The trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with second-degree unintentional felony murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd, begins this week with the task of finding 12 jurors who can set aside their opinions and render a unanimous verdict. But in a high-profile case such as this, with so many strong opinions already formed, criminal law experts are saying that jury selection may be the most critical piece of the case. The question at the heart of the case is whether what millions of people saw on the viral video of Chauvin kneeling on the neck of Floyd as he died was murder or a tragic accident..
In advance of what very well could be the highest profile court case since O.J. Simpson or Rodney King, officials in Minnesota have spent the last eight months preparing for another wave of civil unrest. Barricades and fences have been erected in front of government buildings and thousands of police officers and National Guard members and have been called in as backup. Law enforcement has vowed to preserve people’s rights to assemble and protest, but also keep the peace. The three other officers involved in the case, Tou Thao, Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane are charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter. Their separate trial is now scheduled for Aug. 23.
We talk to Jack Rice, a Minneapolis-based defense attorney, and Glenn Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor with 30 years of trial experience, about the intricacies of picking a jury in a pandemic. Reporter Jordan Rubin also joins to lay out the basics of the case
Here is a link to the full 16-page jury questionnaire.