MINNEAPOLIS — The judge presiding over the Derek Chauvin murder case sent potential jurors home on Monday morning, just one hour into the start of the trial.
Protesters assembled outside the courthouse early Monday morning, calling for justice in the death of George Floyd. Downtown Minneapolis, the location of most government buildings, saw almost no foot traffic in the previous week.
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But one of the most critical parts of the case against Chauvin, whether he should be tried for third-degree murder on top of his other murder and manslaughter charges, remains in limbo.
Prosecutors, pushing for that extra murder charge, successfully convinced the judge to delay the trial until they receive an answer from the court of appeals. That means the jury selection process could be delayed for up to 30 days while tensions run high throughout the city.
A lead prosecutor on the case, Matthew Frank, expressed concern that they did not want to win a conviction against Chauvin only for it to be overturned later.
“The jury would be able to handle the addition of that third-degree murder charge,” Judge Peter Cahill said, who wanted a jury selected immediately.
But the prosecution won the argument, convincing the judge to send potential jurors home for the rest of the day after just an hour.
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“I think it does affect the jury selection process, Frank said. “Our position is, it is very much involved with the trial itself.”
Frank added that jurors having to consider a whole new charge, something the judge said happens regularly during criminal trials, could open the entire case to appeal from Chauvin’s defense team.