Derek Chauvin calls for the trial verdict to be quashed in the death of George Floyd

Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of the murder of African American George Floyd, called for the verdict to be overturned on Tuesday, saying among other arguments “inappropriate behavior” of the jury.

The request was made after a photo of one of the jury members was released during an anti-racist protest, which was not mentioned by the defense, however.

Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, requests “a hearing to quash the verdict for improper conduct of the jury, threats, intimidation and pressure which weighed on him and / or his failure to follow instructions during the deliberations”, indicates the document sent to the court.

He is also asking for a new trial on the grounds that the judge refused to move the trial and isolate the jurors during the hearings, so much so that, according to him, they were influenced by the immense media coverage of the case.

After three weeks of debate and a brief deliberation by the jury of 12 members, Chauvin – who was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes – was convicted of murdering Floyd on April 20 and immediately jailed..

His sentence is scheduled for June 25.

Just over a week after the historic verdict, one of the jurors, Brandon Mitchell, a 31-year-old black man, gave several interviews, in an effort to encourage African Americans to sit on the juries. “Just like voting, it can help bring about change“, He said.

Mitchell is one of only two jurors to have been publicly identified since the high-profile trial.

After the interviews, an image of Mitchell was posted to social media in which he wears a T-shirt with a photo of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and the phrase “Get your knee off our neck”And the acronym“ BLM ”, from the movement Black lives matter (Black lives matter).

That, although in a questionnaire as part of the jury selection process, potential members were asked if they had participated in any of the protests against police brutality that followed Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020.

Mitchell said he didn’t and could serve impartially. As he said at Star Tribune of Minneapolis, the photo was taken during a march he attended in Washington in August 2020 to mark the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

Jeffrey Frederick, an expert on jury selection, argued that Mitchell’s answer may be “technically correct” since the Washington event was billed as a commemoration.

“It is now up to the judge to question him again to see if he was in any way biased or lied, and to decide whether this is serious enough to affect the outcome of the trial.“, Frédéric told AFP.

But he felt it would be strange as well as granting a new trial.

Steve Tuller, another juror selection expert, agrees. “Judges do not want to declare the trial quashed, especially in a case where there was a verdict and given the particular circumstances of that case.“, He said.

“In the end, I think the jury’s ‘revelation’ is unlikely to change the verdict,” he said.

Chauvin will be sentenced on June 25 and face up to 40 years in prison for the most serious charge: second degree murder.

(With information from AFP)

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