![](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/03\/15\/USAT\/14ce3889-c785-4809-9341-813d0a179b87-AP_George_Floyd_Officer_Trial.jpg?crop=5054,3370,x0,y0&width=540&height=&fit=bounds&auto=webp\")
<\/p>\nA historic\u00a0$27 million settlement in a lawsuit filed over George Floyd’s death,\u00a0announced as a jury is being chosen for\u00a0the\u00a0criminal trial of\u00a0the officer\u00a0accused of killing him, complicates a high-profile prosecution\u00a0and could become\u00a0grounds for an\u00a0appeal of a\u00a0conviction, legal observers say.<\/p>\n
Floyd’s death\u00a0under the knee of then-police officer Derek Chauvin\u00a0was captured on video and seen by millions. It sparked nationwide protests against racial injustice and police brutality. Friday, the city of Minneapolis\u00a0settled a civil rights lawsuit against it\u00a0and the four officers who restrained him.<\/p>\n
The announcement of the settlement, which occurred when the criminal trial\u00a0was on a lunchtime break,\u00a0“was incredibly bad timing and extremely damaging to the defense and maybe the state,” said Mary Moriarty, former\u00a0chief public defender of Hennepin County,\u00a0Minnesota.<\/p>\n
Among the possible effects:\u00a0A\u00a0potential juror could\u00a0presume there’s no need to convict Chauvin because the Floyd family has\u00a0already received a large settlement, she said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A group of protesters march in the snow around the Hennepin County Government Center, Monday, March 15, 2021, in Minneapolis where the second week of jury selection continues in the trial for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Chauvin is charged with murder in the death of George Floyd during an arrest last may in Minneapolis. (Photo: Jim Mone, AP)<\/span><\/p>\n Chauvin is on trial on charges of\u00a0second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Prosecutors have been careful to avoid potential causes for appeal, Moriarty said. “This certainly creates one. Not of their doing.”<\/p>\n Floyd died in May after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground under Chauvin’s knee for more than 9\u00a0minutes. Floyd repeatedly cried out, “I can’t breathe.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Floyd\u2019s family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in July against the city, Chauvin and three other officers charged in his death. It alleged the officers, who have since been fired,\u00a0violated Floyd\u2019s rights when they restrained him\u00a0and that the city allowed a culture of excessive force, racism and impunity to flourish on its police force.<\/p>\n When court convened Monday morning, Chauvin’s defense attorney, Eric Nelson, said the timing of the settlement was suspicious. It\u00a0“has an\u00a0incredible\u00a0propensity to taint a jury pool,” he said.<\/p>\n He noted that the seven jurors selected by then\u00a0could come across a headline about the settlement while scrolling through Facebook. Jurors are not allowed to view or read anything related to the case,\u00a0but social media is allowed.<\/p>\n In this image taken from video, defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, and defendant, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, right, listen to Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill during pretrial motions, prior to continuing jury selection in the trial of Chauvin, Thursday, March 11, 2021, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn. (Photo: AP)<\/span><\/p>\n Nelson asked Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill to delay the trial,\u00a0move it to a new location\u00a0and sequester all jurors for the duration. As of now, they will be sequestered only\u00a0during deliberations.<\/p>\n Steve Schleicher, a special assistant attorney general, said there was no reason to delay the trial.<\/p>\n Prosecutors wish they were “trying this case in a vacuum with no pretrial publicity,” he said. “It would make things less complicated, but that’s just not where we are.”<\/p>\n Cahill said both sides have legitimate concerns, and he called the timing unfortunate. “But I don’t suspect any evil intent in the timing,” which he said probably stems from the city’s desire to limit its liability if Chauvin is convicted.<\/p>\n Still, Cahill said,\u00a0“I wish city officials would stop talking about this case so much.”<\/p>\n He said he\u00a0would bring the seven jurors back for questioning about their exposure to the civil settlement, and he would consider the motion to delay the case.