Since the filing of criminal charges against four former Minneapolis police officers over the May 25th death of George Floyd there have been many submissions to the court, pretrial hearings and court orders that have been summarized in previous posts.[1] Now we look at the developments in the cases since November 18.
Kueng’s Supplemental Offer of Proof Regarding Floyd’s 5/6/19 Incident [2]
On November 23, Defendant Kueng submitted records of his attorney’s interviews of four other police officers involved in the May 6, 2019 Minneapolis arrest of Mr. Floyd as an offer of proof to admit evidence of that arrest at trial.
State’s Disclosure of Expert Witnesses [3]
On November 24, the State of Minnesota disclosed the following potential expert witnesses and reports:
- Michael Berkow;
- John J. Ryan,
- William Louis Manion, M.D.
- Glenn G. Hardin, MPH, DABFT
- William Louis Manion, M.D.,
- S. Charles Schulz, II,
- Michael M. Baden, M.D.,
- Theodore C. Chan, M.D.,
- Sellman Charles Schulz, II, M.D.,
- Lawson F. Bernstein, Jr., M.D.,
- Joshua O. Zimmerman,
- Andrew M. Baker, M.D.,
- Theodore Chan,
- Michael M. Baden, M.D.
State’s Arguments Against Livestreaming of Trial [4]
On November 25, the State moved for reconsideration of the order for audio and video coverage of the trial. It made the following points:
- “The Minnesota General Rules of Practice . . . permit audio or visual recordings of criminal trials, but only if the State and Defendants have consented ‘in writing” or “on the record prior’ to trial.” But at least the State had not so consented.
- “Moreover, even when the parties consent, the Rules prohibit video and audio recordings of ‘any witness who objects thereto in writing or on the record before testifying.’”
- Neither the U.S. nor the Minnesota Constitution “requires such recordings.” And the “Sixth Amendment’s core purpose—transparency—can readily be achieved with overflow rooms and closed-circuit cameras. “
- “[R]ecording and publicly broadcasting witness testimony without consent will cause witnesses to lose their privacy and suffer possible threats of intimidation, and may make it less likely that some witnesses will come forward and testify at trial. “
Defendant Thao Asks for Trial Delay & Sanctions on Prosecution [5]
On December 11, Defendant Tou Thao’s attorney filed a motion to delay the trial from March 8 to July 5 and for sanctions against the prosecution for its alleged delay in sharing important evidence with the defense.
The motion asserted that the Court’s order of June 30 required the prosecution to share all evidence by August 14, but the prosecution has delayed sharing more than 15,000 pages of evidence over eight separate instances. Most significant was the prosecution’s not providing until October 28 an account of a July 8 interview of Hennepin County Chief Medical Examiner Andrew Baker.. The defense attorney also asked the Court to order the State to pay for the defense attorney’s fees and costs caused by the delays and postpone the defense’s deadline to disclose their expert witnesses.
Dr. Andrew Baker in that July 8 interview described “the mechanism of death as Floyd’s heart and lungs stopping due to the combined effects of his health problems as well as the exertion and restraint involved in Floyd’s interaction with police prior to being on the ground.” (Emphasis in the brief.)
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[1] See List of Posts to dwkcommentaries—Topical: George Floyd Killing.
[2] Defendant’s Supplemental Offer of Proof in Support of Motion To Admit Floyd’s May 6, 2019 Incident, State v. Kueng, Court File No. 27-CR-20-12933 (Hennepin County District Court Nov. 23, 2020).
[3] Supplemental Prosecution Disclosure Pursuant to Rule 9.01, Subd. 1, State v. Chauvin, Court File No. 27-CR-20-12646 (Nov. 24. 2020).
[4] State’s Motion for Reconsideration of Order Allowing Audio and Video Coverage of Trial, State v. Chauvin, Court File No. 27-CR-20-12646 (Hennepin County District Court Nov. 25, 2020); Xiong, Prosecutors challenge judge’s order allowing livestreamng of George Floyd trial, arguing it could harm testimony, StarTribune (Nov. 30, 3030).
[5] Motion for Sanctions and Hearing Regarding Discovery Violations by the State, State v. Thao, Court File No 27-CR-20-12949 (Hennepin County District Court Dec. 11, 2020); Exhibit 1 to said motion (FBI Memo of Interview of Andrew Baker, MD (09/01/20)); Exhibit 2 to said Motion (Letter, Aug. 7, 2020, Office of Hennepin County Attorney to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Paulsen); Defense attorney: Prosecutors in George Floyd case should be sanctioned for delaying sharing evidence, StarTribune (Dec. 11, 2020).