Derek Chauvin's 3rd degree murder conviction is in jeopardy, now that the Minnesota Supreme Court has overturned the same conviction against Mohamed Noor.
Prominent Twin Cities defense attorney Joe Friedberg, who is not associated with either case, says he expects Chauvin's 3rd degree murder conviction to also be overturned, for the same reasons.
"I thought it was a bad tactic from the standpoint of the prosecutor (in the Chauvin case) to leave that 3rd degree murder in there," Friedberg told WCCO's Chad Hartman Wednesday. "If the evidence hadn't been as overwhelming as it was, you might have got a compromised verdict, which would now be set aside."
But Friedberg says Chauvin, who was also found guilty of 2nd degree murder and 2nd degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd, will not have his sentence altered because he was sentenced on the most serious charge.
"It's irrelevant, because (Chauvin) was sentenced on the 2nd degree murder, which is a greater crime. And so he really doesn't get sentenced on 3rd degree murder. That conviction will be thrown out, but it won't have any impact on his sentence."