Former officer Derek Chauvin has new attorney for appeals case

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has retained a new attorney to represent him as he appeals his conviction in the murder of George Floyd.

Recent court filings show that Chauvin is being represented by private attorney William Mohrman. Chauvin was represented at trial and after his April 20 conviction by attorney Eric Nelson, who was paid through the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association's (MPPOA) legal defense fund.

Chauvin later requested a free appellate public defender, noting that he was $142,000 in debt, lacked income, owed the IRS $60,000 and the state $37,000, and would be heavily penalized if he took funds from his two retirement accounts.

Chauvin and his ex-wife, Kellie Chauvin, also face pending tax evasion charges in Washington County.

Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill first denied Chauvin's request for a public defender. State Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea later also denied the request, noting that Chauvin hadn't shown that he couldn't afford a lawyer.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals said in early October that Chauvin had to hire a lawyer if he wanted to make oral arguments in court appealing his conviction.

It's unclear how Chauvin is paying for Mohrman's representation. The Minneapolis Police Federation said Monday that it was not funding Chauvin's representation.

Mohrman has represented controversial landlords accused of substandard conditions and won a major victory several years ago when the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a 101-year-old law that made it a crime to make false political statements about a ballot question.

Chauvin is serving 22½ years in prison for second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd's death.