George Floyd Trial: The Jury Is Made Up

The substantive debates, which will be closely scrutinized in the United States, will begin on Monday and are expected to last three or four weeks. The jurors will then retire to deliberate on the three counts of indictment, including murder and manslaughter. In the United States, prosecutions of police officers for violence committed in the line of duty are very rare and convictions even rarer. This trial is therefore seen as a test for American justice after the immense mobilization against racism and police violence, which followed the death of George Floyd.

Potential jurors all subjected to extensive testing

In this context, the choice of impartial jurors was a challenge. For two weeks, a hundred citizens drawn by lot were subjected to a rolling fire of questions, at the 18^e floor of a tower closed to the public and surrounded by exceptional security measures. Despite the presence of cameras in the courtroom, their anonymity was preserved. Released on bail, Derek Chauvin followed the discussions with attention, conscientiously taking notes and exchanging frequently aside with his lawyer Eric Nelson.

Some potential jurors have asked to be excluded, overwhelmed by the high stakes or for personal reasons. Others assumed they had already formed their opinion, and were immediately dismissed. Most said they were able to be “fair and impartial”. Eric Nelson and prosecutor Steve Schleicher then tried to flush out their hidden prejudices.What do you think of the police? Major events of the summer? From the Black Lives Matter movement? The interrogation has often taken on political overtones and the strong opinions – “the police are all corrupt” or the violence against black suspects “is all politicized” – have earned the perpetrators a dismissal. Two jurors, who had passed a first filter, were finally excluded after an agreement between the town hall of Minneapolis and the family of George Floyd, who will receive 27 million dollars in compensation for his death. “It sends the message that the city feels that something bad has happened,” one of them commented.

“It could have been me,” said a French-speaking black immigrant

With one exception, all of the selected jurors admitted to seeing portions or the entire video of the African American’s ordeal, filmed by a passerby. “I could not watch it in full, it disturbed me too much,” admitted a white fifty-something. “It could have been me,” said a French-speaking black immigrant. But all expressed mixed opinions. “The police make all kinds of decisions. Good and bad, some thoughtful, others by reflex, ”declared an African-American grandmother.

The phase of examination of potential jurors, known as “voir dire”, allows the parties to rule out “the potential dangers for their cause” but also to test their arguments, had explained to Agence France-Presse Steve Tuller, a consultant specialized in this exercise, at the opening of the trial. In fact, Eric Nelson has repeatedly implied that the cause of George Floyd’s death has not been established. He plans to argue that the African American died of a fentanyl overdose.

The autopsy showed that he had consumed this synthetic opioid, but identified the “compression of his neck” as the cause of death. The prosecution will maintain that Derek Chauvin made an excessive use of force knowingly.