State vs. Chauvin: Jury selection continues

KSTP
[KSTP-TV]

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS will have team coverage of Derek Chauvin’s trial on-air and online. Here’s how to follow the daily developments:

Watch live video coverage of the trial each day on KSTP.com or the KSTP YouTube page. KSTP’s full coverage of the trial, and all events leading up to it, can be found at KSTP.com. You can also follow the latest developments on our KSTP-TV Facebook page and KSTP Twitter feed.

3:50 p.m.

Juror No. 41 has been excused from serving on the jury. She told the judge she could not be impartial if she was to be on the jury.

The judge says the court will be in recess until Friday morning, starting at 8 a.m.

3:39 p.m.

Juror No. 40 has been dismissed. The defense has used another peremptory challenge strike, their seventh used during this process. They have eight remaining. The state prosecution team has five remaining.

Questioning begins for Juror No. 41, a woman.

3:33 p.m.

The court has reconvened. Chauvin’s attorney is questioning Juror No. 40 about social media posts he made about visiting the George Floyd memorial site.

In the post, he called it "holy ground" and a "place for prayer."

3:13 p.m.

Judge Cahill has called the court in recess until 3:30 p.m. Questioning will continue when they reconvene on Juror No. 40.

2:54 p.m.

Juror No. 40 is a teacher, father and husband. He expressed some concern about the trial length due to the impact on his students. He also enjoys singing in his church choir.

He said he viewed Chauvin in a negative way, stating that "seeing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd and the other officers standing by and ignoring pleas to stop by bystanders, made it unnecessary and over the top."

Both he and his wife have shared their concerns for safety if he is chosen to be on the jury.

Even with the man forming strong opinions against the defense, he says he is willing to set those opinions aside to serve on the jury.

2:40 p.m.

Juror No. 39 has been dismissed from the case. The defense has used a peremptory challenge strike against him. The defense has nine remaining.

State prosecutors have issued a Batson challenge due to the juror’s race, as Juror No. 39 identifies as Hispanic.

The judge does not believe this qualifies in this situation. Stating it was not race-based, instead suggesting that the juror was "very torn" and could not get over the video he saw. He also described the riots as a World War II occupation force.

The judge says out of the six jurors who have been confirmed, one identifies as multiracial, three are white, one is Hispanic and one is Black.

1:26 p.m.

The court has reconvened after a short delay. Questioning begins with Juror No. 39.

The man says when he was summoned to serve for jury duty, his wife had concerns and was afraid for him. He said he felt "a really heavy sense of responsibility" once he was aware it was for this trial. The man adds that he experienced some resolution and conflict situations when he helped people experiencing homelessness taking shelter in hotels during the pandemic.

He also has formed some strong opinions based on the viral video from last summer of Floyd’s death. This is not the first time a jury member has felt similarly. He also mentioned that he had "strongly negative" opinions on Chauvin. But he said he is willing to put aside his personal opinions if he’s on the jury.

"If I couldn’t imagine myself saying not guilty, I wouldn’t be here," he told attorney Eric Nelson.

He also shared his thoughts on the aftermath of his death and the unrest that followed.

"It reminded me of a warzone. For some reason, images of World War II popped into my head," he said.

His wife participated in one of the protests last summer and was said to have donated towards policy reform. He said he and his wife share the same sentiments on these topics.

The majority of his questionnaire was answered on the basis of being unfavorable towards law enforcement. However, he has never had a bad experience with police, and he trusts police, saying he has "faith in the system."

When asked about whether decisions by officers on duty should be questioned, he said: "government employees should always have their decisions be questioned."

He believes the Black Lives Matter movement is an extension of activism in this country and supports it. He says he doesn’t get the point of Blue Lives Matter, because "they have all the power."

The potential juror said he is willing to be on the jury, saying he is always willing to do "what’s right."

"I am marking yes, because I want to look in the mirror every morning and know the person looking back at me wasn’t afraid to do the right thing when called upon," he answered in the questionnaire. He clarified that his want to be on the jury shouldn’t matter, saying it’s up to the court to determine if he is good enough to participate.

12 p.m.

Juror No. 38 has been dismissed. The state prosecution team has issued a peremptory challenge strike against him. They have five remaining. The defense has 10 left to use. The court is in recess until 1:15 p.m.

In answering questions from state prosecutor Steve Schleicher, Juror No. 38 expressed strong support for law enforcement and said he has never had a negative interaction with an officer.

