Derek Chauvin: Experts say Grounds for Overturning Trial Results

 

A lot of people cheered when Derek children was convicted in the monumental trial of the deceased George Floyd.  Politicians and pundits from coast to coast relieved and seemingly full of joy. What's going to happen if the verdict is overturned or deemed a mistrial?

 Derek Chauvin was charged with unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.  The trial that started March 8, 2021 in the Minnesota Fourth Judicial District Court, and concluded on April 20 with the jury finding him guilty on all three charges

The second-degree unintentional murder charge alleges Chauvin caused Floyd's death "without intent" while committing or attempting to commit felony third-degree assault. In turn, third-degree assault is defined as the intentional infliction of substantial bodily harm.

The third-degree murder charge alleges Chauvin caused Floyd's death by "perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life."

The second-degree manslaughter charge alleges Chauvin caused Floyd's death by "culpable negligence whereby the person creates an unreasonable risk, and consciously takes chances of causing death or great bodily harm."

In a capital offense trial all that is needed for a not guilty verdict is reasonable doubt.   In other words it is very difficult to convict a person of murder in the American court system with a good attorney, especially when a police officer is on trial.  Reasonable Doubt is understood by many to be equivalent to just over 10% chance the defendant is not guilty.. 

The murder Conviction rate in America is 70%.  This is misleading because only 2% of cases go to trial.  The conviction rate of police officers is far less.

In the United States between 2005 and 2020, of the 42 nonfederal police officers convicted following their arrest for murder due to an on-duty shooting, only five ended up being convicted of murder. The most common offense these officers were convicted of was the lesser charge of manslaughter, with 11 convictions.

The Trial

I watched enough for the trial to see two points critical to the case ostensibly overlooked by the jury.  Experts for the prosecution admitted Derek Chauvin's knee was not on the neck but on the shoulder of the deceased.  The majority of the uproar in this case was the knee in the neck.  In the body camera footage from the same exact time, you can clearly see that his knee is on the criminal’s shoulder.

The second critical point the defendants were able create "Reasonable Doubt" with respect to the cause of death.  Press the issue of the health of George Floyd as well as the overdose of drugs that he had in his system.

America's most watched CABLE News Host, Tucker Carlson ...

The jurors in the Derek Chauvin trial came to a unanimous and unequivocal verdict this afternoon: ‘Please don’t hurt us,’” Carlson said on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”

Carlson added, “Everyone understood perfectly well the consequences of an acquittal in this case. After nearly a year of burning and looting and murder by BLM, that was never in doubt.”

Tucker was Correct, Jury 96 dismissed as an alternate just before deliberation substantiated Tucker's claims stating, 

"I did not want to go through rioting and destruction again and I was concerned about people coming to my house if they were not happy with the verdict." 

Politicians weighing in...

President Biden appeared to endorse the pressure placed on the jury: “For so many, it feels like it took all of that for the judicial system to deliver a just — just basic accountability."

Ted Cruz says "Biden's comments about the Derek Chauvin verdict are grounds for a mistrial. "

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), during a rally for racial justice in Minnesota over the weekend, said that "we've got to get more confrontational" when combating systemic racism in policing and demanding justice for Black people abused or killed by police. 

Alan Dershowitz (Harvard law professor) feels the conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd SHOULD be overturned on appeal because of the public intimidation of the jury and the judge’s refusal to sequester the jury.

"What was done to George Floyd by Officer Chauvin was inexcusable, morally. But the verdict is very questionable, because of the outside influences of people like Al Sharpton, and people like Maxine Waters. Their threats and intimidation, and hanging the sword of Damocles over the jury, and basically saying if you don’t convict on the murder charge, on all the charges, the cities will burn, the country will be destroyed, seeped into the jury room because the judge made a terrible mistake by not sequestering the jury." 

Dershowitz went on to say after exhausting appeals at the state level, the case “will go to the United States Supreme Court,” which believes is best possibilit of overturning the conviction, based on the judge’s own reaction to Waters’s comments.

The judge and defense attorney hint mistrial

Now that we have U.S. representatives threatening acts of violence in relation to the specifics of this specific case, it’s mind-boggling to me,” Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s attorney, said to the judge.

“Well, I’ll give you that Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned,” Judge Peter Cahill replied.

Judge Peter Cahill denied the request to re-question jurors and immediately sequester them. Judge Cahill did not have the jury fully sequestered until the Monday of closing arguments.  The judge also denied a change in venue. 

Defense attorney Eric Nelson asked that jurors be questioned on what they had heard about the police shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, a nearby city in Hennepin County. Unrest followed the shooting: Police deployed tear gas and flash-bang grenades to clear protesters who had gathered outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department.

One of the jurors lives in Brooklyn Center, and others have ties to the city, Nelson said. He said jurors should have already been sequestered due to the high-profile nature of the case and its tendency to evoke strong e

One British citizen weighed in on Twitter:

"Extraordinary that public figures can comment like this before a verdict. In the UK this is the sort of intervention that could very likely result in a mistrial. Other countries too. "(Alex James, Twitter UK).

I agree with Alex James , however Despite having a number of ways to challenge the verdict, the statistics suggest Chauvin has an uphill battle. The fact is 90% of civil and criminal appeals are denied in the United States.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1123386/convictions-police-officers-arrested-murder-charge-us/

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/04/derek-chauvins-defense-plays-video-kneeling-george-floyds-shoulder-not-neck/

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/549264-cruz-biden-comments-on-chauvin-verdict-grounds-for-a-mistrial

https://www.breitbart.com/crime/2021/04/20/dershowitz-derek-chauvin-conviction-should-be-reversed-on-appeal-biden/