A motion for a new trial has been filed by the attorney for former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin.
Chauvin was convicted in court for the murder of George Floyd, but questions have now arisen to the validity of the conviction due to possible juror misconduct.
Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, claims that the court also violated Chauvin’s constitutional rights on several counts.
A photograph has arisen of one of the jurors, Brandon Mitchell, who was seen last August at the ‘March on Washington’ wearing a shirt with a picture of George Floyd and the words “Get Your Knee Off Our Necks.”
In his juror questionnaire, Mitchell alleged that he hadn’t attended any protests over police brutality.
He says that he only attended the march to encourage voter turnout in 2020.
CBS Minnesota shared the story on Tuesday:
Attorney Eric Nelson has filed a motion for a new trial for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murdering George Floyd last month.
Nelson claims the court violated Chauvin’s constitutional rights for several reasons, including not allowing the trial to move outside of Hennepin County, and not sequestering the jury the entire time. He also says the jury committed misconduct, and wants a hearing to throw out the verdict.
Attorney Joe Tamburino, who is not affiliated with Chauvin’s case, said the odds of him getting a new trial are “very low.”
“It appears that when it comes to this alleged juror misconduct Derek Chauvin is asking for this verdict to be thrown out,” Tamburino said. “Obviously the defense is under the gun, they have 14 days to do a motion for a new trial.”
A spokesperson from the office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison released this brief statement late Tuesday afternoon: “The court has already rejected many of these arguments and the State will vigorously oppose them.”
On April 20, the jury in Chauvin’s trial found him guilty on all three counts of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Fox 21 with more on the arguments being made from Chauvin's legal team:
Chauvin’s legal team argues in the court documents filed Tuesday that the jury should have been sequestered for the duration of the trial and told to “avoid all media which resulted in jury exposure to prejudicial publicity regarding the trial during the proceedings.”
They also argue that the court failing to order Morries Hall, a friend of George Floyd, to testify violated Chauvin’s rights under the Confrontation Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Hall used his Fifth Amendment rights to refuse self-incrimination from his testimony. Chauvin’s defense team had subpoenaed him to testify that Floyd took opioid pills before the arrest and appeared to fall into a deep sleep at some point.
There was speculation that the comments from California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters and the interview given by a juror on ABC’s Good Morning America could give the defense stronger grounds in an appeal or request a new trial.
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