adminMinneapolis. – The judge overseeing the trial of the former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death said he would move forward with jury selection yesterday despite an ongoing dispute over the possible reinstatement of a third-degree-murder charge that threatens to delay the case.
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill’s decision to press forward with the trial of Derek Chauvin, 44, who is accused of killing Floyd, 46, by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes during a police investigation in May, drew an immediate appeal from prosecutors and raised eyebrows among legal observers, who said the unusual manoeuvre could later be grounds for a defence appeal to have the case thrown out.
The legal uncertainty came on what was supposed to be the first day of jury selection in the landmark trial. But proceedings were halted almost immediately after prosecutors questioned whether Cahill could move forward without ruling on the prosecution’s efforts to reinstate a charge of third-degree murder.
Cahill, who threw out the charge in the fall, saying it could not be applied to the case, was ordered by the Minnesota Court of Appeals on Friday to reconsider his decision. Cahill said Monday that he was not yet able to make a ruling on the issue because the appeals court ruling was pending. But he described the third-degree-murder charge as a narrow issue in the case. – IOLNews
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