Juror 60 has been excused from serving on the jury panel. Judge Cahill just went to a 15 min break, one juror is left scheduled to be questioned today.
Court is back from recess - Judge Cahill is now swearing in potential juror 61
Judge Cahill excuses Juror 61, who says he “would have a hard time being impartial” due to concerns about his family’s safety and the wider implications of the outcome of the trial.
Court is now over for the day
5 more jurors are being brought in tomorrow AM; 4 more tomorrow afternoon.
Motions will be argued tomorrow morning at 8 AM (central time) before jury selection resumes.
Juror 59 is now being questioned by Judge Cahill about concerns he expressed re: COVID
Juror 59 said on his way in he was asked by a cop for his ID and felt intimidated when officer photographed his ID on an iPad. Says he felt very unsafe being a juror in a case against an officer whole other officers stood guard. “I’m almost sick to my stomach right now”
Juror 54 says the amount of “physical force” Chauvin used “seemed inappropriate” for the “kind of charge” Chauvin was called to the scene for. Tells Judge Cahill he is fairly entrenched in this view of the situation
“I could not say I could honestly be an impartial juror” - potential juror 54, who was just excused by Judge Cahill
#DerekChauvinTrial has begun for a second week. Jury selection resumes shortly.
Chauvin’s attorney Eric Nelson told the judge he plans to call a toxicologist to try to argue drugs allegedly found in George Floyd’s system caused his death (they didn’t)
Prosecutors are arguing that the forensic pathologist Nelson hopes to call would essentially be making evaluations that only a psychiatrist would be competent for. They are also disputing various points Nelson referenced re the medical examiner report
Chauvin’s lawyer Eric Nelson is talking more about how he plans to elicit opinions from a medical witness about the implications of fentanyl levels in the bloodstream.
Chauvin’s defense clearly hopes to make use of disproven claims that George Floyd died of a fentanyl overdose.
On Feb 19, a family-friendly caravan disrupted traffic at several #Line3 construction routes. During the event, authorities announced a baseless bomb threat via FEMA’s Wireless Emergency Alerts system, which prompted backlash from locals who believed protesters were at fault.
While the caravan was stopped at the 3rd disruption area, authorities sent the “Imminent extreme alert” SMS messages to cell phones in Aitkin, St Louis, Pine, and Carlton Counties.
This “potential explosive hazard” turned out to be false, but the psychological effects were real with the ensuing backlash. Carlton County Sheriff's Office published two press releases making unsubstantiated connections between the water protectors and the "hazard."
Last year on this day, #BreonnaTaylor was killed by police. A large protest shut down I-94 in #StPaul as people responded to the news that Louisville Metro Police Department officers will not be charged for fatally shooting Taylor. unicornriot.ninja/2020/crowd-pro…
Also on 9/23/20 in response to the news of the involved officers not being charged, hundreds rallied at the Colorado State Capitol and marched around downtown #Denver. unicornriot.ninja/2020/denver-ra…
Organized by young women three months after #BreonnaTaylor was killed by police and a month after #GeorgeFloyd, thousands gathered in South Minneapolis to protest Taylor’s death and the lack of accountability for police. 🎥 unicornriot.ninja/2020/minneapol…