The murder and manslaughter trial of the former Minneapolis police officer accused in the death of George Floyd is staying in Hennepin County and there won't be any further delays, according to the judge presiding over the high-profile case.
"As far as change of venue," said Judge Peter Cahill, pausing more than four seconds at that point in his Friday morning ruling, "I do not think that would give the defendant any kind of a fair trial beyond what we're doing here today."
Cahill previously said he'd be making the ruling today, a week after a controversial news conference in which the city of Minneapolis announced a $27 million settlement with Floyd's family.
"I don't think there's any place in the state of Minnesota that has not been subjected to extreme amounts of publicity on this case."
Cahill expressed anger about the settlement announcement earlier in the week, and asked court officials, and city leaders, to stop talking about it.
He did bring it up during his Friday statements, which came before jury selection resumed.
The court has agreed on 12 jurors for the case, which means they need to pick two alternates to complete the selection process.
Cahill has set March 29 as the day for opening statements.
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