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Winning criminal convictions against police officers is notoriously difficult, but with the world watching, a team of Minnesota attorneys withdrew it.
Experts accredit the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for hard evidence, a proper mix of charges, and abundant legal resources. Prosecutors also managed, in an emotionally charged case, to walk a tightrope in the courtroom between frustrating dispassion and overheated defense.
“As a prosecutor, you may seem too passionate, too committed, and too eager to win, and that’s not the point,” said Brian Hayes, a partner at Holland & Knight who previously ran the criminal division at the Chicago Law Firm. USA. “You want to … be able to explain why your tests should lead to the day, but after all, it’s all about tests.”
When he took on the lead role of prosecution ten months ago, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison warned that a conviction would not be easy.
Ellison focused his legal practice on civil rights and advocacy work before running for a seat in the Minnesota state legislature, then in the United States Congress, where he spent more than a decade building the progressive wing of the United States. democratic party.
He left his seat in Congress after losing a bruised battle as chairman of the Democratic National Committee in 2016. He was elected Minnesota Attorney General in 2018, becoming the first black Muslim and the first to hold statewide positions there.
Ellison was approved to take over the Chauvin case after concerns were raised about the county prosecutor, who would normally have led the team. He had no previous experience in prosecuting criminal cases prior to his current role.
After Tuesday’s verdict, Ellison praised the team he had gathered to prove the case: “Most of these people will tell you it’s bad to form a team of all Michael Jordans: no one would want to pass the ball,” he said. .
“That team – that was their true strength, sharing the load, passing the ball, understanding that all together we are smarter than any of us alone and that it worked.”
An “army” of lawyers helped the prosecution, said Anna Yum, a criminal defense attorney in San Diego, California. The prosecution team effectively divided the workers (preparing 38 witnesses for trial in 11 months) and used different lawyers at different points in the trial, an option that was not available to Eric Nelson, who was the only lawyer. Chauvin’s defender in the room.
The rotation added energy to the room and caused a more “dynamic” impression on the jury. “When you have a new look and a new energy, it makes it a lot more dynamic for the jury,” Yum said.
Among the key plaintiffs in the indictment were two outside lawyers, Jerry Blackwell and Steve Schleicher, who made the initial statement and the final argument of the state respectively.
Jerry Blackwell questioning a witness during the Chauvin trial © AP
Steve Schleicher, during the testimony of the case © AP
Schleicher is a former federal attorney for Minneapolis who now works for Maslon. Blackwell, founder of the Minnesota Black Bar Association, considers the 3M manufacturing company as a client and won a posthumous pardon for a black man in a centennial rape case in Minnesota.
Blackwell also delivered the prosecution’s final words to the jury, in a brief rebuttal following Chauvin’s lawyer’s final argument, which had argued that Floyd’s death was caused by heart disease, among other factors.
“Mr. Floyd died because his heart was too big,” Blackwell told the jury. “It simply came to our notice then. And now, having seen all the evidence and heard it all, you know the truth. And the truth of the matter is that the reason George Floyd died is because Mr. Chauvin’s heart was too small. “
Another factor in the prosecution’s success was the type of indictment filed against Chauvin, according to Patricia Brown Holmes, managing partner of Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila, who served as special prosecutor in high profile test of Chicago police officers in 2018.
Instead of looking for the most serious charge available under Minnesota state law (first-degree murder), prosecutors focused on a second-degree manslaughter charge. This meant they didn’t need to prove that Chauvin intended to kill Floyd when he held his knee to his neck for more than nine minutes, only that he intended to commit an assault.
“They didn’t exaggerate or stretch,” he said.
The prosecution also benefited from solid evidence, in particular graphic video images of Floyd’s death shot by a spectator, which prosecutors interpreted throughout the trial.
Holmes noted that the Minneapolis Police Department’s initial press release described Floyd’s murder as saying, “The man dies after a medical incident during police interaction.” The department said Floyd “resisted,” but that “no weapons were used.”
Prosecutors repeatedly told jurors, “Believe your eyes.” The shock of watching the video was probably exacerbated by the fact that some jurors said they knew little about the case before being selected for the service.
“They trusted a lot in this video,” Holmes said.
In addition to telling jurors to believe their eyes, prosecutors relied on other well-turned lines. Blackwell said in his initial statement that even when Floyd no longer resisted, Chauvin “did not let go and did not get up.”
The sticky construction recalled Yum Attorney Johnnie Cochran’s famous quote during the OJ Simpson trial, telling the jury that if the glove “doesn’t fit, you’ll have to acquit.”
They also returned, over and over again, while Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard them say‘ nine minutes and 29 seconds, ’” Yum said. “It gets to the point where the jury can’t forget about it.”
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