A lawyer for former soldier Derek Chauvin in the George Floyd homicide said Monday that the $ 27 million wrongful death settlement has stigmatized the jury pool – and the trial has stalled or wants to move out of Minneapolis.
On this issue, Friday’s announcement that the Minnesota city reached a colony with Floyd’s family after his May 25 police-custody death in connection with his wrongful death.
What is of concern to the defense is that the city’s decision can be seen as an admission of guilt rather than fighting a civil case.
“The fact that it came right in the middle of jury selection is honorable to me,” defense attorney Eric Nelson told Honeypin County District Judge Peter Cahill on Monday.
“There are things that the jury should be obliged to do to protect them from future suspected press releases,” Nelson said.
“One thing I think the court should strongly consider is a request for continuity, your honor, and (renewal of the motion of our place).”
Cahill called it “a legitimate concern”, and will bring the seven gamblers elected as of Friday to court to ask them if the case affected their view.
The judge said he would consider Nelson’s other requests as well – but in the meantime continued with jury selection.
The settlement issue arose on the fifth day of jury selection in a highly volatile and divisive case, with two more gamblers selected to serve on the panel as of noon on Monday.
In all, nine gamblers have now been put on trial – three white males, two black males, two white females, one Hispanic male and one female who identifies as multi-racial.
But the high-profile nature of the case has forced both parties to burn more than half of their allocated jury challenges – the defense has used eight of its 15, and the prosecution has used five of its nine. Have used.
Thus, lawyers on both sides have so far questioned 31 potential gamblers, many of whom have been dismissed or challenged because of their opinions about the high-profile case – including viral footage of Floyd’s death and Black Lives Matter But his thoughts are included.
Friday’s civil settlement seemed immediately to add a new hurdle – Monday’s first prospective gambler admitted that he heard Friday’s news and that it changed his outlook.
The woman, who works in human resources, said she feels that “in general, in civil cases, the inclination of evidence tends to tilt.”
The debate is starting in the March 29 case, and Cahill’s decision on the next request or alteration of the venue’s request for rescue is pending.
Chauvin faces charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the case – and an additional third-degree murder charge that Cahill reinstated last week.
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