Timing of $27 million settlement in midst of Chauvin trial called ‘unfortunate’ by court
MINNEAPOLIS — The $27 million civil settlement the city of Minneapolis reached last week with the family of George Floyd weighed 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.”
He said the settlement’s timing was “very suspicious” and “has incredible propensity to taint the jury pool.”
Prosecutor Steve Schleicher argued for jury selection to continue uninterrupted, adding, “All I can say to the court is there are some things the state of Minnesota and this prosecution team can control, and there are some things it cannot control . ... We cannot control the civil aspect of the case, we cannot and do not control the Minneapolis City Council, and we certainly cannot and do not control the news cycle.”
Judge Peter Cahill agreed that the timing of Friday’s announcement was troubling. No city officials have answered questions about why the settlement was disclosed amid jury selection.
“You would agree it’s unfortunate, wouldn’t you?” Cahill asked Schleicher,
“that we have this reported all over the media when we’re in the midst of jury selection?”
“I don’t know which way it cuts,” Schleicher said.
“The problem is that it cuts,” Cahill said. “I think the defense has a legitimate concern, and even the state has a concern.”
The judge continued: “I wish city officials would stop talking about this case so much. At the same time, I don’t find any evil intent that they were trying to tamper with this case . ... The timing is not related to this case.”
Cahill said he intends to bring the seven jurors chosen before the settlement announcement back into court so they can be questioned about what they might have heard about it and how it might affect their ability to serve with impartiality on the panel.
The judge said he would consider Nelson’s motion for a continuance and the possibility of moving the trial to another location in the state.
Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office is leading the prosecution’s case, came in the courtroom just as proceedings were about to resume and said something along the lines of “is there anything else someone would like to not accuse me of?” in reference to when Nelson commented during motions that Ellison’s son Jeremiah Ellison is on the council and that the timing of the settlement was suspicious. The council unanimously approved the payout.
Nelson has so far not replied to a request for comment about what Ellison said. Ellison’s spokesman, John Stiles, said that the attorney general has nothing more to say about the apparently rhetorical courtroom question. Ellison was not in the courtroom when the afternoon session began. Jeremiah Ellison did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.