On Monday, Judge Peter Cahill, who is the presiding judge on the Derek Chauvin case involving the death of George Floyd, said that comments made by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) over the weekend could result to the “whole trial being overturned” on appeal.
“And it is so pervasive that it is I just don’t know how this jury it can really be said to be that they are free from the taint of this,” the lawyer representing Derek Chauvin said. “And now that we have U.S. representatives, threatening acts of violence in relation to the specific case, it’s mind boggling to me, judge.”
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“Well, I’ll give you that Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned,” Cahill responded.
Judge Cahill to Chauvin defense attorney Eric Nelson: "I'll give you that Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned." pic.twitter.com/ZhlmmoKgC3
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 19, 2021
“I’m aware that Congressman Waters was talking specifically about this trial, and about the unacceptability of anything less than a murder conviction, and talk about being confrontational,” Cahill continued. “But you can submit the press articles about that. This goes back to what I’ve been saying from the beginning. I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that is disrespectful to the rule of law, and to the judicial branch and our function.”
Cahill added that, while the comments made by Waters may result in a future appeal, “A Congress woman’s opinion really doesn’t matter a whole lot. Anyway, so motion for mistrial is denied.”
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On Saturday night, Waters joined rioters in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, and made the aggressive comments just days before the jury is expected to reach a verdict on the Derek Chauvin case.
“We’re looking for a guilty verdict. We’re looking for a guilty verdict. And we’re looking to see if all of this [inaudible] that took place and has been taking place after they saw what happened to George Floyd,” Waters said. “If nothing does not happen, then we know, that we’ve got to not only stay in the street, but we’ve got to fight for justice, but I am very hopefully and I hope that we’re going to get a verdict that will say guilty, guilty, guilty. And if we don’t, we cannot go away.”
