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Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd, plans to change his not guilty plea on federal charges that he violated Floyd's civil rights, according to a court notice. A court filing in the U.S. District Court in Minnesota indicated Chauvin will appear at 9 a.m. Wednesday to enter a new plea. The notice did not say how he intends to change his plea. Chauvin's attorney, Eric Nelson, did not immediately return a request for comment. The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment. Chauvin and three other former officers — Thomas Lane, J. Kueng...

CHARLESTON — A bill that creates a process for workers in West Virginia to seek exemptions to COVID-19 workplace vaccination requirements passed the state Senate on Tuesday after more than two hours of debate and bipartisan objections. House Bill 335, relating to COVID-19 immunizations requirements for employment in the public and private sectors, passed the state Senate 17-16 Tuesday afternoon with only state Sen. Eric Nelson, R-Kanawha, absent. However, the bill failed to get the two-thirds vote needed to make it effective from passage, meaning the bill could take 90 days from passage by the Legislature before it can become...

The attorney for Derek Chauvin, Eric Nelson, has filed motions for a new trial and for a hearing to impeach the verdict based on jury misconduct (a so-called Schwartz Hearing under Minnesota law). Nearly a dozen bases are cited for a new trial, but not the recent revelations about juror Brandon Mitchell wearing a BLM t-shirt at a rally and opining that people should get on juries “to spark some change.”The Associated Press lists the reasons the motions cites for a new trial:Nelson cited many reasons in his request for a new trial. He said Judge Peter Cahill abused the...

Attorney Eric Nelson has filed a motion for a new trial for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. Nelson filed the motion on the grounds of juror misconduct, and that the court abused its discretion for failing to agree to the defense’s requests for a change of venue and sequestering the jury. The filing comes in the midst of a controversy surrounding a photo of juror Brandon Mitchell at the March on Washington last August, which included speeches from George Floyd’s family members. He is seen wearing a T-shirt that says “Get Your Knee...

<p>Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted last month of killing George Floyd, filed a request Tuesday asking for a new trial.</p><p>Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s attorney, alleged that juror misconduct and pretrial publicity in part led to Chauvin’s conviction for second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd's death last year.</p>

<p>Both Scott and I have questioned whether Chauvin can possibly get a fair trial in the current atmosphere. Jurors cannot fail to understand the consequences of a “not guilty” verdict.</p><p>It has been reported that Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman sold his Minneapolis home at a loss and moved out of the city after “protesters” besieged his house, and his office received “millions of e-mails and thousands of phone calls” about the George Floyd case. I have it on good authority that he is not the only public official who has sold his house and moved out of Minneapolis for reasons of personal safety.</p>

George Floyd’s Friend and ‘Key Witness’ in Chauvin Trial Invokes 5th Amendment, Declines to TestifyA self-described key witness to the death of George Floyd—a longtime friend who was in the car with Floyd when police approached him—said through a lawyer that, if forced to testify about the incident, he’ll invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and remain silent. Morries Lester Hall, who in a June 2020 interview with The New York Times called himself “a key witness to the cops murdering George Floyd” and said he was “going to be his voice” going forward, has asked the court to...

Donald Williams, 33, the MMA practitioner who was present at the fatal arrest and called as an expert witness, faced questions over his training and conduct on the day, which was captured on a widely-seen video. Williams’s testimony on the first day of Chauvin’s trial painted a picture of the former police officer showing indifference to Floyd’s suffering, a key component of the charge of third-degree murder known as “depraved mind” or a “depraved-heart murder”. Michael Padden, a Minneapolis-based lawyer with 34 years’ experience trying cases, often involving the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), described Williams as a “[g]ood, solid witness...

FBI and IRS agents today conducted an operation at the law office of State Senator Carlos Uresti, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports. The operation took place at Uresti's private law office on Quincy Street, just off I-35 on the north end of downtown.An FBI agent confirmed only that agents are conducting 'lawful law enforcement activity' at the office. They are being assisted by San Antonio Police, officers are keeping bystanders at bay.It is not clear what the agents are looking for. The IRS has not returned a call seeking comment. Developing