Pandemic shapes trial of ex-cop in Floyd’s death
Because the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death is being held during the coronavirus pandemic, the courtroom has been overhauled for safety.
Gone are the traditional jury box and gallery, replaced with widely spaced seats and desks for a limited contingent of attorneys, jurors and media. Plexiglas barriers and hand sanitizer are everywhere, and the participants — even the judge — wear masks.
The pandemic has upended court systems across the country, delaying jury trials and creating huge backlogs of cases. Video and teleconference hearings have allowed judges to keep the wheels of justice grinding, albeit slowly. Many courts have installed barriers or moved jury orientation and even trials themselves to bigger spaces such as convention centers to get at least some jury trials going again.
In Minnesota, in-person criminal jury trials have been mostly on hold since November. Chief Justice Lorie Gildea last month allowed them to resume effective March 15, with proper safety protocols consistent with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Minnesota Department of Health. Most other proceedings will continue to be held remotely through April 30. A handful of exceptions have been allowed, including former Officer Derek Chauvin’s trial.
“We are gradually increasing in-person activities in court facilities in a safe and responsible manner that will allow the courts to fulfill our constitutional obligation, while we continue to do all that we can to protect public health and safety,” Gildea said in a statement.
Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder and
manslaughter. Floyd was declared dead May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against the Black man’s neck for about nine minutes, holding his position even after Floyd went limp. Floyd’s death sparked sometimes violent protests in Minneapolis and beyond, leading to a nationwide reckoning on race and one of the highest-profile trials
of a police officer in U.S. history.
Citing the need to comply with social distancing and other safety rules, Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill separated Chauvin’s case from that of the three other ex-officers charged in Floyd’s death, who are set for trial in August. Among other things, Cahill concluded in January, no courtroom in the building was big enough to safely accommodate four defense teams and the prosecution team all at once.
Prosecutors tried unsuccessfully to persuade Cahill to reconsider his decision to hold two trials. They argued instead for holding a single joint trial sometime this summer when they hoped enough Minnesotans would have been vaccinated to reduce the risk of any participants getting COVID-19.
They submitted an affidavit from prominent University of Minnesota epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, who warned that it could be “extremely dangerous” to try Chauvin this month, with “potentially catastrophic consequences for public heath.” He expressed fear that it could become a “superspreader event,” given the large number of protesters and out-of-town journalists it was likely to draw, especially if more-contagious coronavirus variants cause a spike in cases.