Supreme Court Denies Derek Chauvin’s Request To Appeal His Conviction For Murder Of George Floyd

On Monday, the Supreme Court declined an appeal by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted for the murder of George Floyd in May 2020.

A Hennepin County Jury found Chauvin guilty of killing Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, in April 2021. The former police officer was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in April 2021. He was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison.

Chauvin also pleaded guilty to a federal charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights, for which he was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison. He is currently serving both sentences.

Lawyers for Chauvin approached the Court in October, arguing that the decision to keep the proceedings in Minneapolis denied him of his right to a fair trial to the publicity of the case.

“Mr. Chauvin’s case shows the profound difficulties trial courts have to ensure a criminal defendant’s right to an impartial jury consistently when extreme cases arise,” lawyers said in the court filing, adding that the jurors “had a vested interest in finding Mr. Chauvin guilty in order to avoid further rioting in the community in which they lived and the possible threat of physical harm to them or their families.”

Chauvin is now seeking to overturn his federal conviction, explaining that he would not have pleaded guilty if he had been aware of theories of a Kansas pathologist, who claimed that Floyd did not die as a result of Chauvin’s actions.