Officer Michael Nealey killed Chief Lucky Miller in their Hilton hotel room in Pensacola, Fla. They traveled to Florida for a law enforcement conference.
On other motions Friday, Judge Peter Cahill ruled that only portions of the events surrounding Floyd's drug arrest in Minneapolis in May 2019 are admissible in this trial, namely any evidence or testimony that directly relates to his medical condition.
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill removed the two who said under his questioning they had heard about a federal lawsuit settlement reached last week and admitted it affected their ability to presume Chauvin is innocent during the course of the trial.
Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s defense attorney, questioned the “suspicious timing” of the settlement and argued it was “highly prejudicial” against his client. He called on Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter A. Cahill to “at least” call back the jurors already seated in the case to question them to see if they had read the news of the settlement and if they could continue to be impartial in the case.
The decision was a victory for prosecutors who had sought to re-add the charge against Derek Chauvin, the officer filmed with his knee on George Floyd’s neck during an arrest last May. He is already charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the Floyd's death.
The unanimous decision by the appeals court means that the trial court may again hear arguments from Chauvin and prosecutors from the Minnesota attorney general’s office over whether Chauvin should face the third-degree murder charge.
In a letter sent Wednesday to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, newly elected Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis cited the conduct of former DA Paul Howard in her request to have the case transferred.
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill's latest legal order makes it clear that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and space limitations, even in Hennepin County's largest courtroom, make it impossible to hold a trial for four defendants while complying with existing safety guidelines.
In its motion, the prosecution argued that putting off the trial until June 7 "appropriately balances the need to protect public health with the need to ensure that this case is resolved expeditiously."
Christopher Samayoa was days out of the Police Academy when he shot 42-year-old Keita O’Neil in the head during a police pursuit near the Alice Griffith housing projects on Dec. 1, 2017.