Derek Chauvin trial megathread (SENTENCED TO 22.5 YEARS IN PRISON)

[Real Texan Politics]

_{I'm not sure if this is the correct thread for it, so feel free to move it if it isn't.}

The trial for Derek Chauvin (the lead culprit in the death of George Floyd) begins tomorrow. If things don't go the way the public want, things can and will get messy, and Keith Ellison could be in quite a bit of trouble when it comes to his potential re-election.

So how do you guys think everything will go?

[TheReckoning]

Prepare for this whole country to burn down.

[Hindsight was 2020]

If Chauvin can’t be prosecuted for what he did then we should just drop all formalities and just say it’s legal for cops to murder black people

[Xing]

This is not going to have a happy ending...

[Real Texan Politics]

This is not going to have a happy ending...

If he isn't prosecuted, the rest won't either.

But yea, if anyone from MSP is reading this thread, please stay safe!!

[Alben Barkley]

He’s probably gonna get off.

[7,052,770]

I'd say 75% chance he's found not guilty, and 95% chance that a clear majority of Republicans support a not guilty verdict.

We've already seen multiple prominent Republicans, both "out there" in the real world, and here on Atlas Talk Elections, casually state as fact that Floyd died from a drug overdose and Chauvin had nothing to do with it.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

I think there's roughly a 90% chance of a hung jury/mistrial.

They're not going to be able to keep all black people off the jury. This isn't Alabama decades ago. And the odds aren't great that they'll be able to keep all racists off the jury.

[Hope For A New Era]

I am afraid, I am very afraid.

[BudgieForce]

Prepare for this whole country to burn down.

There wasn't much unrest after the Breonna Taylor trial so I'm not convinced there will riots after this one. It certainly helps that Biden won't be fanning any flames.

[DaleCooper]

Yes, I think he'll go to trial. I don't believe he'll be found guilty of murder, though. Charging him with murder was always a pretty bold move, most likely done to calm the rioting. The manslaughter charge I do think he will be found guilty of, but there's no guarantee.

[TheReckoning]

Yes, I think he'll go to trial. I don't believe he'll be found guilty of murder, though. Charging him with murder was always a pretty bold move, most likely done to calm the rioting. The manslaughter charge I do think he will be found guilty of, but there's no guarantee.

They dropped the manslaughter charge against him I believe.

[DaleCooper]

Yes, I think he'll go to trial. I don't believe he'll be found guilty of murder, though. Charging him with murder was always a pretty bold move, most likely done to calm the rioting. The manslaughter charge I do think he will be found guilty of, but there's no guarantee.

They dropped the manslaughter charge against him I believe.

They did? Well that's a big mistake, then.

[kwabbit]

How do they even select jurors for a case like this? Probably 99%+ of potential jurors are biased. The killing of George Floyd dominated the news cycle for weeks and anyone who doesn't live in a cave already has a set in stone position on this.

They gotta find some moderates heroes without TV, internet, or human interactions lol.

[Real Texan Politics]

How do they even select jurors for a case like this? Probably 99%+ of potential jurors are biased. The killing of George Floyd dominated the news cycle for weeks and anyone who doesn't live in a cave already has a set in stone position on this.

They gotta find some moderates heroes without TV, internet, or human interactions lol.

Weren't people demanding an all black jury for the trial?

I wonder how that's gonna go...

[kwabbit]

How do they even select jurors for a case like this? Probably 99%+ of potential jurors are biased. The killing of George Floyd dominated the news cycle for weeks and anyone who doesn't live in a cave already has a set in stone position on this.

They gotta find some moderates heroes without TV, internet, or human interactions lol.

Weren't people demanding an all black jury for the trial?

I wonder how that's gonna go...

Can the identity of the jurors be protected? There's gonna be uproar in some direction after the verdict.

The fact that being a juror seems extremely risky and public probably discourages unbiased jurors even more. I could see half the jury being Black BLM protestors and the other half being MAGA/QAnon types. I can't see how this trial doesn't become a disastrous hung-jury result.

[John Dule]

Is this still going to be televised? If so, I am having OJ flashbacks.

[Real Texan Politics]

Is this still going to be televised? If so, I am having OJ flashbacks.

Maybe only in Minneapolis? I’m not sure and I’ve got doubts that it will.

[emailking]

How do they even select jurors for a case like this? Probably 99%+ of potential jurors are biased.

As long as they say they can set aside whatever preconceived notions they have about his guilt or innocence and judge based solely on the evidence presented at trial, they're allowed to be jurors. If a juror says they cannot judge impartially, they'll be dismissed. They'll just keep going until they find enough jurors that can say that after peremptory challenges.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

Is this still going to be televised? If so, I am having OJ flashbacks.

Maybe only in Minneapolis? I’m not sure and I’ve got doubts that it will.

They may as well broadcast it to the whole world then, no way it’d stay in Minneapolis.

[Sestak]

I am not very aware of US criminal justice, but wouldn't "trial by judge" (or alternatively, trial by a bench of justices) be better than "trial by jury" in this case? (or really in most high profile criminal cases)

Police officers charged with a crime have sometimes as of late opted to be tried by judge due to feeling the judge gives them better odds. Chauvin, though, has not waived his Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial. I don't think a judge would give him good odds anyway - most judges have probably been aware of the killing since it happened and probably have seen the video, and they'd also most likely be less persuadable towards the tactics Chauvin used being justified. To be honest I don't see many judges acquitting Chauvin here (though that could be wishful thinking on my part).

[BudgieForce]

Yes, I think he'll go to trial. I don't believe he'll be found guilty of murder, though. Charging him with murder was always a pretty bold move, most likely done to calm the rioting. The manslaughter charge I do think he will be found guilty of, but there's no guarantee.

They dropped the manslaughter charge against him I believe.

They did? Well that's a big mistake, then.

I don't think they did. He still faces second degree murder and second degree manslaughter charges according to this USAtoday article I read this morning.

[TheReckoning]

Yes, I think he'll go to trial. I don't believe he'll be found guilty of murder, though. Charging him with murder was always a pretty bold move, most likely done to calm the rioting. The manslaughter charge I do think he will be found guilty of, but there's no guarantee.

They dropped the manslaughter charge against him I believe.

They did? Well that's a big mistake, then.

I don't think they did. He still faces second degree murder and second degree manslaughter charges according to this USAtoday article I read this morning.

I read this article.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/22/us/derek-chauvin-george-floyd-charge-dropped/index.html

[BudgieForce]

Yes, I think he'll go to trial. I don't believe he'll be found guilty of murder, though. Charging him with murder was always a pretty bold move, most likely done to calm the rioting. The manslaughter charge I do think he will be found guilty of, but there's no guarantee.

They dropped the manslaughter charge against him I believe.

They did? Well that's a big mistake, then.

I don't think they did. He still faces second degree murder and second degree manslaughter charges according to this USAtoday article I read this morning.

I read this article.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/22/us/derek-chauvin-george-floyd-charge-dropped/index.html

That article is from October.

USAtodayLink

Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. Prosecutors contend Floyd, 46, was killed by Chauvin's knee, compressed against Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes while he was handcuffed and pinned to the pavement last May.

[Sir Mohamed]

Anything other than a clean conviction would not just be a slap in the face of justice but also tear the country further apart. We may actually see protests that look like the 1st half of 1968 since the case is so crystal clear this so called cop murdered an innocent man while the world was watching.