Skip to Main Content

Chauvin trial: The trial

This is a collection of resources related to the trial for the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin

Panel discussion on the trial, charges and legal issues

"Legal Perspectives on the Chauvin Trial: What to Expect and What’s at Stake?" UST faculty panel discussion
Excellent 60 minute panel discussion with explanations of the charges and the possible approaches that may be taken by both the state and the defense. Moderated by Dr. Yohuru Williams (Director of UST's Racial Justice Initiative), the panel includes UST Law School professors Rachel Moran, Mark Osler and Rachel Paulose.

Media coverage/FAQ's

"Four Officers in Floyd Case Will Go to Trial"
Minneapolis Star Tribune, 10/23/20
'Explaining the Derek Chauvin Trial"
University Wire (Minnesota Daily), 2/25/21 Interview with Minneapolis attorney Abigail Cerra, member of the Minneapolis Police Conduct Oversight Commission
"What you need to know about the Derek Chauvin trial"
An FAQ related to the trial, from Minnesota Public Radio
"What you need to know about the trial of ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin"
Star Tribune, 3/4/21
"Minneapolis braces for Chauvin trial"
PBS Newshour Under-told Stories, 3/5/21 (Reported by UST's Fred de Sam Lazaro)
"Chauvin jury selection will be monumental task involving large pool, lots of questions"
Star Tribune, 3/7/21
"How jurors will be picked in the Derek Chauvin trial"
Minnesota Public Radio, 3/8/21
"Key players in the Derek Chauvin trial"
Minnesota Public Radio News, 3/8/21
"Day 2: 2 jurors now chosen for Derek Chauvin's murder trial"
Minneapolis Star Tribune, 3/9/21
"Minnesota Supreme Court puts 3rd-degree murder back on the table for Derek Chauvin; 5th juror seated"
Star Tribune, 3/11/21
"$27M settlement coming amid Derek Chauvin trial jury selection called 'unfortunate' by court; day ends with 9 jurors so far"
Star Tribune, 3/15/21
"In court, concerns over Floyd settlement"
Washington Post, 3/16/21
"Chauvin murder trial could have jury picked today"
Star Tribune, 3/22/21
"Who are the jurors in the Chauvin trial?"
Star Tribune, 3/24/21
"Jurors will consider George Floyd's death — not the issue of race — in the Derek Chauvin murder case"
Star Tribune, 3/29/21
more...less...
Racism will not be on trial in Chauvin case
Opening statements in the trial (video recordings)
Star Tribune, 3/30/21
"Derek Chauvin's defense is using these 3 arguments to try to get an acquittal in George Floyd's death"
CNN, 4/12/21
"Day 25 of Derek Chauvin's trial: Cause-of-death phase of the defense's case begins"
Star Tribune, 4/14/21
more...less...
Defense expert witness: George Floyd died of cardiac arrest combined with illicit drugs in his body and not from a lack of oxygen
"Derek Chauvin tells court he will not testify in his murder trial"
Star Tribune, 4/15/21
more...less...
Closing arguments may come as soon as Monday
"Defense rests: closing arguments Monday"
Star Tribune, 4/16/21
"Chauvin guilty on all counts"
Star Tribune, 4/20/21

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

Coverage from the oldest Black owned newspaper in Minnesota
Follow this link to daily reports on the Chauvin trial

Analysis

"Will there be justice for George Floyd?"
Colorlines, 3/2/2021 by Nekima Levy Armstrong
"The missing element in the George Floyd murder trial"
CNN, 3/5/2021 UST Law professor Mark Osler
"Why picking a jury for the Derek Chauvin trial is so hard"
Axios, 3/8/2021
"Chauvin is entitled to a jury of peers. Who are they?"
Washington Post, 3/10/2021
"Dismissal of Black potential juror in Derek Chauvin trial prompts discussion on race and bias in courtrooms"
Star Tribune, 3/23/21
"What Derek Chauvin's trial in the death of George Floyd means for America"
Washington Post, 3/27/21

Masking and Trials

"Crocodile tears: Facial, verbal and body language behaviours associated with genuine and fabricated remorse."
ten Brinke, L., MacDonald, S., Porter, S., & O'Connor, B" Law and human behavior 2012
Cry me a river: Identifying the behavioral consequences of extremely high-stakes interpersonal deception.
ten Brinke, L., & Porter, S. Law & Human Behavior, 2012
In the blink of an eye: Reading mental states from briefly presented eye regions
Schmidtmann, G., Logan, A. J., Carbon, C., Loong, J. T., & Gold, I-Perception, 2020

Voir Dire and Discourse

How a judge’s voir dire can teach a jury what to say
Discourse & Society, 1995
The potentially biasing effects of voir dire in juvenile waiver
Law and Human Behavior, 2011
The effects of rehabilitative voir dire on juror bias and decision making
Law and Human Behavior, 2010

Secondary/Vicarious Trauma in Trials

Prevalence and severity of trauma- and stressor-related symptoms among jurors: A review.
Journal of Criminal Justice, 2016

Pretrial Publicity

Hype and suspicion: The effects of pretrial publicity, race, and suspicion on jurors' verdicts.
Fein, S., Morgan, S. J., Norton, M. I., & Sommers, S. R. Journal of Social Issues, 1997
The power of the pen: The impact of knowledge of defendant's character present in pretrial publicity varies by defendant race.
Mannes, S. Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice, 2016
Your bias is rubbing off on me: The impact of pretrial publicity and jury type on guilt decisions, trial evidence interpretation, and impression formation.
Ruva, C. L., & Coy, A. E. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 2020