Derek Chauvin's attorney files motion for new trial

Derek Chauvin.
(Image credit: Court TV via AP, Pool, File)

Eric Nelson, the attorney for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, filed a motion on Tuesday for a new trial.

Last month, Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed Black man, in May 2020.

In the request for a new trial, Nelson claims that because the court did not allow for a change in venue and did not sequester the jury or "admonish them to avoid all media," jurors saw "prejudicial publicity" and suffered from "jury intimidation or potential fear of retribution." The filing also alleges that Minnesota state prosecutors committed "pervasive, prejudicial prosecutorial misconduct" that kept Chauvin from receiving a fair trial.

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John Stiles, deputy chief of staff for Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, said in a statement the court "has already rejected many of these arguments and the state will vigorously oppose them."

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Catherine Garcia

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.