Chauvin juror lied about BLM protest attendance

[Fishking]

This definitely increases the likelihood of a mistrial or supporting an appeal. I think the jury got it mostly right (not sure about all three charges but for sure manslaughter and maybe more). This isn't about that. This is about the issues of our jury pools being tainted more and more. We cannot politicize the juries. This won't end well. I've already talked about how jurors feared giving an unpopular decision and now we have activists purposefully sneaking their way onto juries. With everything going on, Chauvin could walk literally because of the actions of the activists themselves.

Chauvin juror defends participation in Washington protest

Brandon Mitchell, 31, is pictured on August 28 wearing a T-shirt with a picture of King and the words, 'GET YOUR KNEE OFF OUR NECKS' and 'BLM,' for Black Lives Matter.

www.dailymail.co.uk

"Questions have been raised about the impartiality of one of the 12 jurors who convicted Derek Chauvin of murder after it was revealed he attended a rally last summer where George Floyd's relatives addressed the crowd.

A photo, posted on social media, shows Brandon Mitchell attending an August 28 event in Washington, DC, to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr's 'I Have a Dream' speech during the 1963 March on Washington.

It shows Mitchell, a high school basketball coach, standing with two other men and wearing a T-shirt with a picture of King and the words, 'GET YOUR KNEE OFF OUR NECKS' and 'BLM'. He is also wearing a baseball cap printed with Black Lives Matter."

Yeah...impartiality was obviously not present here, the lie just proves it.

 

[Fishking]

I don't know what news outlets people like to whine about so here's a paywall WaPo link as well.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/05/03/chauvin-trial-juror/

 

[Mr Person]

The photo, shared by several news sites, shows Brandon Mitchell, a 31-year-old high school basketball coach in Minneapolis, standing next to two relatives wearing a black T-shirt with a picture of Martin Luther King Jr. with the words “Get your knee off our necks,” as well as a black baseball cap with the letters “BLM” (for Black Lives Matter). On Monday, Mitchell told the Star Tribune that the photo was posted on social media by his uncle in D.C. last August, during the commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech from 1963. He defended his attendance, saying it was not a march for George Floyd, according to the Star Tribune.​

​

.​

.​

.​

According to the Star Tribune, Mitchell said he responded “no” to a question asking if he, or anyone close to him, had ever participated in protests over police use of force or police brutality.​

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/05/03/chauvin-trial-juror/

(The WaPo).



Just what we need. No doubt the agenda'd will declare this means the convictions to be thrown out. Generally speaking, no, you need more than the fact that a juror simply did not disclose something. Appellate courts put huge weight on a judge's determination of impartiality and jurors' sworn statements that they can remain impartial. And as the article notes, the defense will try to do something with this, and that something will very likely involve getting some more testimony from the juror.

At any rate, the existence of this photo is not the get out of jail free card some will try to use it as, nor does it mean that the conviction was necessarily unfair. Betting that this gets him a new trial would be a bad bet. Getting new trials because of an allegedly biased jury is no easy task. Hell, getting new trials is no easy task. I think the last time anyone looked, something like 6% or 8% of cases with the lead issue on appeal preserved in MA got reversed. And that's huge, because it is far easier (though still very hard) to win on a preserved issue (meaning your lawyer brought it to the judge's attention adequately) than an unpreserved one.

So while we definitely didn't need this, it's not the super duper big deal that some will inevitably play it as. And yet again, I find myself saying that I well and truly wish that people would start paying attention to, caring about, and doing things about the entire criminal justice system....

....not just treatment of those few defendants in the public eye that people may have partisan motives to opine about.



Anyone seen any DP threads about the unfairness of plea bargaining since Flynn? What about the supposed horrors of FISA warrants? That all just sorta went away, didn't it?

 

[Rogue Valley]

Felony murder convictions are rarely overturned on appeal.

 

[Mr Person]

Felony murder convictions are rarely overturned on appeal.

Quibble: "felony murder" is a term of art that doesn't apply here.

