Attorney for Derek Chauvin Seeks Motion for New Trial

Eric Nelson - Derek Chauvin -CourtTV — Attorney Eric Nelson – Derek Chauvin

*Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is seeking a new trial over the death of George Floyd.

Chauvin’s attorney filed court documents on Tuesday, weeks after a jury convicted him of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Chauvin, a white man, was found guilty on April 20 on all counts of murdering George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis on May 25 2020 by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes until he died.

In video footage of the incident, Floyd can be heard repeating, “I can’t breathe.

Chauvin faces up to 40 years in prison.

We reported earlier, the police killing of Floyd last May launched ongoing protests and a racial reckoning across the United States and around the world. Chauvin’s attorney Eric Nelson claims the ex-officer didn’t get a fair trial due to the high-profile publicity of the case.

“The publicity here was so pervasive and so prejudicial before and during this trial that it amounted to a structural defect in the proceedings,” the filing said. It also accused prosecutors of “pervasive, prejudicial prosecutorial misconduct” for disparaging the defense and failing to adequately prepare witnesses, per MSN.

The filing also seeks a hearing to “impeach the verdict,” on the grounds that “the jury committed misconduct, felt threatened or intimidated, felt race-based pressure during the proceedings, and/or failed to adhere to instructions during deliberations.”

Chauvin is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25.

In the meantime, per The Star Tribune, the federal government was seeking civil-rights charges against Chauvin and the three other officers charged with aiding him in the murder of Floyd.

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