Ex-policeman’s trial in George Floyd death delayed over possible added charge
- The judge was given a last-minute order by a higher court to reconsider adding a third-degree murder charge for former officer Derek Chauvin
- Protesters block traffic around the courthouse on the first day of the high-profile trial over the killing of a black man that sparked rallies across the US
The trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd was delayed until at least Tuesday morning as the judge contended with a last-minute order by a higher court to reconsider adding an additional murder charge.
The trial had been expected to begin on Monday with the screening of jurors to weigh murder and manslaughter charges in a case seen as a referendum on police violence against black Americans. Chauvin appeared in court dressed in a navy blue suit and tie, a white shirt and a black face mask, jotting notes in a yellow legal pad on the table before him.
Judge Peter Cahill of the Hennepin County district court set aside three weeks for jury selection alone, mindful of the difficulties finding impartial Minneapolitans in a case that has convulsed a nation and in which an image of the victim – a selfie of Floyd faintly smiling – has become an international icon of racial justice.
But that was delayed at the urging of prosecutors after the Minnesota Court of Appeals told Cahill in an order issued on Friday he must reconsider prosecutors’ request to also reinstate a third charge, third-degree murder, over the defendant’s objections.
Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s lead lawyer, told the court on Monday morning that Chauvin would soon ask the Minnesota Supreme Court to overturn Friday’s order, a process that could take weeks, although he saw no reason for that to delay jury selection.