Derek Chauvin Did Not Receive A Fair Trial, But Minnesota Supreme Court Will Not Hear His Appeal

WILLIAM A. JACOBSON JUL 20, 2023 8:00 PM

Derek Chauvin did not get a fair trial for the killing of George Floyd. As the liberals like to say, “period, full stop.”We have covered this many times based on what actually happened in the trial, as opposed to the media coverage which was mostly dishonest. Much like the Michael Brown “hands up, don’t shoot” narrative was false, so too was the narrative that Chauvin kept his knee on George Floyd’s neck “for 9 minutes.” The video doesn’t show that, and that wasn’t even the prosecution theory of guilt – Chauvin did have his knee on Floyd’s neck for a time, but mostly on the upper back and shoulder. The prosecution medical evidence of death was positional asphyxia, that the pressure on Floyd’s back while face down in the prone position made it impossible for Floyd to inhale, leading to death.I wrote near the end of the trial that there was evidence that Chauvin kept the pressure on Floyd too long, even after he was subdued, handcuffed, and unconscious, and that could provide a basis for conviction. It is possible that someone was guilty of a crime, but also did not receive a constitutionally required fair trial. This is such a case.The problems with the trial, which I watched live and Andrew Branca live-blogged, were enormous, starting with the open threat of violence and rioting if Chauvin was found not guilty. The trial took place in a fortress in Minneapolis with protesters all around, a mob scene which all but guaranteed a conviction no matter what. The trial judge refused to change venue.https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1383635013418184708Here are some of our prior posts demonstrating numerous problems with the Chauvin trial:

• Derek Chauvin Files Motion for New Trial and To “Impeach the Verdict” Due To Jury Misconduct
• Chauvin Juror Admits Participating In Pre-Trial Protest, Photographed In “Knee Off Our Necks” T-Shirt
• Alternate Juror in Derek Chauvin Trial: “I did not want to go through rioting and destruction again”
• Derek Chauvin Trial Tainted By Threats Of Violence Calling Into Question Whether Any Minneapolis Jury Could Be Impartial
• Chauvin Trial Judge: Rep. Maxine Waters’ threats may result in “this whole trial being overturned” on appeal
• Chauvin Trial Verdict Prediction (of Sorts): On legal merits alone, not guilty — but political dynamics drive injustice
• Maxine Waters: Protesters Need to “Get More Confrontational” If No “Murder” Conviction Of Derek Chauvin
• Chauvin Trial: Jury has “a basis” to “find reasonable doubt here, but it’s not what I’m expecting”

We covered the interim appeals court briefing and oral argument, Chauvin State Appeal Argued – Low Likelihood Of Success Despite Being Deprived Of A Fair Trial.Chavin’s Appeal Brief, is worth reading, it catalogs the trial errors. Here are some as listed in the Table of Contents to the Brief:

B. The Pervasive Prejudicial Pretrial Publicity, Jurors’ Concerns for TheirSafety If They Did Not Convict Chauvin and Physical Threats to theCourthouse Required the Court To Change Venue, Continue the Trial, orFully Sequester the Jury Under Minn. R. Crim. P. 25 and the 6th and 14thAmendments……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 42

1. Under Both Minn. R. Crim. P. 25.02 and the United States Constitution,the Court Erred by Denying Chauvin’s Motion To Change Venue. ……………. 422. The Pretrial Publicity Surrounding the Case, Combined with the Riots,Announcement of the Settlement in the Middle of Voir Dire and FurtherRiots During the Trial, Results in a Presumption of Prejudice……………………. 44

a. The Media Publicity Was Pervasive and it Was OverwhelminglyHostile to Chauvin and Law Enforcement in General. …………………………. 45b. The Threat of Violence Resulting from Acquittal Were Plain—AsDemonstrated by the Deployment of the National Guard Days Priorto Jury Deliberation. ………………………………………………………………………… 46c. The City of Minneapolis Announcement of the $27,000,000Settlement Exasperated the Prejudice. ……………………………………………….. 47d. Numerous Jurors Expressed Concerns for Their Own PersonalSafety…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 48e. Media Interfered with Courtroom Proceedings by Spying on theAttorneys and Disclosing Courthouse Security Measures. ……………………. 50f. The Riots After the Duante Wright Killing Required a Transfer……………. 50

3. Jurors Demonstrated Actual Bias Against Chauvin. …………………………………. 51

4. In the Alternative, the Jurors Should Have Been Sequestered Upon
Their Selection. ……………………………………………………………………………………. 52

5. The Court Should Have Delayed the Trial – Particularly Because No
Jury Trials Had Been Conducted In Minnesota Due to Covid-19……………….. 53

C. The Court Should have Held a Schwartz Hearing. …………………………………………… 53

D. The Third Degree Murder Charge Against Chauvin Must be Dismissed and a
New Trial Ordered Because this Charge Allowed the State to Introduce
Evidence of Chauvin’s “Depraved Mind” Which Is Irrelevant to
Unintentional Second Degree Murder. …………………………………………………………… 54

E. Chauvin’s Conviction Should Be Reversed Because Police Officer Cannot
Be Convicted for Felony Murder Under Minnesota Law. …………………………………. 54

F. The Court’s Jury Instructions Failed to Properly Set Forth the Graham v.
Connor Standards………………………………………………………………………………………… 57

G. Chauvin’s Conviction Should Be Reversed Because the Judge Allowed
Cumulative Opinions on the Use of Force………………………………………………………. 58

H. The Court Improperly Excluded Evidence of MPD Training Materials
Establishing That MPD Trains Officers to Putting their Knees on the
Suspect’s Back. …………………………………………………………………………………………… 60

I. Morries Hall’s Testimony or Statement Should Have Been Admitted………………… 61

J. Chauvin’s Conviction Should Be Reversed Because of Prosecutorial
Misconduct. ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 63

K. Chauvin’s Conviction Must Be Reversed Because of the Court’s Failure to
Transcribe the Entire Proceedings. ………………………………………………………………… 65

L. The Cumulative Errors Rendered the Trial “Structurally Defective.”…………………. 66

M. Chauvin’s Sentence Should be Reduced to the Presumptive Range. ………………….. 67

For reasons I cannot figure out, we missed when the appeal was denied in April, and the conviction Affirmed:

Chauvin then filed a Petition for Review by the Minnesota Supreme Court.

On July 18, 1023, the Minnesota Supreme Court denied the Petition without explanation.

News reports and headlines indicate Chauvin plans to seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

But I doubt SCOTUS will take the case. The state conviction is irrelevant to how long Chauvin stays in prison. Chauvin already pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges and received a sentence approximately as long as he received on the state charges. And even if SCOTUS agreed with Chauvin, that would only mean there would be a re-trial.

I think SCOTUS should take the case to demonstrate that even the most hated of people deserves a fair trial. “You may say I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one.” Okay, maybe I am the only one.

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