The jury selection portion of the trial against Officer Derek Chauvin for the purported 2020 death of George Floyd is currently underway in Minneapolis.
Most of the people in your Facebook newsfeed probably believe Officer Derek Chauvin is guilty of murder.
But most of the people in your Facebook newsfeed aren't lawyers in Minnesota.
This report is in no-way a suggestion that we think Derek Chauvin deserves to walk out of court a free man. We're just telling you how the laws were written.
Under the Minnesota statute, Chauvin is guilty of unintentional murder in the second degree if he caused Floyd’s death while 1) committing or attempting to commit a felony offense other than criminal sexual conduct in the first or second degree with force or violence or a drive-by shooting; or (2) intentionally inflicting or attempting to inflict bodily harm upon the victim, when the perpetrator is restrained under an order for protection and the victim is a person designated to receive protection under the order. The underlying offense charged is third-degree felony assault.
The difficulty presented by the requirement that Chauvin’s actions caused Floyd’s death is perhaps best understood by thinking about its inverse: if something other than Chauvin’s actions caused Floyd to die, then Chauvin isn’t guilty of murder.
Those who watched the video might think causation is a no-brainer: Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck, suffocating and killing him. However, proof beyond a reasonable doubt requires more, both in this trial and in just about every murder trial. Standard operating procedure is for a medical examiner to testify that whatever actions the defendant undertook were the medical cause of the victim’s death. As anyone who’s seen A Few Good Men enough times to remember lactic acidosis can attest, the science of death can cause major drama during a murder trial.
George Floyd underwent an autopsy. The county medical examiner listed the official cause of death as “[c]ardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression,” and concluded the manner of death was homicide. [Note that while the conclusion as to homicide is certainly relevant, the medical examiner’s opinion about manner of death is not the same thing as a jury’s determination of legal guilt.]
But that’s not the only thing the ME found. According to the autopsy report, Floyd died of a combination of causes. Floyd not only had underlying health conditions, but was also intoxicated with the drug fentanyl. What’s more, the ME found that Floyd had recently used methamphetamine.
To further complicate matters, Floyd’s family had their own medical analysis conducted, which led to slightly different results. Forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden–who is husband of Law&Crime Network host, criminal defense lawyer, and analyst Linda Kenney Baden—said that the cause of death was due to the compression of Floyd’s neck, interfering with blood flow and oxygen going to his brain. Echoing this report, Floyd family attorney Ben Crump has said, “The cause of death was that he was starving for air. It was lack of oxygen. And so everything else is a red herring to try to throw us off.”
Indeed, prosecutors will certainly try to convince the jury that Crump’s take is the right one. George Floyd wouldn’t be the first victim to die at the hands of another while also suffering from his own medical conditions. Generally, the legal principle is that “hastening” someone’s death is equivalent to “causing” their death.
Competing opinions about the science underlying Floyd’s death means multiple expert witnesses and lengthy scientific testimony. Dueling scientific experts is fertile ground for juror confusion and boredom; if the defense successfully raises enough questions about the medical cause of Floyd’s death, the questions alone could dictate an acquittal. After all, the jurors need not decide whatwasthe certain cause of Floyd’s death. All that would be necessary to acquit Chauvin is that the jury find sufficient uncertainty to contradict proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Oregon Police wearing anti-riot gear march towards protesters through tear gas smoke during the 100th day and night of protests against racism and police brutality in Portland, Oregon, on September 5, 2020. - Police arrested dozens of people and used tear gas against hundreds of demonstrators in Portland late on September 5 as the western US city marked 100 days since Black Lives Matter protests erupted against racism and police brutality. Protests in major US cities erupted after the death of African American George Floyd in May 2020 at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis. (Photo by Allison Dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)