Defense feels that announcement of the settlement during jury selection harms chance at a fair trial.
The $27 million civil settlement the city of Minneapolis reached last week with the family of George Floyd weighed with heavily upon the ongoing jury selection in the murder trial of fired police officer Derek Chauvin, while the number of jurors chosen grew to nine by the end of proceedings Monday.
Defense attorney Eric Nelson expressed deep concern that jurors already chosen and those yet to be selected will be prejudiced should they learn of the settlement, thereby denying his client his right to a fair trial. During Friday’s proceedings, the City Council signed off on the settlement, followed by a widely publicized announcement.
Before the prospective jurors were questioned, Nelson said, “I am gravely concerned with the news that broke on Friday related to the civil settlement. … The fact that this came in the exact middle of jury selection is perplexing to me, your honor.” Continue reading.