George Floyd Case: Prosecutors File To Appeal Decision Not To Reinstate 3rd-Degree Murder Charges
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Prosecutors again Tuesday requested a third-degree murder charge against the four former officers facing other charges in George Floyd's death be reinstated.
In another development, one of the former officers is accusing prosecutors, including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, of leaking the story of a failed plea deal to the New York Times.
There may be only 20 days before the murder trial of former officer Derek Chauvin in the Floyd case but the latest motions show an awful lot remains unsettled. Joe Tamburino is a criminal defense attorney not affiliated with the Floyd Case.
WCCO asked him if it is unusual to have all these charges still up in the air three weeks before the case.
"This is all highly unusual and also it's not good for either side in this case," Tamburino said.
The prosecution has filed a motion to reinstate the third-degree murder charge against all four officers. It's a charge that is considered less difficult to prove. Last week the trial judge tossed it, leaving the four defendants facing second-degree murder and manslaughter charges.
In another development, former officer Tou Thao is asking the case against him be dismissed because of the leak last week to the New York Times that Chauvin had agreed to plead guilty to third-degree murder, but that Attorney General William Barr intervened because such a deal would be too lenient.
In his brief, Thao's attorney Robert Paule wrote, "It's impossible to overstate the magnitude of this misconduct or its prejudicial effect on the defendant's constitutional due process rights of a fair trial."
WCCO asked Tamburino if a leak of that magnitude on a case this big is unprecedented.
"It is unprecedented and it is extremely sloppy," he said. "It's very unfair to the defense."
Thao's attorney accuses prosecutors including Ellison of being the source of the leak and asks they be sanctioned.
Ellison's office denied the leak, saying in a statement, "It's completely false and an outlandish attempt to disparage the prosecution."
In arguing to reinstate the third-degree murder charge, Ellison said that the Court of Appeals needed to intervene because the trial court had made a mistake.
Rulings on these two motions are expected with the next two week.