An attorney for the former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, convicted of murder has demanded a retrial.
The lawyer said a change of venue should have been granted as he alleged prosecutorial and jury misconduct.
Chauvin was convicted last month of two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter for kneeling on George Floyd’s neck and back for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, while Floyd was handcuffed and lying prone in the street.
Recall that Floyd’s death had sparked a summer of unrest in Minneapolis and across the country.
Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, requested a hearing where the judge could reinterview some jurors. He said the purpose of the questioning is to show the jury “committed misconduct, felt threatened or intimidated, felt race based pressure during the proceedings, and/or failed to adhere to instructions during deliberations, in violation of Chauvin’s constitutional rights to due process and a fair trial.”
Nelson didn’t name a specific juror or explain what misconduct he is alleging in a court filing Tuesday. He asked the court to grant him more time to fully investigate the issues.
Judge Peter Cahill has denied requests for a retrial at multiple points during the proceedings after Mr. Nelson said that the jury was being swayed by pressure to convict Chauvin out of fear that a failure to convict would unleash a new round of social unrest in Minneapolis.
Nelson argued in his new filing that those denials were themselves errors that demand a new trial. “The Court abused its discretion when it denied Defendant’s motion for a new trial on the grounds that publicity during the proceedings threaten[ed] the fairness of the trial,” the filing said.
He gave few details on alleged prosecutorial misconduct, which he said included “disparaging the Defense; improper vouching; and failing to adequately prepare its witnesses.”
The deadline to make post-conviction filings is Wednesday, according to Minnesota court rules.
“The court has already rejected many of these arguments and the State will vigorously oppose them,” said John Stiles, deputy chief of staff for the Minnesota attorney general’s office, which is prosecuting the case.
Former Chief Hennepin County Public Defender, Mary Moriarty, who wasn’t involved in the case, said there wasn’t much new in the filing, and that it lacked specificity.
