Judge yet to rule on Chauvin new trial motion; legal expert points to another anticipated decision
[anvplayer video=”5027258″ station=”998122″]
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill was asked Tuesday by Derek Chauvin’s lawyer to decide on their motion for a new trial for the former Minneapolis police officer.
The judge had yet to make a decision by Wednesday mid-afternoon, according to online court records.
In the motion, Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s attorney, listed prosecutorial and judicial misconduct among the dozen reasons for a new trial.
"People need to remember he’s [Nelson] actually asking Judge Cahill to find that Judge Cahill made mistakes here and that Judge Cahill should grant a new trial, because of his own mistakes, that’s not going to happen," said Mary Moriarty, a former Hennepin County chief public defender.
Last month, a jury found Chauvin guilty of second-and third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in George Floyd’s death.
In this screen grab from video, defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, defendant and former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, right, and Nelson's assistant Amy Voss, back, introduce themselves to jurors as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over jury selection in the trial of Chauvin Wednesday, March 17, 2021 at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn. Chauvin is charged in the May 25, 2020 death of George Floyd.[Court TV]
Chauvin is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25 in Minneapolis.
"Remember, in the background we’re still waiting to hear from Judge Cahill, whether he is going to find aggravating factors and if so which ones," Moriarty said.
Prosecutors asked the judge in a recent filling to consider a stiffer sentence against the ex-Minneapolis police officer including saying "Mr. Floyd was treated with particular cruelty" last Memorial Day while pinned on the ground by Chauvin.
Chauvin’s defense filed a motion objecting to the request for an upward durational sentence.
Cahill’s expected to make a decision on the sentencing request in the coming days to allow both sides time to make their arguments in writing.