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Defense seeks case dismissal for officer who kneeled on George Floyd

TU Curmudgeon

B.A. (Sarc), LLb. (Lex Sarcasus), PhD (Sarc.)
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From United Press International

Defense seeks case dismissal for officer who kneeled on George Floyd


Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Lawyers for a former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd have asked a judge to dismiss his case, court documents indicate.

In a motion filed Friday, the defense called for charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter to be dropped for Derek Chauvin. They said prosecutors haven't provided sufficient probable cause.

The Minneapolis Police Department fired and arrested Chauvin after he was captured on video kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than 8 minutes on May 25. Floyd died after repeatedly calling for help, saying he could breathe.

Chauvin's attorneys said officers were following protocol when they arrested and subdued Floyd. He was arrested on allegations he attempted to use a counterfeit $20 at a nearby food store. Police said he struggled during arrest, leading Chauvin to handcuff him face-down and kneel on his neck.

COMMENT:-

It's quite understandable that Mr. Chauvin's lawyers would want to see the charges dismissed because they also have an accurate idea of what the likelihood of their client being found "Not Guilty" if the case ever goes to trial.

Think of this as the last, desperate, legal maneuver prior to serious plea bargaining.
 
Think of this as the last, desperate, legal maneuver prior to serious plea bargaining.
[/INDENT]

I would hardly call it a "desperate legal maneuver". It's pretty standard procedure, and I would say his lawyer was committing malpractice if he didn't do it, especially on these facts.
 
From United Press International

Defense seeks case dismissal for officer who kneeled on George Floyd


Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Lawyers for a former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd have asked a judge to dismiss his case, court documents indicate.

In a motion filed Friday, the defense called for charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter to be dropped for Derek Chauvin. They said prosecutors haven't provided sufficient probable cause.

The Minneapolis Police Department fired and arrested Chauvin after he was captured on video kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than 8 minutes on May 25. Floyd died after repeatedly calling for help, saying he could breathe.

Chauvin's attorneys said officers were following protocol when they arrested and subdued Floyd. He was arrested on allegations he attempted to use a counterfeit $20 at a nearby food store. Police said he struggled during arrest, leading Chauvin to handcuff him face-down and kneel on his neck.

COMMENT:-

It's quite understandable that Mr. Chauvin's lawyers would want to see the charges dismissed because they also have an accurate idea of what the likelihood of their client being found "Not Guilty" if the case ever goes to trial.

Think of this as the last, desperate, legal maneuver prior to serious plea bargaining.

His lawyers know that’s not going anywhere. The defense waives issues they might want to bring up on appeal if they don’t object or bring the issue up at the right time.
 
Not gonna happen
 
Not gonna happen

It very well could happen. The judge has to hear the motion along with the prosecutor to determine.
If the prosecutor cannot come up with any evidence that supports what he is charging then the judge very well
could dismiss it.

The new medical report is not good news for the prosecution.

The defense could easily argue that the move used on a normal person would not have killed them but floyd had
outlining circumstances involving his health that was the primary cause of his death not the officer.
 
It very well could happen. The judge has to hear the motion along with the prosecutor to determine.
If the prosecutor cannot come up with any evidence that supports what he is charging then the judge very well
could dismiss it.

The new medical report is not good news for the prosecution.

The defense could easily argue that the move used on a normal person would not have killed them but floyd had
outlining circumstances involving his health that was the primary cause of his death not the officer.

That's all well and good - except for the "Eggshell skull" rule.
 
That's all well and good - except for the "Eggshell skull" rule.

That is why there is a court to see if that applies in this case.
if that move is not lethal in 9/10 cases and the only case that it is lethal in is that the person
has a pre-existing almost lethal concoction in them well that has to be taken into account.
 
this episode of Radiolab puts it in context :

Graham | Radiolab | WNYC Studios

if you haven't listened to Radiolab before, i recommend the whole catalog, and there are a lot of episodes.
 
This is the peg for the motion.

[h=3]New court docs say George Floyd had "fatal level" of fentanyl ...[/h]www.kare11.com › article › news › local › new-court-docs-say-georg...






3 days ago - The FBI asked the Armed Forces Medical Examiner to review Baker's autopsy and they agreed with his findings, writing "his death was caused by ...

How does that excuse holding your knee on a mans neck until he was obviously unconscious? If it was a fatal level, why then was George Floyd alive for the whole fiasco? The knee restraint killed him IMO.