Basically, you're in a joint venture to commit a felony and someone dies, even if it's your coventurer who died because the liquor store manager shot him mid-robbery....boom, felony murder, at least in states that still have the strict version.

 

[mike2810]

This definitely increases the likelihood of a mistrial or supporting an appeal. I think the jury got it mostly right (not sure about all three charges but for sure manslaughter and maybe more). This isn't about that. This is about the issues of our jury pools being tainted more and more. We cannot politicize the juries. This won't end well. I've already talked about how jurors feared giving an unpopular decision and now we have activists purposefully sneaking their way onto juries. With everything going on, Chauvin could walk literally because of the actions of the activists themselves.

Chauvin juror defends participation in Washington protest

Brandon Mitchell, 31, is pictured on August 28 wearing a T-shirt with a picture of King and the words, 'GET YOUR KNEE OFF OUR NECKS' and 'BLM,' for Black Lives Matter.

www.dailymail.co.uk

"Questions have been raised about the impartiality of one of the 12 jurors who convicted Derek Chauvin of murder after it was revealed he attended a rally last summer where George Floyd's relatives addressed the crowd.

A photo, posted on social media, shows Brandon Mitchell attending an August 28 event in Washington, DC, to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr's 'I Have a Dream' speech during the 1963 March on Washington.

It shows Mitchell, a high school basketball coach, standing with two other men and wearing a T-shirt with a picture of King and the words, 'GET YOUR KNEE OFF OUR NECKS' and 'BLM'. He is also wearing a baseball cap printed with Black Lives Matter."

Yeah...impartiality was obviously not present here, the lie just proves it.

If the Chauvin verdict is nullified because of someone attending an event before the trial then the Arizona Maricopa county election audit needs to be stopped.
Cyber Ninjas has shown bias before being selected to conduct the audit. Some of the people counting the ballots have attended Stop the Steal events.

 

[VySky]

Yep... Maxine Waters and now this. I bet Chauvin is ordering pizza right now

 

[joko104]

Unless that juror is prosecuted for aggravated felony perjury we all will know as fact the prosecutor's office is purely corrupt and the antithesis of the rule of law.

 

[Fishking]

According to the Star Tribune, Mitchell said he responded “no” to a question asking if he, or anyone close to him, had ever participated in protests over police use of force or police brutality.​

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/05/03/chauvin-trial-juror/

(The WaPo)


Just what we need. No doubt the agenda'd will declare this means the convictions to be thrown out. Generally speaking, no, you need more than the fact that a juror simply did not disclose something. Appellate courts put huge weight on a judge's determination of impartiality and jurors' sworn statements that they can remain impartial. And as the article notes, the defense will try to do something with this, and that something will very likely involve getting some more testimony from the juror.

First, you just lied. The juror didn't simply fail to disclose something. The juror lied to a specific question.

At any rate, the existence of this photo is not the get out of jail free card some will try to use it as, nor does it mean that the conviction was necessarily unfair.

It's just one thing of many things put together. Having an obvious bias juror most definitely means the jury, which is responsible for deciding on a conviction, was tainted and not fair. This isn't difficult. Further, this isn't the only thing that is concerning. We've had multiple jurors in the pool saying they were concerned about giving an unpopular decision. Add onto that politicians like Maxine Waters basically advocating for violence if she didn't get the results she wanted. Add onto that the that prosecution presented new evidence after the judge specifically told them that no more evidence was to be submitted and doing so could result in a mistrial.

Anyone seen any DP threads about the unfairness of plea bargaining since Flynn? What about the supposed horrors of FISA warrants? That all just sorta went away, didn't it?

Do you have specific examples you want to bring up or are you just trying to throw out some empty rhetoric to distract from the topic? If you do have specific examples, I suggest making a thread for them.

 

[Fishking]

If the Chauvin verdict is nullified because of someone attending an event before the trial then the Arizona Maricopa county election audit needs to be stopped.
Cyber Ninjas has shown bias before being selected to conduct the audit. Some of the people counting the ballots have attended Stop the Steal events.

