HAIL MARY

Derek Chauvin Seeks New Trial, Alleging Jury Misconduct

“The court has already rejected many of these arguments and the State will vigorously oppose them,” the Minnesota AG said in response.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is seeking a new trial, arguing in a new filing on Tuesday that the guilty verdict against him for the murder of George Floyd was tainted by “prosecutorial and jury misconduct.” Attorney Eric Nelson cites a slew of alleged errors that he says “deprived the Defendant of a fair trial,” arguing that jurors felt “threatened,” and experienced “race-based” pressure during the trial, which may have affected their votes. “Publicity during the hearings threatened the fairness of the trial,” wrote Nelson, who also cited “intimidation” of the defense’s expert witnesses, a seeming reference to the severed pig’s head police say was left outside the former home of use-of-force witness Barry Brodd last month. The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office offered a terse response to the arguments laid out by Chauvin and his lawyer, saying in a statement: “The court has already rejected many of these arguments and the State will vigorously oppose them.”