An appeals court has reversed the decision of tossing out Derek Chauvin’s third-degree murder charge.
According to media reports, the abrupt decision of doing so will result in a further delay of the ex-police officer’s murder trial, who faces other charges that include manslaughter as well as second-degree murder charges too. The news was confirmed by an affiliate correspondent from NBC-TV.
Currently, the case is slated for the jury’s selection on Monday, with the trial expected to start by March 29th. This is the earliest date given by respective officials, with many citing possible changes and delays too.
In regards to the reversal by the Appeals Court of Minnesota, they stated how Judge Peter Cahill, who is Hennepin County’s District Judge, made a huge error when he denied the prosecuting side’s request for reinstating the third-degree murder charge.point 531 |
For this reason, the appeals court sent the case back towards Cahill for immediate reconsideration, confirmed local media outlets.point 112 | 1
Now, Chauvin’s defense team could possibly appeal for the decision towards Minnesota’s Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the state. And that could further delay the trial, as mentioned in a report.
Judge Cahill dropped off the third-degree murder charges last October, which was a rap that many prosecutors believed paved the way to possibly reinstate more jurors with greater options, provided they struggled with convicting on heavier terms relating to the second-degree murder charges.
Derek Chauvin was fired from the police department when body cam footage revealed how he had kneeled down on George Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes. And that is what led to the outbreak of a large wave of protests in the nation and around the globe, with many calling the Government to defund the police.
At the same time, 3 more police officers from Minneapolis are also waiting for their separate trials to begin, in regards to their alleged involvement in George Floyd’s death.