It's because they lied about it. There is a thread about the Cyber Ninjas already floating around out there, if you feel like talking about that, go there.

 

[Lutherf]

This definitely increases the likelihood of a mistrial or supporting an appeal. I think the jury got it mostly right (not sure about all three charges but for sure manslaughter and maybe more). This isn't about that. This is about the issues of our jury pools being tainted more and more. We cannot politicize the juries. This won't end well. I've already talked about how jurors feared giving an unpopular decision and now we have activists purposefully sneaking their way onto juries. With everything going on, Chauvin could walk literally because of the actions of the activists themselves.

Chauvin juror defends participation in Washington protest

Brandon Mitchell, 31, is pictured on August 28 wearing a T-shirt with a picture of King and the words, 'GET YOUR KNEE OFF OUR NECKS' and 'BLM,' for Black Lives Matter.

www.dailymail.co.uk

"Questions have been raised about the impartiality of one of the 12 jurors who convicted Derek Chauvin of murder after it was revealed he attended a rally last summer where George Floyd's relatives addressed the crowd.

A photo, posted on social media, shows Brandon Mitchell attending an August 28 event in Washington, DC, to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr's 'I Have a Dream' speech during the 1963 March on Washington.

It shows Mitchell, a high school basketball coach, standing with two other men and wearing a T-shirt with a picture of King and the words, 'GET YOUR KNEE OFF OUR NECKS' and 'BLM'. He is also wearing a baseball cap printed with Black Lives Matter."

Yeah...impartiality was obviously not present here, the lie just proves it.

It might make a difference that he lied but, being completely objective, the jury isn't supposed to be one sided so Floyd should be represented as well as Chauvin.

 

[Fishking]

It might make a difference that he lied but, being completely objective, the jury isn't supposed to be one sided so Floyd should be represented as well as Chauvin.

The jury isn't supposed to represent Floyd or Chauvin. They ask questions to weed out those with the most obvious bias as best they can to try and create the closest they can reasonable come to impartiality. What's the point of even having a jury if the juror has already made up their mind?

 

[dcsports]

I don't know what news outlets people like to whine about so here's a paywall WaPo link as well.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/05/03/chauvin-trial-juror/

Your first link was fine. WaPo is one that people like to 'whine about' because of it's bias and the fact that it paywalls its articles

 

[Fishking]

Your first link was fine. WaPo is one that people like to 'whine about' because of it's bias and the fact that it paywalls its articles

People will whine about WaPo but what I was talking about are the weak posters who will literally not read the OP or talk about it at all, and just post a Media Bias link, and it's all against anything that is conservative that they do it.

 

[MTAtech]

First, you just lied. The juror didn't simply fail to disclose something. The juror lied to a specific question.

What was the specific question?

 

[Fishking]

What was the specific question?

I put it in bold in what I quoted.

 

[Lutherf]

The jury isn't supposed to represent Floyd or Chauvin. They ask questions to weed out those with the most obvious bias as best they can to try and create the closest they can reasonable come to impartiality.

The idea that a jury will be impartial is a total pipe dream and that's especially so in a case like Floyd. Yeah, the jury is supposed to interpret the evidence and apply that to the law but there is no way that was going to happen in this case. Every juror I heard interviewed, pretrial, had some kind of bias. Most were biased against police.

Look, Chauvin was toast the minute the video hit the cable news airwaves. The media went to every length they could to politicize the incident for a full year before the trial and over a billion dollars was raised by the Democrat party as they campaigned on racism and police brutality. The city of Minneapolis made a show of handing Floyd's family $27M just before jury selection and all the news was with regard to the probability of riots if Chauvin wasn't found guilty of murder. One guy on a jury that attended a protest, or 12 of them for that matter, wasn't going to change the outcome.

 

[GDViking]

If I were chauvin I would not this in the news.

If it seems like he may get an appeal,as weak as it may be, it very easily could shorten his life span...

I predicted six months, found guilty or innocent...

 

[Taylor]

If he willfully lied to get on the jury, he should be charged with perjury.

