Derek Chauvin's lawyer asks to delay and move trial venue after George Floyd family's $27M deal with Minneapolis
Former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin, who is facing trial for killing George Floyd in 2020, has had his defense lawyers request a delay and change of venue after the victim's family was paid a record-breaking $27 million settlement by the city. The Minneapolis city council announced on Friday, March 12, that it had voted unanimously to approve the settlement in the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Floyd's family.
The news comes after jury selection for the trial was stalled last week as prosecutors mulled over adding third-degree murder charges to Chauvin's case. Chauvin's legal team allegedly put their request for a delay and venue change on Monday, March 15, insisting there is no way the police officer would get a fair trial in the city after the settlement was publicized. In fact, according to Business Insider, the first potential juror told the court she came to know about the settlement on March 12 and believed, because of how large it was, she couldn't be impartial in the case. She was dismissed for cause.
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News of the whopping settlement hit the media when the trial was in the middle of jury selection, with seven jurors already been chosen. “I am gravely concerned with the news that broke on Friday related to the civil settlement,” Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s lawyer, told Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill. “The fact that this came in the exact middle of jury selection is perplexing to me, your honor.” Nelson said the court should "strongly consider" their request to delay the trial and move it outside of Hennepin County.
Prosecutor Steve Schleicher agreed the settlement's time of announcement wasn't exactly ideal, but maintained that the proceedings should go on. The Hill reports Schleicher said: “All I can say to the court is there are some things the state of Minnesota and this prosecution team can control, and there are some things it cannot control. We cannot control the civil aspect of the case, we cannot and do not control the Minneapolis City Council, and we certainly cannot and do not control the news cycle.”
Although Judge Cahill also agreed the defense’s point was “legitimate,” he didn't see any “evil intent” when the city council voted for the settlement on Friday, March 12. The judge has decided that jury selection is to continue even though he might considering granting a trial relocation and continuance.
Chauvin is facing counts of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after pressing his knee against Floyd's neck for almost 9 minutes, leading to his death on May 25, 2020. The toxicology report reveals that Floyd had three times the level of fentanyl needed to kill a person, and additional methamphetamine in his system when the cops had apprehended him. In videos captured by bystanders, Floyd can be seen stating he couldn't breathe while he was on the ground. The toxicology report claims he was saying the same before he was even on the ground.
Floyd's death led to the nationwide uproar of Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality in America and other countries participated from home too. As jury selection for Chauvin's trial began on March 8, Black Lives Matter protesters took to the streets of Minneapolis, demanding action against the police brutality that killed Floyd. Chauvin was sat inside the courthouse while protesters holding signs turned up outside of the Hennepin County Government Center. The jury selection was, however, postponed and did not take place on the scheduled date due to discussions regarding the charge being reinstated taking place.