I was given Fentanyl once for a minor surgery. It knocks you out instantly. George Floyd was obviously awake during the whole ordeal, so the level wasn't even at the level used for surgery.
 
That is why there is a court to see if that applies in this case.
if that move is not lethal in 9/10 cases and the only case that it is lethal in is that the person
has a pre-existing almost lethal concoction in them well that has to be taken into account.

Add "at trial" and I'm in agreement with you.

Mind you, there is a "public policy" argument to be made that this case MUST go to a full public trial (even if everyone agrees that the end result is going to be an acquittal) because of what the public reaction is going to be if it is "swept under the carpet".
 
Add "at trial" and I'm in agreement with you.

Mind you, there is a "public policy" argument to be made that this case MUST go to a full public trial (even if everyone agrees that the end result is going to be an acquittal) because of what the public reaction is going to be if it is "swept under the carpet".

You think there are protests now, wait and see what happens if these cops get off. Donald Trump wont be able to stop sh**.
 
You think there are protests now, wait and see what happens if these cops get off. Donald Trump wont be able to stop sh**.

hopefully, tRump will be in jail by then and biden will have to figure out the way to respond to either verdict
 
You think there are protests now, wait and see what happens if these cops get off. Donald Trump wont be able to stop sh**.

If the whole thing is "swept under the carper" (read as "the case is dismissed without any hearing on the merits") the reaction is going to be a couple of orders (or more) more "vigorous" than if there is a full and public trial and the police officers are acquitted by an impartial jury that is not dominated by one minority or another (and the reaction is going to be even less if the jury is predominantly "Black" and unanimous in its finding).
 
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How does that excuse holding your knee on a mans neck until he was obviously unconscious? If it was a fatal level, why then was George Floyd alive for the whole fiasco? The knee restraint killed him IMO.

I was given Fentanyl once for a minor surgery. It knocks you out instantly. George Floyd was obviously awake during the whole ordeal, so the level wasn't even at the level used for surgery.

The medical examiner apparently disagrees with you.
 
That is why there is a court to see if that applies in this case.
if that move is not lethal in 9/10 cases and the only case that it is lethal in is that the person
has a pre-existing almost lethal concoction in them well that has to be taken into account.

It doesn't matter if the fentanyl might have maybe possibly killed him at a later, unspecified time.
 
It doesn't matter if the fentanyl might have maybe possibly killed him at a later, unspecified time.

well it does matter.
 
well it does matter.

No, it doesn't. You're not actually allowed to shoot someone with terminal cancer either, hopes this helps.
 
How does that excuse holding your knee on a mans neck until he was obviously unconscious? If it was a fatal level, why then was George Floyd alive for the whole fiasco? The knee restraint killed him IMO.

I was given Fentanyl once for a minor surgery. It knocks you out instantly. George Floyd was obviously awake during the whole ordeal, so the level wasn't even at the level used for surgery.

Fentanyl is a pain killer and there is a rise of overdose deaths because of homemade Fentanyl. I doubt the situationd were anywhere near the same.
 
No, it doesn't. You're not actually allowed to shoot someone with terminal cancer either, hopes this helps.

as usual what you just posted has nothing to do with the topic or what is being discussed.
 
as usual what you just posted has nothing to do with the topic or what is being discussed.

If he had a "fatal amount" in his bloodstream it seems a little suspicious that he was walking, talking and conscious until the cop killed him, don't you think?
 
If he had a "fatal amount" in his bloodstream it seems a little suspicious that he was walking, talking and conscious until the cop killed him, don't you think?

That's not really how drugs work. There is usually some delay between ingestion and the point where toxicity levels raise to the point that autonomic body functions cease to occur. I'm not sure where you studied biology to be lead to believe otherwise.
 
If he had a "fatal amount" in his bloodstream it seems a little suspicious that he was walking, talking and conscious until the cop killed him, don't you think?

Not really. Drug users bodies at very weird when high or when drugs have been used for a long long time.
11mg is typically fatal to average people. He wasn't an average person and had been abusing for a very long time.

He very much could be coherent as his body is just use to being that hyped up. that doesn't stop the internal damage.
 
That's not really how drugs work. There is usually some delay between ingestion and the point where toxicity levels raise to the point that autonomic body functions cease to occur. I'm not sure where you studied biology to be lead to believe otherwise.

That depends entirely on the dose, the individual's response to that dose and, if a person consumed it as a recreational drug, there is the strong possibility of built-up resistance, as with heroin and alcohol addiction. Thus a fatal dose for an otherwise 'clean' individual may be 'normal' for a regular user.
 
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