MINNEAPOLIS — The federal civil rights trial started Thursday for the three former Minneapolis police officers who were with Derek Chauvin in May 2020, when he killed George Floyd.
Proceedings began with jury selection in downtown St. Paul before Presiding U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson, who said he expects the 12 jurors and six alternates to be selected in two days — far faster than the two weeks needed to pick the Hennepin County District Court jury that convicted Chauvin of murder in April.
Magnuson began questioning prospective jurors Thursday on their hometowns, occupations and hobbies.
Among the prospective jurors, 17 were dismissed for various reasons such as one whose best friend is a police officer and feared he could not be unbiased, Another, citing the same reason, has a nephew who is a police officer. One Black man said he was not sure he could be impartial "due to my color." Others also declared they could not be fair to the officers.
After two rounds of questioning, 40 potential jurors remained as candidates as of mid-afternoon Thursday. Attorneys planned to spend the remainder of the day exercising strikes.
A questionnaire was sent to randomly selected Minnesotans late last year. Based on those answers, the judge had asked a group of 256 potentially qualified jurors to report to the courthouse Thursday. The judge and attorneys are asking these prospective jurors questions designed to determine which are capable of arriving at a fair verdict, a process known as "voir dire."
Opening statements could begin as soon as Monday, when attorneys on both sides will lay out whether Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane abuse their positions as police officers to deprive Floyd of his constitutional rights when Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes and the others did not intervene during the encounter on May 25, 2020.
Chauvin pleaded guilty in December to similar federal charges stemming from Floyd's death and another case involving a juvenile victim. He is currently serving a 22 1/2-year state prison sentence and won't be in the courtroom unless he testifies.
Unlike the state's trial of Chauvin, the federal court is not allowing cameras in the courtroom.
Thao, Kueng and Lane also are charged in state court with aiding and abetting murder in connection with Floyd's death. That trial has been pushed back to June 13 at the request of the three former officers who were originally scheduled to be tried in March in state court.
———
