As previously noted, on July 18, 2023, the Minnesota Supreme Court 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]
On October 18, 2023, counsel for Derek Chauvin filed his petition for U.S. Supreme Court review of his state court conviction for murder of George Floyd.[2] The 38-page petition presented the following questions:
- “Whether catastrophic-widespread community harm and threat of harm is a presumed community bias and must be considered as a singular inquiry as an extreme case creating circumstances so inherently prejudicial that jury bias must also be presumed because jurors have a vested interest in the outcome of the case, thereby narrowing a trial court’s discretion and mandating a change of venue, without voir dire, to ensure a constitutionally fair trial under the Sixth Amendment.”
- “Whether when evidence of juror prejudice and voir dire misconduct found after trial indicates a juror stereotyped, prejudged, or carried an undisclosed animus against the criminal defendant, the Sixth Amendment requires the trial court to consider that evidence and any resulting denial of the right to trial by an impartial jury. “
The response by the State of Minnesota is due November 20, 2023.
Conclusion
The details of this cert petition and the State’s response will be summarized in future posts.
In the meantime, the Chauvin appeal and arguments in the state case and now his cert. petition seem a waste of effort and money for all concerned in light of Chauvin’s guilty plea in the federal case over the killing of Mr. Floyd when Chauvin admitted in writing that certain facts were true . . .[and] established his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt].” [3] Those admissions included the following:
- Chauvin, ‘while acting under color of law . . . willfully deprived George Floyd of . . . the right to be free from an unreasonable seizure, which includes the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer. [Chauvin] . . . held his left knee across Mr. Floyd’s neck, back, and shoulder, and his right knee on Mr. Floyd’s back and arm. As Mr. Floyd lay on the ground, handcuffed and unresisting, [Chauvin] . . . kept his knees on Floyd’s neck and body, even after Mr. Floyd became unresponsive. This offense resulted in bodily injury to, and the death of, George Floyd.”
- Chauvin “admits that in using this unreasonable and excessive force, he acted willfully and in callous and wanton disregard of the consequences to Mr. Floyd’s life. [Chauvin] . . . knew that what he was doing was wrong, in part, because it was contrary to his training as an MPD officer.. .”
- Chauvin “also knew there was no legal justification to continue his use of force because he was aware that Mr. Floyd not only stopped resisting, but also stopped talking, stopped moving, stopped breathing, and lost consciousness and a pulse.’ [Chauvin] . . .chose to continue applying force even though he knew Mr. Floyd’s condition progressively worsened. . . . [Chauvin] also heard Mr. Floyd repeatedly explain that he could not breathe, was in pain, and wanted help.”
- Chauvin “knew that what he was doing was wrong—that continued force was no longer appropriate and that it posed significant risks to Mr. Floyd’s life—based on what he observed and heard about Mr. Floyd.”
- Chauvin “admits that he failed to render medical aid to Mr. Floyd, as he was capable of doing, and trained and required to do.”
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[1] Derek Chauvin Will Ask U.S. Supreme Court To Review His State Court Conviction for Murder and Manslaughter of George Floyd, dwkcommentaries.com (July 21, 2023).
[2] Petition for Writ of Certiorari, Chauvin v. State of Minnesota, U.S. Sup. Ct. # 23-416 (Oct. 16, 2023).
[3] Derek Chauvin’s Appeal of State Conviction and Sentencing for Killing of George Floyd, dwkcommentaries.com (Jan. 23, 2023).