#Chauvin character witness trial

When the first batch of potential jurors was being questioned, Chauvin - with half his face obscured by a black mask - sat taking notes and rarely making eye contact. What the defense has plannedĭuring the jury selection process, Nelson tried to humanize Chauvin beyond the image of the white police officer who knelt on a Black man’s neck as he struggled to breathe and begged for his mother. In the courtroom, people are masked, jurors are socially distanced, reporters are limited, and attorneys along with Chauvin are divided by plexiglass. Chauvin’s trial, which is expected to last at least four weeks, is the first in Minnesota to be streamed and broadcast live in its entirety - a decision approved by Cahill since the pandemic has upended the public’s ability to watch the proceedings.

#Chauvin character witness trial

Now that the jury and venue are settled, opening statements for the trial are slated to begin Monday morning.

Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill rejected Nelson’s motions, though, saying Chauvin wouldn’t get a fairer trial anywhere else. Several potential jurors were dismissed after bringing up that their views were swayed by the settlement. Because of this, Nelson asked to delay the trial and for a change of venue, arguing that the timing would prejudice the jury. It comes with inherent biases that work against us Black people.”Ībout a week into the jury selection, the city of Minneapolis agreed to settle a historic $27 million with the Floyd family over a wrongful death lawsuit. “Given the history of white police officers not being charged in the killing of many unarmed Black men, it’s clear that the justice system is not blind to race. Bullock, an organizer with Reclaim the Block, a Minneapolis grassroots group calling to divert funds from police departments to community resources. And because prosecutors believe it is a race-sensitive case, they struck out prospective white jurors who expressed police-friendly views or who had negative thoughts about the Black Lives Matter protests. Meanwhile, the prosecution will have to prove that Chauvin’s actions during the arrest ultimately caused Floyd’s death. He also told a potential juror during the jury selection process that the trial is “not about race.” However, his line of questioning for prospective jurors suggested otherwise, asking them their views on racism, policing in communities of color, and the Black Lives Matter movement. Eric Nelson, the lead defense attorney, will argue that Floyd did not die because of Chauvin’s knee on his neck. It seemed an impossible task to find jurors who didn’t come with strong preconceived notions regarding a case that has been highly publicized for almost a year.Ĭhauvin - who, along with the three other officers involved, was immediately fired following the incident - has been charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. Video of the incident - with Floyd pleading, “I can’t breathe” and bystanders calling on Chauvin to give him some air - spread around the globe and sparked thousands of protests calling for police accountability and racial justice. The 46-year-old Black man died in Minneapolis last May after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground for nearly nine minutes by Chauvin. Selecting 15 unbiased jurors was a challenge in itself - the killing of George Floyd is world-renowned. In the last two weeks of the televised jury selection process, viewers got a sense of how the judge, defense attorney, prosecutors, and jury would perform when the trial starts Monday. The quest to seat the jury in the high-profile murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has reached its end.