George Floyd death: Minnesota judge revokes gag order as it impeded former cops from defending themselves
A Minnesota judge has revoked a controversial gag order on the four Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd, acknowledging that it impeded their ability to defend themselves against negative publicity.
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill stressed, however, that he expects all attorneys working the case to follow legal rules of information disclosure. The judge also added that he would look into the news media coalition’s request to make the bodycam footage of the former officers more widely available.
Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was arrested on May 25, died after former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nearly eight minutes despite repeated pleas that he couldn't breathe. Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter. Meanwhile, Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Kueng are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter. All four former officers are facing at least 40 years in prison if convicted.
Lane's attorney Earl Gray submitted the body camera footage to the court as part of a request to have his client's case dismissed. Gray said he wanted the footage to be made public, but Cahill struck it down with an order barring anyone involved in the case from discussing it.
As previously reported, the defense attorneys for all four men have objected to the original gag order.
Eric Nelson, the attorney representing Chauvin, argued that although the court may have a "legitimate interest in reducing pretrial publicity to avoid tainting a jury pool," his client has already been called a murderer or killer in the last several weeks. Nelson added that the case has also been referred to as a "murder" by a number of public officials.
Furthermore, the lawyer argued that only prosecutors have benefited from pretrial publicity after "more than six weeks of one side of the story." Nelson wrote in the filings that "the Constitutional right to a fair and public trial by an impartial jury belongs to the Defendant - not the State," adding that it would now be difficult to garner pretrial publicity for noting Chauvin's innocence until proven guilty, or whether his actions were "justifiable in the line of duty," AP reported.
Bob Paule, Thao's attorney, argued that there was no legitimate justification for a restrictive gag order as public statements won't interfere with the "administration of justice" if everyone followed Cahill's earlier warning. Cahill had told all parties on June 29 to avoid talking about the "merits of the case, evidence, and guilt or innocence."
As of now, the bodycam footage is available only for in-person, appointment-based viewings per the Cahill's order. Media attorney Leita Walker has objected to the same, citing violations of the First Amendment as well as laws that permit public access to such records.
"This case has international interest. To expect every member of the media to fly to Minneapolis and schedule an appointment ... during quarantine is a de facto sealing,” Walker told the judge.
Court records are considered open to the public by default, but the court can enforce restrictions if it had the potential to affect the "fair and impartial application of justice."
“The media coalition’s view is that there’s a lot of stuff already out there and the public is entitled to a complete picture," Walker told reporters after the hearing. "The media can only report a full story if it’s able to see everything and talk to both sides.”