Search Results for: Chauvin
April 25, 2021 — Scott Johnson
I want to add a few footnotes in the form of bullet points to our coverage of the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd: • The thirteenth and fourteenth seated jurors served as alternates and were released at the end of the trial. Juror number 96 — Lisa Christensen — was the thirteenth seated juror. She made the media rounds last week
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April 21, 2021 — John Hinderaker
Last night Alan Dershowitz and I were on the Ingraham Angle on Fox News, talking about the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial. In an 8 1/2 minute segment, we covered quite a bit of ground, and it seemed to be well received. So if you are interested, here it is: Watch the latest video at foxnews.com I also gave an interview to the Daily Signal yesterday, while the jury
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April 21, 2021 — John Hinderaker
I watched most, not all, of the Derek Chauvin trial and have followed the story closely over the last year. These are some of my thoughts on what has proved to be one of the most consequential criminal prosecutions in American history. * This entire case could not have happened just 10 or 15 years ago. The prosecution was driven by the global phenomenon of a bystander video that was
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April 20, 2021 — Scott Johnson
The jury rendered guilty verdicts on all three charges against former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin a few minutes ago. The charges were brought in an atmosphere of mob justice on May 29 and June 3, within days of the death of George Floyd this past May 25. He will be sentenced on the second-degree murder charge that was the most serious of the three. Chauvin was repeatedly declared guilty
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April 18, 2021 — Scott Johnson
Having watched the trial of Derek Chauvin from jury selection all the way through the parties’ cases, I want to offer my notes and impressions of what I saw. Hoping to provide some background and items of possible interest, I will compensate for the limitations of my notes by keeping them brief and conclusory (although this post isn’t short). I can only say in their behalf this is the way
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April 16, 2021 — John Hinderaker
The Minneapolis Public Schools are shutting down next week in anticipation of a verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial: Minneapolis Public Schools are suspending in-person learning next week as the state awaits a verdict in the murder trial against Derek Chauvin. Why? In anticipation of riots, looting and arson, presumably: “Our community is moving through an extraordinarily challenging time as we react to the killing of former MPS student Daunte
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April 8, 2021 — John Hinderaker
Here in Minnesota and around the country, all eyes are on the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the alleged murder of George Floyd. We are nearing the end of the prosecution’s case, so this is perhaps an opportune moment to assess what has happened so far. While not listening to every moment of the testimony, I have followed the trial closely. Much could be said, but
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April 5, 2021 — Scott Johnson
On Friday Minneapolis Police Department Lieutenant Richard Zimmerman took the stand. He is the department’s senior homicide investigator and its most senior officer period. He was called to the scene on the evening of George Floyd’s death. Having subsequently watched bodycam videos of the restraint of George Floyd, he found it unreasonable and excessive in relevant respects under department policy. Zimmerman is an extremely credible witness. He seems to me
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April 2, 2021 — Scott Johnson
The State opened the day with the testimony of George Floyd girl friend Courteney Ross. She discussed her relationship with Floyd dating to the day in August 2017 that he asked asked her how she was doing when she was waiting in the lobby of Harbor Lights to visit her son’s father. She recalled Floyd asking her, “Sis, you okay, Sis?” She said she wasn’t and he asked if he
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April 1, 2021 — Scott Johnson
Firefighter EMT Genevieve Hanson returned to the stand for cross examination by defense counsel Eric Nelson Wednesday morning. Did she show the officers on the scene identification as a firefighter? She did not. Nelson had nothing more for her. With a question or two more from prosecutor Matthew Frank on redirect — she believed George Floyd needed immediate medical attention, but the officers other than Tou Thao didn’t talk to
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March 31, 2021 — Scott Johnson
Minnesota martial arts practitioner Donald Williams returned to the stand and concluded testimony that began Monday afternoon. He reiterated his observations culminating in Floyd’s death: tremendous pain in Floyd’s face, his eyes rolling back in his head, his mouth open, drooling, gasping for air. All the while Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck, Williams’s “energy” did not let him feel he could intervene. After Floyd was loaded into the
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March 30, 2021 — Scott Johnson
I have been struggling with a bug that has sapped my energy and shortened my day yesterday. These notes are accordingly abbreviated. On Sunday I complained that the Star Tribune sought to bypass the issues in the case in the interest of framing it as a (racial) passion play. The Star Tribune is of course not alone in this regard, but is it really needed or illuminating at this point?
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March 28, 2021 — Scott Johnson
At least for purposes of double jeopardy, the trial of Derek Chauvin for the alleged murder of George Floyd begins tomorrow with the empaneling of the jury selected to sit in the case. Opening statements will follow. I offered miscellaneous notes on various aspect of the case here (March 1), here (March 2, on “venue and the mob”), and here (March 7). I want to add to these notes this
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March 24, 2021 — Scott Johnson
In part 11 of this series yesterday I concluded that juror 116 — the deer hunter — filled out the profile of the optimal juror for Derek Chauvin. The prosecution exercised a peremptory challenge to strike him, as it has the few other prospective jurors who turned up with a neutral view of Chauvin and a a mind open to his defenses. Juror number 127 proved even better for Chauvin
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March 23, 2021 — Scott Johnson
When I was trained in as a trial lawyer defending companies in personal injury litigation, I was instructed by one of my mentors at the firm that we wanted to avoid post office workers on the jury. His advice became something of a standing joke. It may even have been a standing joke at the time I joined the firm, but watching voir dire in this case over the past
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March 20, 2021 — Scott Johnson
KTLK’s Jon Justice and Drew Lee have deputized me to act as their Chauvin case correspondent with regular appearances at the top of the show’s third hour at 8:00 a.m. (Central). We had a lot to talk about yesterday, including my preview of Judge Cahill’s rulings at 8:15. I thought some readers might find it of interest. During the segment I took up this AP story conveying an allegation of
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March 19, 2021 — Scott Johnson
If the day didn’t exactly begin with a whimper, it ended with a cathartic bang of a sort. Stick with me here. In between the whimper and the bang three more jurors were seated, bringing the total to 12 so far. We should have 14 soon and adjourn until opening statements on March 29. Before jury selection resumed Jerry Blackwell — one of the several outside attorneys contributing his services
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