Chauvin's attorney Eric J. Nelson argued Tuesday that the Hennepin County Court had abused its discretion, particularly when it refused to change the venue for the proceedings or to sequester the jury.
The court's failure to do so "resulted in jury exposure to prejudicial publicity regarding the trial during the proceedings, as well as jury intimidation and potential fear of retribution among jurors," Nelson said in the motion.
Chauvin killed Floyd last Memorial Day during an arrest over Floyd's use of an allegedly counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store. On April 20, a Minnesota state jury found Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after less than 12 hours of deliberation. The verdict followed a sometimes emotional trial that saw more than 40 witnesses take the stand.
Chauvin is seeking an order granting a new trial and an order for a hearing to impeach the jury's verdict "on the grounds that the jury committed misconduct, felt threatened or intimidated, felt race-based pressure during the proceedings, and/or failed to adhere to instructions during deliberations."
On top of that, Nelson took issue with the jury instructions and accused the court of ordering the state to lead witnesses on direct examination. The court also wrongly failed to make a record of "numerous sidebars" that occurred during the trial, Nelson said. And it should've ordered a new trial after publicity during the proceedings threatened the trial's fairness, he said.
"The cumulative effect of the multiple errors in these proceedings deprived Mr. Chauvin of a fair trial, in violation of his constitutional rights," Nelson said.
Chauvin's brief, four-page motion didn't come as a surprise.
John Stiles, deputy chief of staff for the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, told Law360 on Tuesday that the court "has already rejected many of these arguments and the state will vigorously oppose them."
Nelson didn't immediately return a request for comment late Tuesday.
On May 25, Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. Floyd, who was handcuffed face-down on the ground, begged Chauvin to stop and said he couldn't breathe. He eventually lost consciousness. A video of the killing taken by a bystander sparked nationwide racial justice protests.
Last month's verdict indicates that jurors were convinced by prosecutors' allegations that Chauvin used an unreasonable amount of force for too long and should have known he was killing Floyd.
The defense had argued that Chauvin used a reasonable amount of force because Floyd was resisting arrest, and that Floyd didn't die because of Chauvin's actions, but rather a host of other reasons like chronic heart disease, drug addiction, carbon monoxide poisoning from a nearby tailpipe and a rare tumor that may have secreted adrenaline.
During the trial, jurors heard from traumatized bystanders who witnessed Floyd's last breaths, people who knew Floyd and spoke about his life, medical experts who opined on what caused his death, as well as policing experts who testified about whether Chauvin acted appropriately.
Jurors also watched Floyd's death many times from several different angles, captured by four police body cameras, bystanders who shot cellphone videos and a security camera feed.
To convict Chauvin of second-degree murder, the jury had to find that Chauvin killed Floyd while committing felony assault. And to prove assault, the prosecution had to show that Chauvin's use of force was criminal — not within the legal bounds of his powers of arrest as an on-duty officer.
For the third-degree murder charge, the prosecution had to prove to the jury that Chauvin was acting with "a depraved mind." And for second-degree manslaughter, prosecutors had to prove Chauvin's "culpable negligence" in putting Floyd at risk.
Minnesota is represented by Matthew Frank of the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, and Neal Kumar Katyal, Sundeep Iyer, Harrison Gray Kilgore and Nathaniel Avi Gideon Zelinsky of Hogan Lovells US LLP.
Chauvin is represented by Eric J. Nelson of Halberg Criminal Defense.
The case is State of Minnesota v. Derek Michael Chauvin, case number 27-CR-20-12646, in Minnesota District Court for Hennepin County.
--Additional reporting by Cara Bayles. Editing by Regan Estes.
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