Judge allows livestreaming of 3 ex-officers’ state trial
From left: Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao[Hennepin County Sheriff's Office]
A Hennepin County judge has reaffirmed his decision to allow livestreamed coverage of the joint trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd’s death.
Judge Peter Cahill on Tuesday denied a motion by attorneys for Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J Alexander Kueng to reconsider audio and video coverage of the trial.
Attorneys for the former officers argued in September that they withdrew their consent to allow audio and video coverage and that eliminating it would allow their attorneys to present a "reasonable" defense. The state and a media coalition argued that livestreaming should be allowed.
Last week, the former officers’ attorneys asked the court to postpone the state trial, which is set to begin in March, because their federal trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 20 and it’s unclear how long that will last. Cahill hasn’t ruled on that request, yet.