Listen to Jack Rice on Bloomberg Law Podcast about Derek Chauvin Trial
Listen to the Bloomberg Law Podcast featuring Jack Rice. The focus of the podcast is jury selection and how you can possibly pick a fair jury when the entire world knows about this case.
Twelve jurors. That is the number that Judge Cahill needs in order for the Derek Chauvin trial to begin, just twelve. Hennepin County sent out hundreds of juror questionnaires hoping to get enough people that they could get twelve, plus a few alternates.
Picking a jury isn’t easy, ever. Imagine trying to pick a jury when everybody on the planet has seen that horrible 8 minute 46 second videotape of George Floyd dying in the trees on 38th and Chicago in South Minneapolis. Worse, this tape was seen all over the planet from Minneapolis to Mozambique to Memphis and Moscow. Also, consider the destruction that took place in this city after Floyd’s death? I am not even mentioning the story that Chauvin tried to take a plea that was rejected by the U.S. Attorney General. How does a potential juror take that news?
Jack Rice joins Adam and Jordan Rubin to discuss the complexities of picking a jury in a case like this. To start with, everybody is biased, everybody. Go from there . . .
Both sides get unlimited strikes of jurors for cause. This means these potential jurors can’t possibly be fair. After that, the Defense gets 15 strikes while the prosecution gets 9. They can strike potential jurors for almost any reason, except race. However, what happens if people line up along racial lines? Can you exclude people who support BLM? Is that synonymous with race? What if it is simply a pretext?
Jack Rice is a former prosecutor, a Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist and a Criminal Defense Attorney. If you need criminal counsel, contact Jack Rice Defense for a free consultation.