The Minnesota Supreme Court on July 18, 2023, in a one-page order denied Derek Chauvin’s petition for review of the Minnesota Court of Appeals’ 50-page decision affirming his state court conviction, after a jury trial, for second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the May 2020 death of George Floyd.[1]
Immediately afterwards Chauvin’s attorneys said that they will petition the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case on the ground that his right to a fair trial under the U.S. Constitution was violated. “This criminal trial generated the most amount of pretrial publicity in history. More concerning are the riots which occurred after George Floyd’s death [and] led the jurors to all express concerns for their safety in the event they acquitted Mr. Chauvin — safety concerns which were fully evidenced by surrounding the courthouse in barbed wire and National Guard troops during the trial and deploying the National Guard throughout Minneapolis prior to jury deliberations.”[2]
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, however, said that the state Supreme Court’s denial of review “means that the Court of Appeals was correct in finding that his trial was properly conducted and he was properly convicted under law. This development definitively holds Chauvin accountable and closes this chapter of the murder of George Floyd.”
In this blogger’s opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court will deny this petition on the grounds that the Minnesota Court of Appeals’ 50-page decision is well-reasoned and thorough. In addition, as previously argued in this blog, Chauvin’s guilty plea to related charges in federal court should be another ground for rejecting any Chauvin appeals, but this argument was not mentioned by the Court of Appeals.[3]
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[1] Walsh, Minnesota Supreme Court declines to hear Derek Chauvin’s petition for appeal, Star Tribune (July 19, 2023); Minnesota Court of Appeals Affirms Chauvin’s State Court Conviction for Killing of George Floyd, dwkcommentaries.com (April 19, 2023)
[2] Karnowski, Ex-officer Derek Chauvin to ask US Supreme Court to review his conviction in murder of George Floyd, Assoc. Press (July 19, 2023); Daniels, Chauvin to ask Supreme Court to review conviction in George Floyd murder, The Hill (July 20, 2023).
[3] Derek Chauvin’s Appeal of State Conviction and Sentencing for Killing of George Floyd, dwkcomentaries.com (Jan, 23, 2023).
