‘VERY HOPEFUL’

Derek Chauvin Appeals George Floyd Murder Conviction to State Supreme Court

The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld Derek Chauvin’s conviction for second-degree murder last month.

Former police officer Derek Chauvin on Wednesday asked the Minnesota Supreme Court to review his murder conviction for killing George Floyd in May 2020, court documents show. The request by Chauvin’s attorneys, filed Wednesday, comes almost exactly a month after the state Court of Appeals upheld his conviction for second-degree murder, denying him a new trial. Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison on the state charge of murder; last July, he was given a concurrent sentence of 21 years after pleading guilty to federal charges of violating Floyd’s civil rights. In Wednesday’s filing, Chauvin’s attorney, William Mohrman, argued that, among other things, the district court deprived his client of his right to a fair trial when it refused to grant a change-of-venue request, despite “pervasive adverse publicity.” As of Thursday, the state’s highest court had not said whether it would take up the petition. “We’re very hopeful that the Minnesota Supreme Court will accept review of the case,” Mohrman said, according to the Associated Press.