A few hours before the sentencing of Derek Chauvin is scheduled to begin, Judge Peter Cahill has already made a ruling.
Cahill denied the defense’s motion for a new trial. He also denied the motion for a Schwartz hearing over possible jury misconduct.
In the denial the court ruled on these three requests:
1. Defendant has failed to demonstrate that the Court abused its discretion or committed error such that Defendant was deprived of his constitutional right to a fair trial.
2. Defendant has failed to demonstrate that the State engaged in prosecutorial misconduct such that Defendant was deprived of his constitutional right to a fair trial.
3. Defendant has failed to establish a prima facie case of juror misconduct or that a juror gave false testimony during voir dire to warrant an evidentiary hearing pursuant to Schwartz v. Minneapolis Suburban Bus Co., 104 N.W.2d 301 (Minn. 1960); State v. Usee, 800 N.W.2d 192
A Schwartz hearing is a procedure for determining whether an outside influence has had a prejudicial effect on the jury. There were complaints from Chauvin’s defense team during the trial that the city of Minneapolis’ settling of a civil case with Floyd’s family plus the media attention the case received was influencing the jury, something Cahill has repeatedly dismissed.
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Under Minnesota statutes, Chauvin will be sentenced only on the most serious charge of second-degree murder. That's because all of the charges against him stem from one act, with one victim.
The max for that charge is 40 years, but legal experts have said there's no way he'll get that much. Case law dictates the practical maximum Chauvin could face is 30 years — double what the high end of state sentencing guidelines suggest. Anything above that risks being overturned on appeal.
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Chauvin, 45, was convicted in April of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck for about 9 1/2 minutes as the Black man said he couldn’t breathe. It was an act captured on bystander video, which prompted protests around the world.
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