The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s appeal of his conviction for the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
A Minnesota judge sentenced Chauvin to 22.5 years in prison after he was convicted in April 2021 of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Chauvin appealed his conviction, alleging his right to a fair trial was violated.
Protests swept the country in May 2020 after video circulated online of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. Chauvin’s motion to change venues was denied by the trial court.
His lawyers alleged that the judge should have granted the request to move the trial due to pretrial publicity. Media coverage prior to the trial “relentless and demonized Mr. Chauvin,” the petition notes. (RELATED: Derek Chauvin Appeals Murder Conviction, Claims Protesters Intimidated Jury)
People react after learning the sentencing of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin outside the Hennepin County Government Center on June 25, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by KEREM YUCEL/AFP via Getty Images)
“Mr. Chauvin’s case shows the profound difficulties trial courts have to ensure a criminal defendant’s right to an impartial jury consistently when extreme cases arise,” his lawyers wrote in their petition. “This was particularly true here when the jurors themselves had a vested interest in finding Mr. Chauvin guilty in order to avoid further rioting in the community in which they lived and the possible threat of physical harm to them or their families.”
The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld Chauvin’s conviction in April, according to CBS News.
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