Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin filed a motion through his attorney on Tuesday asking for a new trial after he was convicted for the murder of George Floyd, Fox News reported.
Chauvin believes that his constitutional right to a fair trial was violated throughout the trial that found him guilty of murdering Floyd, according to Fox News. The motion comes after revelations that a juror in the George Floyd trial, Brandon Mitchell, previously attended Black Lives Matter protests despite stating otherwise before he was selected as a juror.
One of the jurors who convicted Derek Chauvin of murder answered “no” to questions about attending protests before jury selection. But now it has been revealed he attended a BLM rally last summer led by George Floyd’s family & even wore BLM clothing. https://t.co/66UKHZZRK1
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) May 4, 2021
Before the trial began, Mitchell filled out a questionnaire for jury selection for which he answered that he had never previously attended any protests regarding police brutality, CBSN Minnesota reported. However, a photo of Mitchell at such a protest went viral, with Mitchell later confirming his attendance. (RELATED: Minnesota AG Keith Ellison Pushing For A Tougher Prison Sentence For Derek Chauvin)
Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, additionally identified several violations of Chauvin’s constitutional rights including the refusal by the judge presiding over the case to grant a change of venue, the decision not to sequester jurors, and the court’s decision to decline testimony from Floyd’s suspected drug dealer, Morries Hall, Fox News reported.
Hall previously made statements to police that the jurors were not allowed to hear, according to Fox News. He also invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying in the trial.
“The cumulative effect of the multiple errors in these proceedings deprived Mr. Chauvin of a fair trial, in violation of his constitutional rights,” Nelson stated in the filing. “The Court abused its discretion and violated Mr. Chauvin’s rights under the Confrontation Clause when it failed to order Morries Hall to testify, or in the alternative, to admit into evidence Mr. Hall’s statements to law enforcement regarding his interactions with George Floyd and presence at the May 25, 2020 incident.”
Nelson also asked for the guilty verdict to be tossed in addition to the new trial request, Fox News reported.