The Supreme Court announced Monday it won’t review an appeal from ex-Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin, whose lawyers said he should have had a change of venue for his murder trial due to jury bias.
In a petition to the high court, a lawyer representing Chauvin asked the justices to review the trial court’s denial of a change of venue citing jury bias, saying it ran afoul of Chauvin’s Sixth Amendment rights.
The lawyer said several jurors expressed safety concerns due to the ongoing riots and presence of news media covering the murder trial. One juror asked to be released from serving due to his fear about his identity being public, but that request was denied.
“The error of failing to change venue without consideration of presumed bias is compounded by evidence of juror stereotyping of police officers and animus to Mr. Chauvin,” his lawyer, William Mohrman, wrote.
But the justices declined to review his case and the Sixth Amendment claim.
It would have taken four justices to vote in favor of Chauvin’s request.
Chauvin, a White police officer, was convicted in April 2021 for the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a Black man. Chauvin had served on the police force since 2001.
He was sentenced to 22.5 years in jail. He also pleaded guilty to violating Floyd’s civil rights.
The May 25, 2020, killing, where Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly 10 minutes, was caught on video and went viral. Floyd was heard saying, “I can’t breathe.”
Riots engulfed Minneapolis and caused roughly $500 million in property damage.
The killing sparked national attention, and riots spread across cities nationwide, where activists demanded police departments be defunded and reforms enacted.
Chauvin is serving his time in a federal prison in Arizona.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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