The Supreme Court on Monday turned away an appeal by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, leaving in place his conviction for the killing of George Floyd in May 2020.
Lawyers for Chauvin had asked the Supreme Court in October to take up his legal battle, which centered around a Minnesota trial court’s denial of his requests for a change of venue and to sequester the jury. Chauvin argued that the decision to keep the proceedings in Minneapolis deprived him of his right to a fair trial because of pretrial publicity and the threat of violence and riots in the event he was acquitted.
“Mr. Chauvin’s case shows the profound difficulties trial courts have to ensure a criminal defendant’s right to an impartial jury consistently when extreme cases arise,” his lawyers told the court in a filing, adding that the jurors who heard the case “had a vested interest in finding Mr. Chauvin guilty in order to avoid further rioting in the community in which they lived and the possible threat of physical harm to them or their families.”
The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed Chauvin’s conviction and rejected his request for a new trial in April after his lawyer challenged the decision by Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill not to move the trial from Minneapolis, among other issues. The state supreme court declined to review that decision in July, leaving in place Chauvin’s conviction and 22 ½-year sentence.
😔
😜 😜 😂 😂 😂
Which is to say that this hits much different when you’ve been abused by police. So many of us have been illegally physically or verbally abused by some smug power tripping fuck. So, so many of us have seen that face Chauvin made in the video. Fire it up and look at it with about 2 minutes left, after Floyd has gone limp but Chauvin is still applying the choke. Watch the way he makes extended eye contact with Darnella Frazier while he kills Floyd. He was showing her that he does whatever he wants whenever he wants. He was giving her a look a lot of us have seen, the one that says “What the fuck are you gonna do about it? I am the law.”
To see the system, for fucking once, stand up to the murderer and for the victim. To find out that even for the cops there’s a line. That fills those of us who’ve been yearning for our own internal justice with a joy that prompts outward celebration. It is, in a small way, a move in the direction of feeling safe again.