BREAKING: Judge denies Chauvin's motion for new trial

Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill on Thursday denied former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's request for a new trial in the death of George Floyd.

Chauvin's defense attorney, Eric Nelson, filed a motion for a new trial last month, claiming "juror misconduct." Nelson took issue with the court deciding to keep Chauvin's trial in Minneapolis and the failure to sequester the jury.

One major area of concern for the defense team was the revelation that Brandon Mitchell—known as Juror #52—lied to the court about his knowledge of the case during jury selection. Photos of him surfaced, proving Mitchell's narrative false.

In the pictures, Mitchell donned a t-shirt with George Floyd's face pictured on the front that read "Get your knee off our necks" and "BLM," something he claimed he wore to "spark some change." Those photographs, liberal law professor Alan Dershowtiz said, called into question the jury's guilty verdict.

According to Cahill, Chauvin's team failed to prove "the Court abused its discretion or committed error such that Defendant was deprived of his constitutional right to a fair trial" or "that the State engaged in prosecutorial misconduct such that Defendant was deprived of his constitutional right to a fair trial."

Chauvin was found guilty of second and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He will be sentenced on the second-degree murder charge on Friday, which carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.