He also disagrees with defunding the police.

11:40 a.m.

Juror No. 38 continues to be questioned by the defense.

He believes nothing positive came out from the protests following the death of Floyd. He is looking from the perspective of a business owner, as he identifies himself as a business owner.

He is able to differentiate between a protest and riot. He also believes the media "over-hypes" discrimination.

The man believes that police should be held to a high standard when performing their duties.

He is also a proponent of believing that all lives matter.

"Black lives matter, Hispanic lives matter, white lives matter — I feel like all lives matter," he said in court on Wednesday.

11 a.m.

The court is back in session. Juror No. 38 being questioned.

This juror is a man who moved recently to Minnesota. He has lived here with his family for just over three years. He calls himself a stand-up guy and adds he is willing to do anything for his family.

He said he doesn’t know if it’s his job to persuade other jurors during deliberation.

"I’m more of a person who stands by my own convictions," he told the defense.

10:42 a.m.

Juror No. 37 has been dismissed to serve on the jury. The court is in recess until 11 a.m.

A pool reporter describes her as a Black woman.

After the state prosecutor opposed the motion to remove the juror, because she stated she could set aside her opinions and apply the law as given to her, Cahill says the bottom line for him was that she would not be able to give a presumption of innocence in the case. The state wanted the defense to use a peremptory challenge strike on her if she was to be dismissed.

10:15 a.m.

Juror No. 37 is a mother of two young children, which she says is the most "important part of her life."

She says after seeing the Floyd video, "I’ve seen the video… and I can’t unsee." She reaffirms to the judge that she can put her opinions aside if she serves on the jury. The woman said she was initially concerned for her safety once she found out she was summoned for jury duty.

In response to the defense saying the Floyd video will be used as evidence in this case, she says it will be "traumatizing" to see it again.

"I can assure you… the video is going to be a big part of evidence, there’s no changing my mind about that," she explained, responding to a question if she can put aside strong opinions on Chauvin and focus on evidence supplemented.

In her answers to the questionnaire, she answered "very negatively" in regards to how she felt about Chauvin. She added, "he looked so hateful." She is neutral on Floyd. The woman says she cried when watching Floyd call out for his mother in the video.

When the defense asked if she would be willing to also see medical autopsy photos, she answered "in this case, I would be willing but otherwise wouldn’t want to."

10:05 a.m.

Juror No. 43 has been excused from serving on the jury. The person answered "No English" for every question on the questionnaire. Both parties have reached an agreement that they can be excused.

Juror No. 37 currently being questioned.

10 a.m.

Juror No. 36 has been accepted to join the jury. He is the sixth person to join the jury, with eight seats remaining to fill.

The man is described as Hispanic by a pool reporter in the courtroom.

The jury now consists of five men and one woman.

9:40 a.m.

Juror No. 36 says it was "mind-blowing" to find out he was being summoned to potentially serve on the jury for this trial.

The juror says he can follow the law even if he thinks it’s wrong. He told Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, that he had a "very negative" impression of the former officer. However, the juror says he is willing to put his opinions aside if he’s picked to serve on the trial.

The juror described George Floyd to be "desperately screaming" under Chauvin’s knee, but added that if Floyd had followed orders "this wouldn’t have happened."

He describes himself as an "outgoing" man. He mentioned he has a wife and two brothers. The man says he knew cousins who live here, which made him come to Minnesota. He has a background of managing high school students in his past, where he managed to resolve conflict often.

9:05 a.m.

Court is back in session, with questioning starting with Juror No. 31.

Juror No. 31 was dismissed to begin the session for the day. Judge Cahill turned off the audio to discuss something personal before the dismissal.

Juror No. 36 is now being questioned.

8:25 a.m.

Judge Peter Cahill has reinstated the third-degree murder charge against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

Cahill made the decision after discussions with attorneys from each side at 8 a.m. Thursday.

The decision comes after the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected Chauvin’s effort to block the charge on Wednesday afternoon.

Chauvin is also charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter.

Jury selection is set to continue at 9 a.m.

Jury selection is set to continue on Thursday in Day Four of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

After three jurors were seated Tuesday, two others were seated Wednesday, leaving nine seats left to be filled.

Judge Peter Cahill was also expected to start Thursday’s proceeding by discussing next steps in the state’s effort to add a third-degree murder charge. Late Wednesday afternoon, the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected Chauvin’s effort to block the charge.

KSTP’s complete coverage of the Chauvin trial