Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill has reinstated a third-degree murder charge against former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin months after he tossed it. Chauvin is now facing trial on three charges: second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, and third-degree murder. Cahill initially ordered in October that the third charge should be dismissed due to lack of probable cause but his order was appealed in the Minnesota Court of Appeals, which ruled that the charge should be reinstated. Chauvin’s legal team then appealed that decision in the Minnesota Supreme Court but, on Wednesday, the state’s highest court declined to hear the appeal and sent the matter back to Cahill. On Thursday morning, Neal Katyal, co-counsel for the state, said Supreme Court order meant Cahill was duty bound to reinstate the charge.
Cahill pushed ahead with jury selection in Chauvin’s trial on Monday despite all the legal wrangling on the side—a risky move that prosecutors did not support.
