Brandt, a Minneapolis defense attorney who has been closely following the case. If this request is denied, it can add another layer of decisions for Nelson to appeal. Brandt and others have said Chauvin’s convictions are unlikely to be overturned.
Nelson cited many reasons in his request for a new trial. He said Judge Peter Cahill abused the discretion of the court and violated Chauvin’s right to due process and a fair trial when he denied Nelson’s request to move the trial to another county.
He also said Cahill abused his discretion when he denied an earlier request for a new trial based on publicity during the proceedings. Nelson said that publicity included “intimidation” of the defense expert witness, which he said could have a “far-reaching chilling effect” on the ability of defendants to get expert witnesses in high-profile cases.
Nelson also took issue with Cahill’s refusal to sequester the jury for the trial or warn them to avoid all media, and with his refusal to allow a man who was with Floyd at the time of his arrest to testify.
The brief did not mention recent reports that one of the jurors participated in an Aug. 28 march in Washington, D.C., to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. That juror, Brandon Mitchell, has defended his actions, saying the event was to commemorate the 1963 March on Washington and was not a protest over Floyd’s death.