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As jury selection continued for a third day on Thursday in the trial of ex-Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, a juror was dismissed by the court on cause after explaining that she could not “see “what she described as the” traumatic “video viewer showing a knee pressed against George Floyd’s neck – and stating that the riots that followed his death were necessary to move the BLM movement forward.
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill fired the woman identified as “Juror # 37”, expressing doubts that she could reasonably assume Chauvin is innocent until proven guilty. By the end of Wednesday, five jurors – out of 14 ultimately wanted – had been seated and questioning continued on Thursday.
“I’m going to focus on one issue and that’s the presumption of innocence,” Cahill said, addressing “Juror # 37”. “Do you think you could do that – assume he’s innocent when you walk into the courtroom?”
“I wouldn’t like that verdict,” she said, before the judge stepped in, “So if it was ‘not guilty’.”
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Cahill thanked the woman for her honesty and fired her. Speaking to the defense and prosecutors after he left, the judge explained, “When I finally gave him the space to say, how do you feel, do you think you are sitting here now and it must be now?” , not later, can you assume that the accused is innocent? She answered unequivocally, no. “
In a series of earlier questionings conducted by Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, the woman reiterated that she wrote a long paragraph on her juror questionnaire that she believed Chauvin had a “hateful look on his face” as he pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck in the bystander video that went viral online last May.
In this image from video, defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, and defendant former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, right, listen to Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill during preliminary motions, before continuing jury selection in the Chauvin trial, Thursday, March 11, 2021, at the Hennepin County courthouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Chauvin is charged with the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 (Court TV / Pool via Pool)
She said in the questionnaire that she had a neutral opinion of Floyd because she did not know him personally, but she saw reports of members of his family saying that he was a “good guy”. Before completing the questionnaire, the woman said she looked at camera footage of the police body showing Chauvin and Floyd’s interactions on May 25, 2020 about three or four times – but she was unable to see the viewer viral video from start to finish only once due to its strong emotional response.
“The one where you can hear him screaming for his mother,” she said. “I only got to watch once.”
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The juror wrote in the questionnaire that she cried while watching the video. Because the viewer video is presented as evidence in the case, Nelson stressed that anyone who sits on the jury should watch it again.
The juror wrote in the questionnaire that her community has been affected both negatively and positively.
“I mean negatively affected because there has been a life taken away – positively affected because it’s become a movement and the whole world knows it,” she told the court, explaining the response.
Nelson insisted on whether she viewed the property damage during the riots after Floyd’s death as a negative impact.
“I feel like if this was what had to happen for it to come to the world’s attention and this is what had to happen,” she said.
Nelson read the following question in the questionnaire which asked: “No matter what you have seen or heard about this matter and whatever opinions you may have formed, can you put it all aside and decide to this case solely on the basis of the evidence you receive? in court, obey the law and decide the case fairly and impartially? ”
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The woman wrote: “Yes, I can be fair and follow the law, but I can’t see this video.”
“That’s what I’m asking you to do, is to look into your heart and look into your mind, can you unequivocally assure us that you can put all of this aside? All of this and focus only on the evidence presented in this document. courtroom? “Nelson asked.
“I can assure you,” she replied. “But like you mentioned earlier, the video is going to be a big part of the evidence and I can’t change my mind about it.”
In this still from video, Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill speaks on preliminary motions, before continuing jury selection in the trial of former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin on Thursday 11 March 2021, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn. Chauvin is accused on May 25, 2020, of the death of George Floyd. (Short TV / Pool via AP)
Following the juror’s dismissal, State Special Prosecutor Steven Schleicher objected to the court’s decision to dismiss her with cause, arguing that she said she could put her opinions aside in the case and whether the defense wanted to use their peremptory challenges. to remove it, they could have.
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Nelson said the defense brought a motion motivated by “several equivocal statements” made by the juror about her ability to be impartial about how the video affected her emotionally. Cahill allowed this request and dismissed it with reason on the presumption of innocence.
“I recognize that juror said she could put her opinions aside,” Nelson said. “However, whenever the state pressed her, she had had a lot of trouble, a very difficult time to recognize that she could apply the presumption of innocence because of her viewing of the video. And then it would basically be that she was already wearing makeup. mind.”
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