The show trial of police officer Derek Chauvin

I am not sure this police officer has the best legal representation possible! I highly doubt it! If I were in his shoes I would fire my attorney and seek a better one!

I previously blogged here, here, here, here about this show trial! Just the fact that the family of the deceased received $27 million in pretrial settlement from the city or that the demented 46th President invited the family of the deceased to the White House after the jury was sequestered were both incredibly prejudicial! The 46th President should perhaps be impeached for that actually! The apparently feeble judge in this case could have dismissed the case for these two reasons and other reasons as a mistrial!

What we have witnessed is a form of modern video incited near mob lynching aided by prosecutors and courts! If I were a police officer, I would think hard what I do next time when I have to carry out my job! As a young person would I think twice choosing a professional career as a police officer.

There is little doubt in my mind that the members of the jury were under tremendous and totally unacceptable duress to come up with a verdict! Unfortunately, there was a serious lack of courage among the members of the jury!

I bet, the Founding Fathers and Mothers in heaven were following this show trial in horror and disgust! A republic, if you can keep it! With show trials like this ... This show trial ought to go down in U.S. history as a very dark moment. Future generations are advised to learn from what not to do! Such show trials you would expect to happen in totalitarian dictatorships or a tyranny but not in the United States!

"Prosecutors are seeking a 30-year sentence for the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, while Chauvin's attorney, who has been pushing for a retrial, has asked for less than 15 years [what!!!!] or probation. The sentencing is scheduled for Friday [6/25/2021]." (Source)

"... The trial was held at the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, and it ran from March 8, 2021, through April 20. It was the first criminal trial in Minnesota to be entirely televised and the first in state court to be broadcast live. ..."

Trial of Derek Chauvin - Wikipedia

Police officer seeks a new trial after being convicted in the death of George Floyd

Good news! This obvious travesty/miscarriage of justice needs to be reviewed!

The city of Minneapolis already paid a $27 million settlement pretrial to the Floyd family! How many million dollars will the family of the police officer receive when the legal battle is over?

"... The denial of a motion for a venue change was one of the various issues raised to argue for a new trial. ..."

There is more in the motion than what I present here as an excerpt:

"... intimidation of the defense’s expert witnesses ...a far-reaching chilling effect on defendants’ ability to procure expert witness—especially in high-profile cases ...

The publicity here was so pervasive and so prejudicial before and during this trial that it amounted to a structural defect in the proceedings ...
The Court abused its discretion when it failed to sequester the jury for the duration of the trial, or in the least, admonish them to avoid all media, which resulted in jury exposure to prejudicial publicity regarding the trial during the proceedings, as well as jury intimidation and potential fear of retribution among jurors ...

The Court abused its discretion and violated [the defendant's]  rights under the Confrontation Clause when it failed to order Morries Hall [friend of Mr. Floyd and drug dealer] to testify, or in the alternative, to admit into evidence Mr. Hall’s statements to law enforcement regarding his interactions with George Floyd and presence at the May 25, 2020 incident ...

The Court abused its discretion when it submitted instructions to the jury that failed to accurately reflect the law with respect to second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and authorized use of force. ..."

Derek Chauvin seeks a new trial after being convicted in the death of George Floyd | Just The News "The cumulative effect of the multiple errors in these proceedings deprived Mr. Chauvin of a fair trial, in violation of his constitutional rights," the filing states.

Here is the link to the motion for a new trial: https://mncourts.gov/mncourtsgov/media/High-Profile-Cases/27-CR-20-12646/Notice-of-Motion-and-Motion.pdf

A case of modern lynching

Would we still live in the so called good old times, then the police officer in the George Floyd death case sure would have been long lynched by the mob!

The widespread softness on crime and the pervasive mob rule that has been allowed to happen in the U.S. is a terrible and regrettable sign of our times!

Then we have a cognitively impaired 46th President of the United States who is cheering on the mob rule and publicly supporting such demagoguery like structural racism!

America que vadis!

46th U.S. President calls George Floyd's family after jury is sequestered

The cognitively impaired 46th President of the United States is fast becoming the worst president since President Franklin D. Roosevelt! The 46th President is actually emulating FDR!

A totally unhinged intervention by this president to call the family of a deceased person in an ongoing criminal trial against a police officer! This is so outrageous! A miscarriage/travesty of justice! As president to lead the mob rule is disgusting!

Is this not an impeachable offense by the 46th president?

"President Joe Biden called the family of George Floyd on Monday [4/21/2021] to let them know he was praying for them as the nation awaits a verdict in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who is accused of causing Floyd’s death. ..."

Joe Biden calls George Floyd's family after Chauvin jury sequestered

What impact will this George Floyd verdict have on law enforcement?

