Only Judge Peter Cahill was allowed to review seated jurors about the $27 million settlement news.
CNN reported two days ago that the defense lawyers requested a full-on delay in light of the public announcement of a civil settlement between Minneapolis and the family of George Floyd (they also requested a change in venue).
Today NBC News detailed the ultimate agreement arranged: reviewing already seated jurors about the news.
The first dismissed juror was a Hispanic man in his 20s. He told Judge Peter Cahill that the settlement reached by the city of Minneapolis impacts his impartiality by "a lot." The other juror was a white guy in his 30s that told the judge the dollar amount shocked him.
"That kind of sent the message that the city of Minneapolis felt that something was wrong and they wanted to make it right to the tune of that dollar amount. I think in the headline if it would have said $2,000 versus $20 million, that's a big change," that juror said.
The other five jurors questioned about the settlement were not swayed upon hearing the news about the settlement. They either didn’t hear enough details or they had already determined that the facts of the case were a separate matter entirely.
Generally speaking, jurors had been instructed to avoid media coverage about the case. But given the intense spotlight on Chauvin it’s nearly impossible to accomplish.
Statements made about the settlement by elected officials served as a further hindrance to the matter.
It all came down to a matter of timing. Derek Chauvin’s defense had made the argument that this public announcement of a $27 million settlement granted by the city of Minneapolis “tainted the jury pool.”
That’s what led to a re-review of jurors already selected thus far. The argument being that the influence from the settlement could inadvertently impact the fairness of the trial. At the current stage it’s an arduous process of reviewing potential jurors to make sure the media coverage of the past year has not caused these people to develop a predetermined bias.
Recently Judge Peter Cahill allowed the reinstatement of a third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin, after an argument from the appeals court was granted standing.
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