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The case against Derek Chauvin is one of the worst by a prosecution that I have seen in my 39 years at the bar. This was supposedly a prosecution dream team. Instead the defense, with skilled cross examination, has elicited admissions highly damaging to the prosecution, which go to the ultimate issue of whether Chauvin caused Floyd’s death. Many of the witnesses have seemed ill prepared for any cross examination. Chauvin may ultimately be convicted, but it will be against the evidence thus far presented. The defense has been good, not great. The prosecution has been abysmal.
I’ve asked many ordinary people their opinion who aren’t following the case but are following the media, and they all said emphatically that Chauvin is guilty.
Our media are criminals.
Barnes expressed the rather depressing view that jurors tend to respond to emotional manipulation and the prosecution has been quite good at that.
Robert Barnes thinks Eric Nelson’s skills at cross examination are first rate.
Yesterday was probably the best day for the prosecution so far, particularly with that Irish doctor. He was the most compelling by far. A young lawyer you tuber says Nelson is showing signs of physical fatigue and it adversely affected his cross examination yesterday. The prosecution, on the other hand, has four different attorneys they can rotate in and out to keep fresh.
I think the worst criminal in this trial is Minnesota AG Keith X Ellison. His not releasing the full body cam footage while Minneapolis and other cities burned and his bringing charges against Chauvin seems to me to be a gross form of prosecutorial misconduct. And we can expect to see more of this in future unless there is some effective push back. People need to wake the hell up to dangers of this crap.
Yesterday was probably the best day for the prosecution so far,
True. Prosecutors are supposed to look like supermen during their part of the case, and I would say that yesterday was the first good day they had. We can expect that the defense will have experts who will say that the drug overdose likely caused the death of Floyd. I assume that the defense will also cause Morries Hall, Floyd’s colleague in crime, and force him to plead the fifth which is what he said he will do if called as a witness.
As to the malignant Ellison, if we do have a Civil War II, I hope his corpse is among the first tossed into a mass grave, because he has done his worst to bring about Civil War II.
In Illinois a Defendant has the chance to switch to a bench trial at any time in a jury trial before the Jury begins deliberations. If that is possible in Minnesota, Chauvin’s counsel should keep that tactic in mind.
It seems to my non-expert mind that the best the prosecution did yesterday was create doubt about drug overdose causing Floyd’s death. In a just trial, that’s not nearly good enough. But who knows the mindset of this jury, particularly given they will legitimately fear for their safety should they dare acquit? I’m sure Judge Cahill would have similar worries if this trial switches to a bench trial. I’m sure there are plenty of retired Navy SEALS more than willing to help him alleviate those fears…for the right price of course.
I was amazed the news yesterday actually mentioned “oh, the drugs in his system have that effect, too.”
There is also the Covid infection with Floyd having risk factors that typically have a high mortality risk. The Covid pulmonary edema and inflammation from the infection likely acted synergistically with the lethal levels of fentanyl and other drugs. The knees on the shoulder, back or neck was likely the least contributing factor for to Floyd’s lethal cardiac event.
There are many lessons that can be learned from this tragedy and perhaps there are some politicians and local government officials who need to be held accountable for neglecting to support police and paramedics. Since this occurred in an area of high drug abuse and overdose rates, especially since the Covid lockdowns and layoffs, it may also seem reasonable to ask why police in that area were not trained in the use of and issued Narcan; which could have been administered after this 6’7” combative suspect was restrained.
https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/2019/03/08/opioid-overdose-narcan-police-lafayette-louisiana-heroin-fentanyl/2985970002/
http://ladoj.ag.state.la.us/Article/2408
I have no idea how I would vote as a jury member after listening to all the evidence and taking seriously my promise to “a true verdict give according to the law and the evidence, SO HELP ME GOD.” However, to assume this man is receiving a fair trial defies credulity. Imagine a black man being tried in my hometown fifty years ago with the Courthouse surrounded by Klansmen threating to burn the town down, along with the jurors houses, while the President of the United States, among others, incites racial hatred. Those who analyze this trial while not facing the lynch mob mentality being displayed need a date with reality.