NEW YORK, March 8. /TASS/. Judge Peter Cahill ruled to delay jury selection for at least a day in the murder case against Derek Chauvin, former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in May of 2020. That is according to a broadcast from the Hennepin County District Court, Minnesota, which is conducted by the local newspaper Star Tribune.
The parties are expected to select 12 jury members as well as two substitutes. Judge Cahill initially announced that the trial would begin on Monday. He reconsidered this decision after a representative of the prosecutor's office announced his intention to apply to the Court of Appeals to overturn the decision to drop some of the charges against Chauvin.
The judge admitted that the appellate court could suspend the proceedings on the merits.
Dispute over charges
According to the Star Tribune, the Court of Appeals ruled last week that Cahill erred in dismissing the third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin. The court asked Cahill to reconsider the charge, leaving an uncertain path forward in a high stakes trial being watched around the world.
The court in Hennepin County previously authorized the indictment of second-degree murder against Chauvin. The court dropped the charge of murder in the third degree from the ex-policeman and later refused the prosecutor's office to overturn this decision. Now, according to the Court of Appeals’ ruling, charging Chauvin with murder in the third degree should be reconsidered.
Nevertheless Judge Cahill stressed Monday at the start of the trial that the parties could proceed with the selection of the jury. The prosecutor's office opposed this.
Under Minnesota law, second-degree murder carries a prison sentence of no more than 40 years and third-degree murder, 25 years.
According to legal experts, if Chauvin is simultaneously charged with second and third degree charges, the jury is more likely to find him guilty of at least one of them. In particular, the jury may consider his conviction of third-degree murder as a compromise, the experts say.
Death of George Floyd
George Floyd, an African-American Minneapolis man, was detained by the police in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020 and died after Chauvin kneeled on his neck and choked him to death while being taken into custody. Chauvin’s former colleagues J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao were charged with aiding and abetting murder and second-degree manslaughter. On May 26, 2020, all police officers involved in the deadly arrest were fired.
Mass unrest engulfed many US states over the death of Floyd. To counter the riots, local law enforcement is often supported by the US National Guard. 40 cities, including New York and Washington, enacted a curfew.