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   From: libtard@sandennistas.orq   
      
   On Tue, 23 Mar 2021 11:37:41 -0700, Rudy Canoza    
   wrote:   
      
   >On 3/21/2021 5:09 PM, David Hartung wrote:   
   >> On 3/21/21 6:17 PM, edell@post.com wrote:   
   >>> On Sunday, March 21, 2021 at 6:22:35 PM UTC-4, David Hartung wrote:   
   >>>> On 3/21/21 3:25 PM, Bill Flett wrote:   
   >>>>> On 3/21/2021 11:06 AM, David Hartung wrote:   
   >>>>>> On 3/21/21 11:18 AM, Amy Archer-Gilligan wrote:   
   >>>>>>> apnews.com   
   >>>>>>> EXPLAINER: Chauvin's lawyer is outnumbered, but has help   
   >>>>>>> By JIM SALTER   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> As trial approaches for a former Minneapolis police officer charged in   
   >>>>>>> George Floyd's death, the early proceedings suggest it's not exactly a   
   >>>>>>> fair fight. No fewer than four attorneys have appeared for the   
   >>>>>>> prosecution so far, compared to a single attorney to defend Derek   
   >>>>>>> Chauvin. Many other lawyers are working for the prosecution behind the   
   >>>>>>> scenes.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> It's an apparent mismatch that results from the state's takeover of   
   >>>>>>> the prosecution, but defense attorney Eric Nelson is getting some   
   >>>>>>> help.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> WHO ARE THE KEY PLAYERS FOR THE PROSECUTION?   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> Floyd, who was Black, was declared dead May 25 after Chauvin, who is   
   >>>>>>> white, pressed his knee on Floyd's neck while Floyd was handcuffed and   
   >>>>>>> pleading that he couldn't breathe. Days later, amid massive protests   
   >>>>>>> over Floyd's death, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz directed Attorney General   
   >>>>>>> Keith Ellison to take the case.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> Ellison, Minnesota's first African American elected attorney general,   
   >>>>>>> is in court but Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank is leading   
   >>>>>>> the prosecution. Frank heads the state's criminal division.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> The prosecution is bolstered by outside attorneys working for free.   
   >>>>>>> They include former U.S. acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal; former   
   >>>>>>> federal prosecutor Steven Schleicher; and Jerry Blackwell, who last   
   >>>>>>> year won a posthumous pardon for a man wrongly convicted of rape in   
   >>>>>>> connection with the Duluth lynchings of 1920, and is a founder of the   
   >>>>>>> Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> In addition to Katyal, the prosecution has received court approval for   
   >>>>>>> at least six other out-of-state attorneys to serve as co-counsels,   
   >>>>>>> according to court records.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> DOES THE PROSECUTION HAVE DEEPER POCKETS?   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> Almost certainly. This is one of the most significant court cases in   
   >>>>>>> recent history and it is clear the state will spare no expense. That   
   >>>>>>> point was driven home by Ellison as soon as he took over, when he   
   >>>>>>> vowed to "bring to bear all the resources necessary to achieve justice   
   >>>>>>> in this case."   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> Conversely, the defense is funded through the Minnesota Police and   
   >>>>>>> Peace Officers Association's legal defense fund. The MPPOA is a police   
   >>>>>>> advocacy organization made up of local police unions from across the   
   >>>>>>> state. Though he was fired soon after Floyd's death, Chauvin earned   
   >>>>>>> the right to representation through his years as a member of his local   
   >>>>>>> union, the Minneapolis Police Federation.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> MPPOA Executive Director Brian Peters said supporters of Chauvin have   
   >>>>>>> asked to donate to his defense, but no donations are accepted.   
   >>>>>>> Instead, those people are directed to the National Center for Police   
   >>>>>>> Defense. Donations to the center aren't used for legal purposes,   
   >>>>>>> Peters said, but rather for living expenses for Chauvin and the three   
   >>>>>>> other officers accused in Floyd's death, all of whom lost their jobs.   
   >>>>>>> Peters said he did not know how much has been donated on behalf of the   
   >>>>>>> officers.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> HOW WAS NELSON SELECTED AS CHAUVIN'S ATTORNEY?   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> Peters said the MPPOA works with a group of 12 defense attorneys who   
   >>>>>>> take turns handling cases as they come up. Originally, Chauvin's   
   >>>>>>> defense was assigned to attorney Tom Kelly, but Kelly retired and   
   >>>>>>> Nelson replaced him.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> WHAT IS NELSON'S BACKGROUND?   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> Nelson is an attorney with the Minneapolis firm Halberg Criminal   
   >>>>>>> Defense. His biography on the firm's website says his experience   
   >>>>>>> includes cases involving "homicide, sex offenses, drug offenses,   
   >>>>>>> assaults and hundreds of DWI and alcohol-related traffic offenses."   
   >>>>>>> He's enough of an expert on driving while intoxicated that he   
   >>>>>>> frequently lectures on the topic and often contributes to a DWI   
   >>>>>>> sourcebook for Minnesota attorneys, his biography says.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> "I saw a couple of reports of, 'The MPPOA selected a DWI lawyer to   
   >>>>>>> represent Chauvin,'" Peters said. "To be on our panel of attorneys is   
   >>>>>>> not very easy. You are vetted very aggressively, we'll just say.   
   >>>>>>> That's why we have 12 of the best defense attorneys on our panel."   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> One of his most prominent cases involved Amy Senser, the wife of   
   >>>>>>> former Minnesota Vikings tight end Joe Senser, who was convicted in   
   >>>>>>> the 2011 hit-and-run death of a Minneapolis chef. Though Nelson argued   
   >>>>>>> for probation, Senser received a sentence of 41 months in prison.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> He's had success in previous murder cases. He helped win an acquittal   
   >>>>>>> for a Minnesota man who was charged with fatally shooting his unarmed   
   >>>>>>> neighbor in 2017. He also won an acquittal for a Wisconsin man who   
   >>>>>>> testified that he feared for his safety when he fatally stabbed a man   
   >>>>>>> who confronted him in 2015.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> IS NELSON WORKING ALONE?   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> Only on the surface, Peters said.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> Different attorneys were assigned to each of the four officers. Those   
   >>>>>>> four attorneys have worked together behind the scenes from the outset,   
   >>>>>>> Peters said, and Nelson continues to consult with them.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> Nelson also has access to the other eight attorneys who are part of   
   >>>>>>> the MPPOA's 12-attorney rotation.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> The MPPOA also provides consultants on topics such as use-of-force and   
   >>>>>>> medical issues, "and Eric has been working very closely with those   
   >>>>>>> consultants," Peters said. Expert witnesses also are available if   
   >>>>>>> Nelson chooses to use them.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> "It may appear that it's just Eric, but that is very far from the   
   >>>>>>> truth," Peters said.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> ___   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> Find AP's full coverage of the death of George Floyd:   
      
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