The Minnesota Supreme Court has denied Derek Chauvin's bid to review his conviction for second-degree murder in the killing of George Floyd more than three years ago.
Minnesota Supreme Court declines to hear Derek Chauvin's petition for appeal
The imprisoned former officer who killed George Floyd is now turning to the U.S. Supreme Court, one of his attorneys said.
July 19, 2023 at 7:56PM
Chief Justice Lorie Gildea said in her one-sentence order filed Tuesday that "based upon all the files, records and proceedings, herein, it is hereby ordered that the petition of Derek Michael Chauvin for further review is denied."
One of Chauvin's attorneys said he will now take Chauvin's case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Greg Erickson said that just as was the case at the state level, Chauvin intends to argue that "his right to a fair trial" guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution was violated.
The odds of the nation's highest court hearing the case are long. Several thousand cases seek the U.S. Supreme Court's review, and it accepts only a tiny number.
Chauvin, now 47, was sentenced in Hennepin County District Court in June 2021 to 22 ½ years in prison for Floyd's murder, a killing of a Black man by a white officer captured on a bystander's viral video that ignited sometimes violent unrest in the Twin Cities and around the world and spurred a still-unfolding racial reckoning.
On May 25, 2020, a Cup Foods convenience store clerk reported Floyd on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes. Minutes after police arrived, Floyd was pinned under Chauvin's knee on the pavement, saying he couldn't breathe and begging along with several bystanders for his life.
In July 2022, a federal judge sentenced Chauvin to more than 20 years in prison for violating the civil rights of Floyd and a Black Minneapolis teen for excessive use of force during an encounter in 2017. Chauvin is currently incarcerated in a federal prison in Arizona and serving time that runs concurrent with his state sentence.
Two officers who also physically restrained Floyd and a third who stood guard at the curb are all serving much shorter prison sentences after their convictions in state and federal courts. J. Alexander Kueng, Tou Thao and Thomas Lane were found guilty of federal charges in a jury trial and are serving federal sentences ranging from 2½ to 3½ years.
Lane was sentenced in September to three years in prison after he pleaded guilty in May to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Kueng in October admitted to the same charge and was sentenced to 3½ years. Both will serve their sentences concurrently with their federal sentences. Thao is scheduled for sentencing next month after a judge found him guilty of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
Republicans across the country benefited from favorable tailwinds as President-elect Donald Trump resoundingly defeated Democrat Kamala Harris. But that wasn’t the whole story in Minnesota.
