The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to reconsider a state appellate court ruling that a third-degree homicide charge against former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd had been improperly dismissed.
Derek Chauvin already faces charges of homicide and second-degree homicide. Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill, who presides over the trial, had previously dismissed an additional third-degree homicide charge.
Cahill will now be tasked with determining the fate of the third-degree murder charge against Chauvin. At the end of Wednesday’s proceedings, Cahill said he would address the situation the next morning.
“It appears that the Supreme Court has denied the review of the accused’s request for review of the appellate court’s opinion,” Cahill said in court on Wednesday. “I think we can talk about this tomorrow morning at 8am about its effect. I think we still have the jurisdictional issue in the Court of Appeals.”
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison
Keith Ellison Jury Selection Begins in Derek Chauvin Trial for Floyd’s Death Jury Selection Delayed in Derek Chauvin Murder Trial The Court of Appeals orders the judge to reconsider the murder charge of third degree in the Floyd MORE case, whose office is processing the high-profile case, praised the court’s decision, calling the third-degree murder charge fair and appropriate.
“The Supreme Court was right to reject Mr. Chauvin’s request for review,” Ellison said in a statement. “The Court of Appeals ruled correctly; therefore, there was no need for the Supreme Court to intervene. We believe that the third-degree charge of murder is fair and appropriate.”
He continued, “We hope to present him before the jury, along with the charges of 2nd degree manslaughter and 2nd degree homicide.”
The news came after a Minnesota appeals court on Friday overturned a lower court ruling and paved the way for Ellison to reinstate the third-degree murder charge against Chauvin. Following the court’s decision, Chauvin’s lawyers filed a petition to challenge the decision.
The decision of the Supreme Court came at the end of the second day of selection of the jury for the Chauvin trial. So far, there have been five members of the jury: three white men, a woman of color and a black man, according to NBC News. The trial is scheduled to begin on March 29.
Chauvin is the officer who is kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes in the May 2020 viral video.