Jury selection in the trial of Derek Chauvin is underway in Minneapolis. The first potential juror was dismissed for being too “unsophisticated”; others are now being put through their paces by Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s defense attorney.
As a reminder of the tangled path these legal proceedings typically follow, news reports have indicated that Chauvin was prepared to plead guilty to a federal charge of third degree murder as early as May 28, 2020—just three days after he was seen pressing his knee into George Floyd’s neck for nine excruciating minutes, leading to Floyd’s death.
Nelson is behind a wall of plexiglass. Chauvin is next to him, taking notes from within his own cubicle of COVID-19-safe plexiglass. The judge, Peter Cahill, is wearing a mask. We can hear, but not see, the potential jurors.
The trial is being live-streamed by the Star Tribune, among other sources, such as the independent media site, Unicorn Riot. The live stream is absorbing, but perhaps not sustainable viewing for most, as the jury selection alone is likely to go on for weeks.
During the March 9 jury selection process, Cahill indicated that the trial will most likely begin, as planned, on March 29. Until then, jury selection will continue.
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Judge Peter Cahill
In the next few weeks, the state court system will also likely decide whether or not Chauvin can be charged with third degree murder (considered an easier potential win for the prosecution) in addition to the second degree murder and manslaughter charges he is facing.
As a reminder of the tangled path these legal proceedings typically follow, news reports have indicated that Chauvin was prepared to plead guilty to a federal charge of third degree murder as early as May 28, 2020—just three days after he was seen pressing his knee into George Floyd’s neck for nine excruciating minutes, leading to Floyd’s death.
At the time, Attorney General William Barr rejected Chauvin’s proposed plea deal, reportedly out of deference to local prosecutors, including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who is overseeing the case on behalf of the state.
Beyond the legal machinations, two key issues regarding the Chauvin trial have emerged.
The first has to do with who will pay for any protest-related costs that are expected to arise during and after the trial. The second issue is about who should, or who will, control the narrative regarding both the trial and any uprisings connected to it.
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Derek Chauvin's defense attorney, Eric Nelson.
Both issues are rooted in fear, which is somewhat understandable. When Floyd died after being pinned to the ground by Chauvin while three other Minneapolis police officers either looked on or directly assisted Chauvin, the city and the world erupted in fiery protest.
Large swaths of Minneapolis’s urban corridor were destroyed in the days after Floyd’s death, resulting in millions of dollars worth of damage that has hit small and minority-owned businesses the hardest.
In an effort to avoid at least the public spectacle of a city that seems out of control yet again, Minnesota lawmakers have been wrestling over various funding measures designed to ensure there are plenty of law enforcement representatives on the ground in Minneapolis during the Chauvin trial and that the cities who provide this support will be compensated for it.
It’s a complex political tangle that includes many current, national themes, including a seemingly hostile divide between rural and urban parts of the state, as well as a hefty dose of partisan gridlock.
There’s even an element of in-fighting among local Democrats, just as there is at the national level, with Democratic representatives unable to unite around proposed legislation—even though they hold a majority in Minnesota and at the federal level.
Stalemates aside, another curious issue cropped up recently regarding who will be allowed to act as an official, state-sanctioned narrator of the Chauvin trial.
In February, the nine-member Minneapolis City Council agreed to give $2,000 stipends to six “social media influencers” from the city’s main non-white populations.
These influencers, who were to come from Black, Indigenous, Asian, and Latinx communities, would be tasked with sharing “city-generated and approved messages” about the Chauvin trial via their personal social media accounts, according to media reports about the program.
Does reading this make you want to cringe in embarrassment? If so, you’re not alone.
Almost as soon as the city-council-approved plan was announced, it was canceled. Critics quickly pounced on the Disney-like aspect of finding representatives from various marginalized groups and asking them to help city officials buff their flawed image.
All for a one-time, $2,000 payment, no less.
To be fair, seeking paid partnerships with high-profile messengers from communities of color is just one piece of a comprehensive, million-dollar effort from Minneapolis officials to do more than just react to unrest with more policing.
Plans are in place, for example, to empower community organizations to act as boots on the ground during times of protest and upheaval, during and after the Chauvin trial. City officials have also reportedly set up a twenty-four-hour legal aid hotline to give people information on how to “safely exercise their right to protest,” as noted by a local news outlet.
In this way, it is not only the Chauvin trial that is being publicly broadcast. Entire conversations and disagreements over what information gets shared and by whom, as well as what community safety looks like, are taking place in and around Minneapolis on a daily basis.
This seems like a good thing, although it will take sustained effort to turn talk into meaningful action.
To keep tabs on this, consider turning to the Sahan Journal. It’s a local media outlet dedicated to immigrant and refugee communities in Minnesota. It also does a good job of highlighting the voices of people of color from many walks of life.
Throughout the Chauvin trial, the Sahan Journal will be hosting panel discussions with the same kind of influencers the city of Minneapolis was hoping to pay to carry their official information forward. Watch the first one, and stay tuned for later editions; so far, the conversation has been priceless.