Jury selection underway in federal trial over Floyd’s death
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Jury selection began Thursday in the federal trial for three former Minneapolis police officers who are charged with violating George Floyd's constitutional rights while fellow Officer Derek Chauvin used his knee to pin the black man to the street.
J. Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao are broadly charged with depriving Floyd of his civil rights while acting under government authority. Separately, they're charged in state court with aiding and abetting both murder and manslaughter.
Legal experts say the federal trial will be more complicated than the state trial, scheduled for June 13, because prosecutors in this case have the difficult task of proving the officers willfully violated Floyd's constitutional rights — unreasonably seizing him and depriving him of liberty without due process.
"In the state case, they're charged with what they did. That they aided and abetted Chauvin in some way. In the federal case, they're charged with what they didn't do — and that's an important distinction. It's a different kind of accountability," said Mark Osler, a former federal prosecutor and professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law.
Phil Turner, another former federal prosecutor, said prosecutors must show the officers should have done something to stop Chauvin, rather than show they did something directly to Floyd.
Would-be jurors have already answered an extensive questionnaire, and were being brought into a federal courtroom in St. Paul in groups, where U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson was questioning them. The process will continue until a group of 40 is chosen. Then, each side will get to use their challenges to strike jurors. In the end, 18 jurors will be picked, including 12 who will deliberate and six alternates.
The judge told potential jurors they should let him know if any responses to their questionnaires have changed. He also asked each to stand and talk about themselves, including where they live, their job history, education, military service, hobbies and families.