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Jury search paused in Floyd death trial

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Vincent
Published date09 March 2021
As hundreds of protesters gathered outside the courthouse to call for the conviction of Derek Chauvin yesterday, Judge Peter Cahill said he does not have jurisdiction to rule on whether the third-degree murder charge should be reinstated against the former officer while the issue is being challenged.

But he said prosecutors' arguments that the whole case would be impacted was "tenuous".

Judge Cahill initially ruled that jury selection would begin as scheduled yesterday, but prosecutors said they would ask the Court of Appeals to intervene, which could put the case on hold, so the judge sent the potential jurors home for the day.

Chauvin is charged with seconddegree murder and manslaughter over Mr Floyd's death.

Legal experts say reinstating the third-degree murder charge would improve the odds of getting a conviction. Chauvin's lawyer Eric Nelson said yesterday he would ask the state Supreme Court to review a Court of Appeals decision that ordered Judge Cahill to reconsider the charge.

Jury selection is expected to take at least three weeks, as prosecutors and defence lawyers try to weed out people who may be biased against them.

"You don't want jurors who are completely blank slates, because that would mean they're not in tune at all with the world," Susan Gaertner, a former prosecutor, said. "But what you want is jurors who can set aside opinions that have formed prior to walking into the courtroom and give both sides a fair hearing."

Mr Floyd was declared dead on May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against the handcuffed black man's neck for about nine...

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