Chauvin Wants a New Trial?

 Oh, the irony that Chauvin’s attorney is filing for new a new trial based on "the interests of justice; abuse of discretion that deprived the Defendant of a fair trial; prosecutorial and jury misconduct; errors of law at trial; and a verdict that is contrary to law."  Chauvin deprived George Floyd of his due process of a fair trial when he acted as judge and jury by kneeling on his neck for over nine minutes until he died.  What about police misconduct?  Chauvin is the poster boy for misconduct.  Interest of justice?  Really?  The verdict WAS in the interest of justice.  On what basis was the verdict contrary to law?  The upspoken law that an officer should not be questioned or worse, disciplined for his mistreatment of black and brown people.

Yes, it’s true policing in America has to change, but they are not the entire problem.  While American policing has its foundations in the slave codes, the perpetual racist behavior could not continue without the support of the legal system (judges, prosecutors, and attorneys).  Once again, the legal system is riding its white horse and coming to the rescue of an officer.  Not everyone in the legal system is complicit, but far too many are enablers.  Prosecutors don’t prosecute; judges dismiss cases; trials are moved to friendly venues.   We must continue to fight for changes in policing, but we must also demand that the legal system do its job. I encourage you to read Kristy Parker’s piece in The Atlantic that discusses the legal system’s responsibility in fighting police misconduct.  

The fight continues….

There are lot of missing pieces to the puzzle.

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