MINNEAPOLIS -- The judge overseeing the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd's death, rejected a defense request to delay or move the proceedings because of pretrial publicity related to the city's $27 million civil settlement with Floyd's family.
Cahill also ruled that he will allow Chauvin's defense to mention limited details of a 2019 interaction between Floyd and the Minneapolis police that was similar to the 2020 incident that left the 46-year-old Black man dead. He also will limit the testimony of a prosecution witness, a forensic psychiatrist who is being called to talk about Floyd's reaction to officers at the 2020 scene, but said he was open to reconsidering that decision during the trial.
Cahill agreed with prosecutors who had pointed to the steady pace of jury selection this week as proof that pretrial publicity, including about the settlement, had not harmed Chauvin's right to a fair trial. Mayor Jacob Frey, a civil rights attorney, also told reporters he"disagreed with the underlying premise" that the settlement had affected Chauvin's trial but declined to comment further, citing requests from Cahill to stop talking about the case.
On Friday, Cahill again hinted at his displeasure about the city's handling of the settlement and the continued comments of city officials about the case, but ultimately said he had no control over their actions.
Source: Law Daily Report (lawdailyreport.net)