 

[dcsports]

This definitely increases the likelihood of a mistrial or supporting an appeal. I think the jury got it mostly right (not sure about all three charges but for sure manslaughter and maybe more). This isn't about that. This is about the issues of our jury pools being tainted more and more. We cannot politicize the juries. This won't end well. I've already talked about how jurors feared giving an unpopular decision and now we have activists purposefully sneaking their way onto juries. With everything going on, Chauvin could walk literally because of the actions of the activists themselves.

Chauvin juror defends participation in Washington protest

Brandon Mitchell, 31, is pictured on August 28 wearing a T-shirt with a picture of King and the words, 'GET YOUR KNEE OFF OUR NECKS' and 'BLM,' for Black Lives Matter.

www.dailymail.co.uk

"Questions have been raised about the impartiality of one of the 12 jurors who convicted Derek Chauvin of murder after it was revealed he attended a rally last summer where George Floyd's relatives addressed the crowd.

A photo, posted on social media, shows Brandon Mitchell attending an August 28 event in Washington, DC, to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr's 'I Have a Dream' speech during the 1963 March on Washington.

It shows Mitchell, a high school basketball coach, standing with two other men and wearing a T-shirt with a picture of King and the words, 'GET YOUR KNEE OFF OUR NECKS' and 'BLM'. He is also wearing a baseball cap printed with Black Lives Matter."

Yeah...impartiality was obviously not present here, the lie just proves it.

There were a lot of unusual external factors impacting this trial, and the ability to get an impartial jury. Notable ones include the lockdown of the courthouse and downtown and associated protests, the settlement announced during jury selection, publicity and additional protests around the police shooting during the trial, and of course Maxine Waters. Attorneys providing commentary have said that's a foundation, but to have the trial overturned these would have to have an impact on the trial - such as an indication that jurors were biased or felt pressure.

This is certainly one troubling example, and it's really the first juror to come out. Add a couple more who show they felt impacted by the pressure of the situation, and a mistrial becomes a real possibility. And the magic words are something along the lines of 'I knew if we came to a not guilty verdict there would be rioting'.

 

[GDViking]

People will whine about WaPo but what I was talking about are the weak posters who will literally not read the OP or talk about it at all, and just post a Media Bias link, and it's all against anything that is conservative that they do it.

I read it, and it was classic media bias...

 

[dcsports]

People will whine about WaPo but what I was talking about are the weak posters who will literally not read the OP or talk about it at all, and just post a Media Bias link, and it's all against anything that is conservative that they do it.

good point!

 

[GDViking]

Where exactly did he willfully lie???

Trump wilfully lied when he took the oath of office.

What should he be charged with???

Treason seems obvious...

If he willfully lied to get on the jury, he should be charged with perjury.

 

[Fishking]

The idea that a jury will be impartial is a total pipe dream and that's especially so in a case like Floyd. Yeah, the jury is supposed to interpret the evidence and apply that to the law but there is no way that was going to happen in this case. Every juror I heard interviewed, pretrial, had some kind of bias. Most were biased against police.

I don't think it's a pipe dream to get a jury that is within an acceptable range.

Look, Chauvin was toast the minute the video hit the cable news airwaves. The media went to every length they could to politicize the incident for a full year before the trial and over a billion dollars was raised by the Democrat party as they campaigned on racism and police brutality. The city of Minneapolis made a show of handing Floyd's family $27M just before jury selection and all the news was with regard to the probability of riots if Chauvin wasn't found guilty of murder. One guy on a jury that attended a protest, or 12 of them for that matter, wasn't going to change the outcome.

I don't disagree with this, except it doesn't mean we throw our hands up in the air and just not care. This juror lied.

 

[MTAtech]

I put it in bold in what I quoted.

According to the Star Tribune, Mitchell said he responded “no” to a question asking if he, or anyone close to him, had ever participated in protests over police use of force or police brutality.

Brandon Mitchell attended an August 28 event in Washington, DC, to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr's 'I Have a Dream' speech during the 1963 March on Washington.

That's NOT a protest over police or police brutality. Thus, he did not lie.

Objection overruled.