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Derek Chauvin appeals conviction and sentence for murder of George Floyd

Derek Chauvin appeals conviction and sentence for murder of George Floyd

The former Minneapolis police officer convicted of George Floyd’s murder plans to appeal his conviction and sentence, according to court documents.

Derek Chauvin, 45, indents to appeal on 14 different grounds, according to the documents filed yesterday.

Among them, he says that Judge Cahill abused his discretion when he denied the defendant’s request to move the trial out of Hennepin County due to pre-trial publicity.

He also claimed the judge acted improperly by denying a request to sequester the jury for the duration of the trial, and when he refused to postpone the trial or grant a new one when asked.

Chauvin was convicted earlier this year on state charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death.

He was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison. He is also charged in federal court with violating Floyd’s civil rights when he knelt on his neck for approximately 9.5 minutes.

Mr Floyd, a Black man, was facedown on the pavement at the time, and repeatedly could be heard saying ‘I can’t breathe.’ Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to those charges.

Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for the death of George Floyd

Chauvin will be representing himself in the appeals process, as he has no income aside from nominal prison wages


The former police officer had 90 days after his sentencing to file notice that he intends to appeal.

He also filed a motion to put the appeals process on hold until the Supreme Court reviews an earlier decision to deny him a public defender to represent him in his appeal.

Chauvin will be representing himself in the appeals process, as he has no income aside from nominal prison wages.

His case before Cahill had been funded by the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association’s legal defense fund.

‘I have been informed that their obligation to pay for my representation terminated upon my conviction and sentencing,’ Chauvin wrote.

All grounds that Chauvin raised in his notice of intent to appeal had been raised previously by defense attorney Eric Nelson as the case worked its way through the district court.

George Floyd’s death sparked a wave of anti-racism protests across the world


Mr Nelson had previously argued that intense publicity around Mr Floyd´s death tainted the jury pool and that the trial should have been moved away from Minneapolis.

Chauvin intends to argue that Judge Cahill abused his discretion when he failed to allow Chauvin to strike ‘clearly biased’ jurors for cause and when he allowed the state to add a charge of third-degree murder.

He also believes the judge was wrong to limit the admissibility of evidence from a prior arrest of Mr Floyd, and when he denied Mr Nelson’s post-verdict request for a new trial and request for a hearing to question jurors to investigate alleged misconduct.

Chauvin also accused a juror of not being candid during jury selection because he failed to mention his participation in a march to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 2020.

Prosecutors countered that Brandon Mitchell had been open about his views in a jury questionnaire and during questioning.

The judge ruled the defense didn’t establish any evidence of juror misconduct either during trial or during jury selection that warranted an evidentiary hearing.

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