It is quite possible that the jurors were intimidated by all the intense pressure (e.g. No Justice No Peace)! The jurors did not stand up and display courage! They obviously passed the buck! What a miscarriage of justice! This so called murder case is a travesty of justice as if police officers were our enemies!

However, any law enforcement officer will now probably think twice before risking anything! A very sad state of affairs! Add to this the often repeated ludicrous public demands like to defund the police!
Who still wants to be or become a police officer in the United States?

Criminals and irresponsible people will have a field day knowing law enforcement will be easy on them going forward! Not to mention that the Floyd family received $27 million in a settlement from the city before the verdict!

The best hope is that that this verdict will not survive on appeal!

Money talks!

Will the police officer in the George Floyd case get a fair trail?

It appears some of the witnesses called by the prosecution have become consumed with a cause and their testimony appears to be tainted!

The police officer will need very good defense lawyers!

Here is some of what the Wall Street Journal reported:

"Throughout initial proceedings in the former Minneapolis police officer’s murder trial over the death of George Floyd last May, prosecutors have used raw-video footage and emotionally jarring witness testimonies to make their case. The prosecution alleges that Chauvin is guilty of charges including second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Some witnesses recounted Floyd's final moments as he begged for his life and described emotional trauma they've been left with after his killing. Darnella Frazier, then a 17-year-old who recorded a video of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck, spoke tearfully about experiencing many sleepless nights where "I’ve stayed up apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting and not saving his life." Genevieve Hansen, an off-duty firefighter who was at the scene, recounted trying to give aid to Floyd but said police blocked her from doing so. "I don’t know if you’ve ever seen anybody being killed but it’s upsetting," the 27-year-old said, noting that she was swearing at the officers. ..."

What happened in the first week of Derek Chauvin's murder trial.

Who and What Killed George Floyd?

Will the truth come out during the jury trial or will the jury be tainted by among other things the outrageous $27 million pre-trial settlement by the city of Minneapolis? Will this be a fair trial or become a travesty of justice?

The widespread demagoguery surrounding the death of Mr. Floyd is disgusting! 

I presume, the following account is backed by facts:

"... An autopsy showed Floyd's neck muscles were not even bruised. Floyd died when his heart stopped. Yet, he was already suffering from an enlarged heart with constricted arteries, one of five of which was 90 percent blocked and two others were 75 percent blocked.
An autopsy found heavy concentrations of fentanyl in Floyd's system and traces of methamphetamines. If Floyd had collapsed and died in the street while being wrested into the squad car, his death would have been attributed to a drug overdose and a bad heart. ...
Also, a videotape of the minutes prior to Floyd's being put on the pavement, his neck under Chauvin's knee, shows Floyd crying, repeatedly, "I can't breathe," while resisting the two rookie cops trying to put him in the patrol car. Moreover, there is testimony from those with Floyd when he was stopped for passing an allegedly phony $20 bill, that he had passed out in the car before the cops arrived. And the arresting cops claim he was foaming at the mouth before being restrained. ...
What was Chauvin trying to do when he arrived to see two rookie cops trying to cope with a powerfully built, six-foot-four-inch, 220-pound man violently resisting arrest? ...
In a motion to dismiss the charges he himself faces in the death of Floyd, former police officer Thomas Lane included 30 pages of Minneapolis PD training materials including information on the "maximal restraint technique." Lane included a photo of an officer with a knee on a suspect's neck, similar to the hold used by Chauvin. ..."

Who and What Killed George Floyd? | Intellectual Takeout

Floyd family agrees to $27 million pretrial settlement with city of Minneapolis

This is absolutely insane and outrageous! What is going on in Minneapolis to pay out tens of millions of dollars on such settlements! Those Minneapolis officials who were responsible to agree with this settlement should be fired or recalled immediately! Not to wait for the outcome of the pending jury trial is irresponsible! This is a judicial farce, what a travesty of justice!

Despite reports of Mr. Floyd being agitated, resisted arrest and being under the influence of possibly multiple drugs and much more! I blogged here, here, and here about him. What if the pending jury trial acquits the police officers and puts the blame on George Floyd? This outrageous settlement will only negatively influence the jury members, who are already under tremendous pressure! 

This and other similar excessive settlements open the floodgates and will make our streets and our lives less save!

"... Council members met privately to discuss the settlement, then returned to public session for a unanimous vote in support of the massive payout. It easily surpassed the $20 million the city approved two years ago to the family of a white woman killed by a police officer. Floyd family attorney Ben Crump called it the largest pretrial settlement ever for a civil rights claim, and thanked city leaders ..."

Floyd family agrees to $27M settlement amidst ex-cop's trial The city of Minneapolis on Friday agreed to pay $27 million to settle a civil lawsuit from George Floyd’s family over the Black man’s death in police custody, as jury selection continued in a former officer’s murder trial.