This post will analyze the trial witness lists in the Derek Chauvin criminal trial which is scheduled to begin on March 8.[1] Previous posts discussed the Court of Appeals’ recent refusal to postpone the commencement of that trial [2] and recent papers concerning the third-degree murder charges, including the trial court’s dismissal of those charges.[3] Future posts will examine the recent filing of motions in limine and trial briefs.[4]
Witness Lists
The State lists 363 witnesses while Chauvin lists 212 witnesses for a total of 575. However, elimination of duplicates on Chauvin’s leaves only 44 additional witnesses for a revised total of 407. It should also be noted that the State says that its witness list includes ”any person whose name is disclosed in any of the prosecution disclosures as well as any witness disclosed by the defense . . . [and] .. .any other witnesses [who] become known prior to the trial of this action.”
Here are tabulations of the witness lists: the totals for the State while only the unique number of witnesses are counted from Chauvin’s list The “Revised Total” is the sum of these two sets.
| Category | State Total | Chauvin
Unique |
Revised
Total |
| Mpls Police Dept | 61 | 5 | 66 |
| Mpls Park Police | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Mpls Fire Dep’t | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Other Cities Police | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Hennepin County Sheriff | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Ramsey County Jail | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| MN Bur. Crim. Appreh. | 46 | 3 | 49 |
| FBI | 26 | 6 | 32 |
| U.S. Secret Service | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Other Federal Employees | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| HCMC/Medical | 29 | 2 | 31 |
| Civilian/scene | 185 | 0 | 52 |
| CONFIDENTIAL PERSON, Bloomington,, MN | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Hennepin County Attorneys | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Defense Experts | 0 | 16 | 16 |
| Defense Audio/Video | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 363 | 44 | 407 |
Comments on the Lists
Chauvin’s list was easy to handle because it put the witnesses in named groups: (1) BCA Agents/employees/ analysts; (2) Minneapolis Police Department officers/employees (plus 911 Emergency Dispatch); (3) Federal employees; (4) Medical Personnel/HCMC Personnel; (5) Minneapolis Fire Department Personnel; (6) Minneapolis Park Police Personnel; (7) Civilian/scene witnesses; (8) Hennepin County Attorney’s Office; (9) Defense Experts; and (10) Defense Audio/ Video Preparation.
The State’s list was more difficult to handle because each of 12 pages had two columns of 15 names in separate alphabetical order plus the last page with three additional names (all with identification of their employers). However, they were not separated into their employer groups.
Minneapolis Police Department Witnesses.
This list includes the following leaders of the Department: Chief Medaria Arradondo, Assistant Chief Henry Halverson, Deputy Chief of Investigations Kathleen Waite; Deputy Chief of Patrol Erick Fors; Inspector Katie Blackwell, and Commanders Travis Glampe and Thomas Wheeler.
The State’s list also includes co-defendants J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, who , if called and have not reached guilty plea deals, would probably assert the privilege against self-incrimination and not answer any questions.
Minneapolis Park Police Witnesses list includes Chief Jason Ohotto.
Minneapolis Fire Department Witnesses list includes Deputy Chiefs Kathleen Mullen and Bryan Tyner.
Other Cities Police witnesses are Officers Alecia Ainslie and Shaun Anselment of the Burnsville, Minnesota Police Department; Chief Kelly McCarthy of the Mendota Heights, Minnesota Police Department; and Jody Stigler of the Los Angeles, California Police Department.
Confidential Person from Bloomington Minnesota. Who could this be?
Conclusion
Melding these two lists into the above table was not easy, and errors could have been made. Identification of such errors would be appreciated.
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[1] State’s Prospective Witness List, State V. Chauvin, Court File NO. 27-CR-20-12646 Feb. 8, 2021); Defendant’s Witness List, State V. Chauvin, Court File NO. 27-CR-20-12646 Feb. 8, 2021).
[2] See these posts to dwkcommentaries.com: Update on Status of Trial Dates in George Floyd Criminal Cases (Feb. 4, 2021); Appellate Rejection of State’s Appeal of Early Start of Chauvin Trial (Feb. 13, 2021).
[3] Prosecution and Chauvin Dispute Adding Third-Degree Murder Charges in George Floyd Criminal Case, dwkcommentareis.com( Feb. 10, 2021); Court Denies Third-Degree Murder Charges for George Floyd Criminal Cases, dwkcommentaries.com (Feb. 12, 2021).
On February 12, the State appealed the denial of its motion to reinstate third-degree murder charges to the Court of Appeals. (Notice of Appeal by the Prosecuting Attorney to the Court of Appeals from District court Order Denying State’s Motion to Reinstate or Add Third Degree Murder Charge, State v. Chauvin, Court file No. 27-CR-20-12646 (Feb. 12, 2021); Statement of the Case, State v. Chauvin, Minn. Court of Appeals, Court file No. 27-CR-20-12646 (Feb. 12, 2021); Xiong, Prosecutors ask Court of Appeals a second time to intervene in George Floyd case, StarTribune (Feb. 16, 2021)
[4] State’s Motions in Limine, State V. Chauvin, Court File NO. 27-CR-20-12646 Feb. 8, 2021); State’s Memorandum of Law in Support of Motions in Limine, State V. Chauvin, Court File NO. 27-CR-20-12646 Feb. 8, 2021); Defendant’s Motions in Limine, State V. Chauvin, Court File NO. 27-CR-20-12646 Feb. 8, 2021); State’s Proposed Jury Instructions, State V. Chauvin, Court File NO. 27-CR-20-12646 Feb. 8, 2021); Defendant’s Proposed Jury Instructions, State V. Chauvin, Court File NO. 27-CR-20-12646 Feb. 8, 2021).
