US judge pieces George Floyd murder trial for next year
01 July, 2020
A Minneapolis judge on Monday collection the trial date for four ex-law enforcement officers charged in the murder of African American George Floyd for March 8, 2021, making sharp he did not want the sensitive case to become a media circus with the presidential election looming.
As the protests over racial injustice continued to reverberate nationwide, Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill warned the four, their attorneys and status officials not to take up the sensitive case through the news headlines, even as one legal professional remarked that President Donald Trump had previously weighed in.
"I'd like to find pre-trial publicity not include statements from friends and family from either side, law enforcement or elected officials" about guilt or innocence, or the merits of the case, he told a courtroom.
Derek Chauvin, the light officer filmed on, may 25 pressing his knee in to the handcuffed 46-year-old's throat for nearly eight mins until he became unresponsive, faces second and third-degree murder charges.
Three others who were with Chauvin, 44, if they detained Floyd are charged with aiding and abetting a murder.
None of the four formally entered pleas.
Robert Paule, defending Tou Thao, among the 3 charged with abetting the killing, said his consumer would plead not liable, arguing that he adhered to police guidelines on usage of force.
But Paule also expressed concerns over prejudicial comments and actions by talk about and national officials that could impression the trial.
"In this case, we have comments made, We believe, by President Trump," in addition to Minnesota's governor, the mayor of Minneapolis, the Minnesota legal professional general and other folks, Paule said.
He noted that Minnesota Attorney Basic Keith Ellison, whose workplace is leading the prosecution, and US Attorney Erica MacDonald met Floyd's family group found in Houston, adding that the trip was leaked to the press.
Paule said even more publicity could lead to a push for a good change of venue.
Eric Nelson, the legal professional for Chauvin, said he could demand the judge legally order people involved to stay silent.
"If such consumer statements continue, I'm going to be trying to find a gag order," Nelson said.
Chauvin, whose bail provides been set in $1 million, made an appearance via video recording from the Oak Park Heights prison wearing an orange jumpsuit and a coronavirus mask.
The other defendants -Thao, Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane - appeared personally.
The four, who were fired from the Minneapolis police 1 day after Floyd's death, each confront 40 years behind bars.
The bystander training video of Floyd's loss of life stunned and horrified Americans, igniting protests and riots in cities in the united states and sparking a national debate on racism and police violence.
Floyd was detained for the small charge of wanting to use a counterfeit $20 bill, even though found in handcuffs, two of the officers held him straight down on the street even though Chauvin pressed his knee to Floyd's throat and the 4th officer stood watch.
"I cannot breathe," Floyd said on several situations before losing consciousness.
An independent autopsy in the future revealed that Floyd died of suffocation because of the police officer's pressure on his neck and cited the reason for death as "homicide."
The initial complaint said Floyd was pinned by the throat for eight minutes and 46 seconds but this is revised down by 60 seconds the other day.
The judge set another procedural hearing for September, with all parties needing to assemble an enormous amount of evidence.
Prosecutor Matthew Frank, a great assistant Minnesota attorney general, said so far there are a lot more than 8,000 specific pages of discovery and hundreds of music recordings and photographs date-stamped in the event.
Source: www.thejakartapost.com