Derek Chauvin Shut Down In Plea For New Trial, Judge Not Swayed By Former Police Officer's Claim The Jury Was Biased
June 25 2021, Published 12:03 p.m. ET
A Minnesota judge has denied Derek Chauvin’s plea for his murder conviction to be thrown out due to alleged jury bias.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, the judge made the decision ahead of Chauvin’s sentencing.
He is facing 40 years in prison after being found guilty of murdering George Floyd. The ex-police officer was attempting to have the conviction dismissed before he was sentenced.
In his motion, Chauvin said the court made several errors during his trial that prevented him from having a fair trial. He said the court should have allowed the trial to be moved to a different court.
Chauvin accused the prosecutors of leaking information about the case to the press ahead of the trial. Prosecutors have denied the claim they provided reporters with confidential documents.
Chauvin claims the information was about a plea deal he had reached with prosecutors that ended up being rejected by the Department of Justice.
He had agreed to be guilty to charges and believes the leaked story could have caused a bias against him.
His legal team had issues with the jury not being sequestered during the whole trial. The jurors were only placed in isolation once deliberations started.
The judge wasn’t persuaded by the argument. He ruled that Chauvin will not receive a new trial or have the conviction dismissed.
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The court order read, “Defendant has failed to demonstrate that the Court abused its discretion or committed error such that Defendant was deprived of his constitutional right to a fair trial.”
Further, the judge said Chauvin has “failed to demonstrate that the State engaged in prosecutorial misconduct.” Chauvin is now set to face the judge in a couple of hours. He has asked for a probation only sentence.
In his motion, he told the judge he did nothing wrong, and Floyd caused his own death. Prosecutors have scoffed at his request and want him sentenced to at least 30 years in prison.
