Minnesota Supreme Court ‘won’t intervene’ with third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin

A lot of activity surrounding the trial is outlined by Star Tribune in a summary piece. Multiple efforts at either delaying the trial further or outright suspending it for now have been ineffective.

District Judge Peter Cahill is expected to elaborate further on the third-degree murder charge aspect on Thursday morning when the jury selection process continues.

At the current stage of the trial, the attorneys on both sides are publicly interviewing the witnesses and assessing them for potential biases. This being a matter at the forefront of the proceedings given last summer’s mass rioting and unrest after the death of George Floyd.

The five confirmed so far (out of 12 total and two alternates):

• Juror 1 believes "every life should matter."
• Juror 2 according to a reporter for Minnesota Public Radio is "a woman who grew up in northern MN. Related to a Brainerd cop; said on questionnaire that Black people treated unfairly in criminal justice system."
• Juror 3 is “friend of a friend” of a Minneapolis Police Department K9 officer. He didn’t talk about the Floyd case with the officer so there was no potential impact on the relationship.
• Juror 4 is not worried about the pandemic or high security measures in place at Hennepin County Government Center. But he’s getting married on May 1st in Florida and is worried about timing. Saw video of Floyd’s death and concluded "under the influence and somewhat unruly," but believes cops arrest black Americans on small offences to a higher degree.
• Juror 5 is an immigrant who moved to the United States fourteen years ago, lived in Minnesota for roughly eight years. Saw video of Floyd’s death and formed a negative opinion of Chauvin as a result, but promised "I will follow the law" and believes being on jury is a civic duty.

A recent poll found that people trust the police more and side with the BLM movement less, after the events of mid-2020.