<\/p>\n Attorneys watching the case said it’s\u00a0unlikely the case will be moved or delayed.<\/p>\n “There’s so much pretrial publicity already, I don’t think this settlement changes the ultimate mix of information out there,” said\u00a0Ted Sampsell-Jones, a professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law.<\/p>\n A man changes the number of a sign board at a makeshift memorial of George Floyd before the third day of jury selection begins in the trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin who is accused of killing Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 10, 2021. (Photo: CHANDAN KHANNA, AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n Sarah Davis, executive director of the nonprofit Legal Rights Center in Minneapolis, said she followed Monday’s hearing on Twitter.\u00a0The settlement’s timing was “incredibly damaging and prejudicial,” she said.<\/p>\n “If I was\u00a0Derek Chauvin\u2019s\u00a0defense\u00a0attorney, I would move for a mistrial,” she said.<\/p>\n But it may not have been possible to avoid such timing. The Minneapolis City Council approved the settlement Friday, and votes on legal settlements are required to be public, said Sarah McKenzie, a city spokeswoman.<\/p>\n As to whether the Floyd\u00a0family could have delayed a settlement until after the criminal trial, Antonio M. Romanucci, one of the lawyers representing the family, said, “Justice does not wait.”<\/p>\n The family of George Floyd has reached a $27 million settlement with the city of Minneapolis in a civil lawsuit over his death in police custody. (Photo: USA TODAY)<\/span><\/p>\n Romanucci\u00a0said there’s no way the settlement announcement has tainted the jury pool.<\/p>\n “This has been the most widespread video seen in civil rights history,” he said. “You’re\u00a0going to\u00a0tell me now that a one-hour\u00a0press conference is\u00a0going to change a\u00a0juror\u2019s mind after 10 months of Minneapolis\u00a0citizens hearing about George Floyd\u00a0every day? That’s hogwash.”<\/p>\n Virtually all potential jurors have told lawyers they had\u00a0seen or heard something about the case.\u00a0Lawyers on both sides have focused on whether potential jurors\u00a0would be willing to set aside any opinions on Floyd’s death and hear the evidence with an open mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the first potential juror to face questioning Monday didn’t help Romanucci’s argument.<\/p>\n The woman, who deals with civil lawsuits as part of her job as a human resources professional, said she “almost gasped at the amount” when she accidentally heard about the settlement. She said she thought it meant city officials believed they\u00a0would lose the case. The potential juror said she couldn’t be impartial juror,\u00a0and she was dismissed by the judge.<\/p>\n She was the only one to mention the settlement Monday.<\/p>\n Monday’s debate over jurors’ knowledge of outside developments may not be the last.\u00a0<\/p>\n Though jurors have been told to avoid media coverage of the case, they have not been directed to avoid social media. They will be allowed to use their devices when court is in recess, which is typically the case in trials.<\/p>\n The pandemic has limited opportunities to gather with friends and family, and people are spending more time on devices.\u00a0Given the nature of social media, the most controversial events tend to rise to the top of people’s news feeds.<\/p>\n According to a Pew Research Center study conducted last year amid the pandemic, about half of U.S. adults said\u00a0they get news from social media “often” or “sometimes.”<\/p>\n “It’s hard to avoid a headline, and that’s the problem,” Moriarty said. “You can’t scroll through Facebook without seeing thing you don’t want to see necessarily.”<\/p>\nChauvin’s attorney asks to delay trial<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/03\/11\/USAT\/b211ccca-875a-4f35-a7f7-b76bd66b3e45-AP21070547334896.jpg?width=540&height=&fit=bounds&auto=webp\")
<\/p>\nDoes settlement add to publicity of Floyd’s death?\u00a0<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/03\/10\/USAT\/e54c6645-23d9-4ff2-a8c0-954eca29116b-AFP_AFP_94P3N3.jpg?width=540&height=&fit=bounds&auto=webp\")
<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/03\/12\/USAT\/641d559d-db06-4d3a-9df3-689292ec79ca-VPC_FLOYD_FAMILY_SETTLEMENT_DESK.00_00_13_25.Still001.jpg?width=540&height=&fit=bounds&auto=webp\")
<\/p>\nFloyd family attorney: Settlement doesn’t taint jury pool<\/h2>\n
How do jurors avoid\u00a0coming across news of the case?<\/h2>\n