Derek Chauvin’s lawyer on Tuesday requested a new trial on multiple grounds, including jury misconduct.
The motion: “The State committed pervasive, prejudicial prosecutorial misconduct, which deprived Mr. Chauvin of his constitutional rights to due process and a fair trial, including but not limited to: disparaging the Defense; improper vouching; and failing to adequately prepare its witnesses,” the filing read.
- Chauvin’s attorney Eric Nelson, who filed the motion in Hennepin County, Minnesota, also cited: “pervasive” and “prejudicial publicity,” “the interests of justice; abuse of discretion that deprived the Defendant of a fair trial; prosecutorial and jury misconduct; errors of law at trial; and a verdict that is contrary to law.”
- Nelson asked the court for more time to investigate the issues; he did not name any jurors or explain what specific misconduct he was referring to.
The context: Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter last month in George Floyd’s death.
- But a photo of juror Brandon Mitchel wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt at a racial justice protest last summer has circulated online this week and raised questions about his impartiality.
- Judge Peter Cahill previously acknowledged to Nelson that Rep. Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California, “may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned,” when she urged protesters to “get more confrontational” if Chauvin was acquitted.
