Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is making another attempt to overturn his state murder conviction in the death of George Floyd, this time arguing that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz improperly assigned Attorney General Keith Ellison to prosecute the case.
Chauvinâs attorneys filed a petition Tuesday with the Minnesota Court of Appeals seeking dismissal of the state charges. Their argument centers on the way the prosecution was handled rather than simply revisiting the evidence presented during Chauvinâs 2021 trial.
Chauvin, now 50, was convicted in April 2021 of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in connection with Floydâs death on May 25, 2020. Widely circulated video from the arrest showed Chauvin kneeling on Floyd for more than nine minutes as Floyd was restrained on the ground.
Floydâs autopsy also documented fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system, along with underlying health conditions. However, the official manner of death was ruled a homicide, and prosecutors successfully argued at trial that Chauvinâs restraint was a substantial causal factor in Floydâs death.
Chauvin is serving a state prison sentence of more than 22 years. He also received a federal sentence after pleading guilty to violating Floydâs civil rights.
The latest petition represents another effort by Chauvinâs legal team to challenge the state conviction. The Minnesota Court of Appeals has rejected previous attempts to overturn the case.
This time, attorney Greg Joseph argues that Walz did not have lawful authority to transfer responsibility for the prosecution to Ellisonâs office in the manner that occurred.
Joseph wrote that Walz referred the case to Ellison after the original Hennepin County charges were filed, and Chauvinâs attorneys contend that the attorney generalâs subsequent involvement violated Chauvinâs due process rights.
The filing also challenges the decision not to present the murder charges to a grand jury. Chauvinâs attorneys argue that prosecutors effectively made a charging decision that should have been placed before a grand jury for a determination of probable cause.
According to the petition, that alleged failure was serious enough to deprive the trial court of jurisdiction over the amended charges.
âAs a result of these several due process violations,â Chauvinâs attorneys wrote, the charges should be dismissed.
Whether the appeals court accepts that argument is another matter. Chauvin was charged through a process that resulted in a jury trial, conviction and multiple rounds of appellate review. His latest filing asks the courts to conclude that the prosecution was fundamentally defective from the beginning because of the way authority over the case was assigned.
The filing has also renewed public debate over Chauvinâs conviction.
Elon Musk weighed in Wednesday, writing on X that he believes Chauvin was âunjustly convicted of murderâ and should be released. Musk argued that Chauvin did not cause Floydâs death and did not intend for him to die.
Those claims remain heavily disputed. At Chauvinâs trial, prosecutors presented medical and eyewitness testimony supporting their position that the restraint used against Floyd contributed substantially to his death. Chauvinâs defense, meanwhile, emphasized Floydâs drug use, medical conditions and other possible contributing factors.
Body-camera and other video evidence also showed Floyd struggling with officers before he was restrained on the pavement. At points during the encounter, Floyd said he could not breathe even before he was placed on the ground. Officers repeatedly attempted to get him into a police vehicle, while Floyd appeared distressed and resisted entering the squad car.
Those details became central to the defense argument that Floyd was already experiencing a serious medical crisis before Chauvin restrained him. Prosecutors countered that whatever Floydâs condition beforehand, Chauvinâs continued use of force after Floyd was handcuffed and no longer responsive played a critical role in his death.
The latest petition does not by itself erase or change Chauvinâs conviction. It asks the Minnesota appellate courts to revisit the legality of the prosecution and determine whether the alleged procedural violations raised by his attorneys are serious enough to require dismissal.