Judge: Chauvin Trial May Be Overturned Due To Rep. Maxine Waters

MINNEAPOLIS — Public comments from Rep. Maxine Waters on the murder trial against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin trial may lead to the trial being overturned in appeal, Judge Peter Cahill said in court Monday.

Waters — a Democrat from California — told rallygoers in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center Saturday that if Chauvin is not found "guilty, guilty, guilty" then protesters should "stay on the street" and "get more active."

"We’ve got to get more confrontational; we’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business," Waters added. Waters was in Minnesota following the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center.

Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s defense attorney, asked Judge Peter Cahill to order a mistrial over Waters' comments Monday.

"An elected official — a United States congressperson — was making what I interpreted to be, what I think are reasonably interpreted to be, threats against the sanctity of the jury process," Nelson argued in court.

Cahill said he wished "elected officials would stop talking about this case" because it adds media scrutiny and could sway the jury, who have been instructed not to watch the news.

"I think if they want to give their opinions, they should do so in a respectful and in a manner that is consistent with their oath to the Constitution to respect a coequal branch of government," Cahill added.

Cahill ultimately rejected Nelson's motion, but acknowledged that "Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned."

If Cahill is correct, Chauvin's case may be far from over, even after the jury reaches a verdict.

And while Waters' comments have received criticism for possibly interfering in the trial, some political analysts say Cahill was out of line for admonishing Waters.

"It's not everybody's cup of tea, but it's constitutionally protected speech -- and it's certainly not an attack on the integrity or functioning of the courts," wrote CNN's Errol Louis. "But you'd never know that from Judge Cahill's reaction."

Cahill has been adamant about politicians keeping their comments about Chauvin to themselves during the trial, and has repeatedly asked jurors to avoid media coverage of the trial when they went home at night.

"You must consider all the evidence you have heard and seen in this trial, and you must disregard anything you may have heard or seen elsewhere about this case," read the official jury instructions.

Before the trial began, Cahill dismissed two potential jurors because they heard about a $27 million settlement the city of Minneapolis made with the family of George Floyd.

The second day of deliberations

Tuesday is the jury's first full day of deliberating a verdict. The murder case against Chauvin was put into the hands of a Hennepin County jury Monday after state prosecutors and the defense made their closing arguments.

Chauvin faces third-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, and second-degree unintentional murder charges in George Floyd's Memorial Day 2020 death. The 12 members of the jury will be sequestered away from friends and family until they make a unanimous decision on the charges.

Both the state and the defense will hope to have made a lasting impression on the jury with their final arguments, which offered competing theories for why Floyd died.

Read more: Jury Begins Verdict Deliberations