Jury selection began on Tuesday in the case against former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin after what may have seemed like a technical nuance that pushed back the trial’s start date originally scheduled for Monday. But the question at hand could have hefty consequences for prosecutors seeking to hold Chauvin accountable for the death of 46-year-old Black father George Floyd. Viral video shows Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes in a violent arrest on May 25, 2020. Floyd later died in police custody. The question in the case that prosecutors and Chauvin’s defense team are currently at odds about is whether Chauvin, who’s charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death, should face the added charge of third-degree murder. The latter would require a lower burden of proof than second-degree murder and is usually applicable when the accused acts in a way that endangers multiple people’s lives and kills one of those people, MSNBC’s Joy Reid explained during an interview with civil rights attorney Ben Crump on Monday.
Crump said during the interview that he’s siding with prosecutors who think the third-degree murder charge is applicable. "We want to make sure we have every charge possible presented to the jury to make sure that Derek Chauvin is held criminally liable for killing George Floyd just like they do in our community, Joy," Crump said. “You know, they throw the whole book at us … If the roles would have been reversed and George Floyd would have did this to Derek Chauvin, how many charges do you think they would’ve had on George?” Crump later asked.
A judge initially determined the charge of third-degree murder should be tossed out in the case, but the state won an appeal allowing trial Judge Peter Cahill to reconsider the charge. Chauvin’s attorney, however, announced in court on Monday he would be bringing the matter before the Minnesota Supreme Court, much to the surprise of state prosecutor Matthew Frank. "We won't know exactly what the charges are if we now go forward and start picking the jury," Frank said in court. "So this court would be making decisions about jurors for a trial about which we don't know what the exact charges are going to be yet. And that jeopardy, once it attaches, that clearly cannot happen."
Cahill ultimately sided with the defense and decided to move forward with the trial. However, he did allow the state a day to file its motion with an appeals court to overturn Cahill’s decision. "Unless the Court of Appeals tells me otherwise we're going to keep going," Cahill told attorneys, according to ABC News.
On Tuesday, that forward movement came in the form of the court hearing its first potential juror, a mother of three originally from Mexico, the Associated Press reported. Chauvin's lawyer, Eric Nelson, initially tried to have the woman removed because he wasn't convinced of her English proficiency, the news service reported. When that didn't work, he used one of 15 allotted challenges to dismiss her without cause. The woman had described Chauvin remaining on Floyd's neck even after he said he couldn't breathe as "not fair." She added, "We are humans." After Chauvin’s defense also ruled out a Hispanic man as a potential juror, the court allowed the first chosen juror to be a chemist who advocated for community policing and believes "all lives matter equally," USA Today reported.
It’s no wonder Reid admitted she is “cynical” about the court’s ability to decide cases like this one. George Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd—who appeared on her show along with Crump—said it’s like Chauvin intended to kill George. Philonise cited as an example a moment in the detainment when an emergency responder tried to help. Police would not allow the aid, Philonise said. “And my brother laid there with his face down in a prone position, blood dripping out of his nose,” Philonise said, “and he was steady saying that he couldn’t breathe, and the officer, he didn’t care. Nobody cared.” A firefighter who asked officers to check George Floyd's pulse on the scene will be allowed to testify at Chauvin’s trial, the AP reported.
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