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 Tuesday 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 and said he planned to move forward with jury selection and other pretrial matters.
The decision drew an objection from prosecutors, who filed a motion for a stay in the case with the state court of appeals, arguing the lack of clarity on charges and questions about Cahill’s jurisdiction risks the case being thrown out on appeal.
“There is no need for this kind of uncertainty in any case, let alone a case of this magnitude,” prosecutors said in their appellate motion.
As prosecutors filed their appeal, Cahill sent potential jurors home for the day and recessed the court for several hours. On Monday afternoon, the appellate court indicated to the prosecution that it would consider the petition for a stay, but it did not order a halt to the proceedings while it does so. That prompted Cahill to resume a hearing on pretrial motions and to schedule jury selection to begin Tuesday.
Minneapolis has been bracing for weeks for the trial, which is poised to be a defining moment in the history of a nation that is grappling with a racial reckoning. City and county officials estimate that they are spending a combined $1 million (about R15.3 million) on security before the trial, fortifying public buildings, lining streets with fencing and barbed wire, and bringing in the National Guard and other law enforcement officers.
The debate about the third-degree-murder charge has injected even more uncertainty into the case, heightening tension in a city already on edge.
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Source: IOL
