Derek Chauvin trial: officers brief defense could reflect confidence ... or lack of credibility   -6%

After a dramatic final week, all that is left is closing statements and jury decisions

The prosecution took 10 days to lay out its case against Derek Chauvin. The former Minneapolis police officer’s defense to the charges of murdering George Floyd barely lasted two.

The relative brevity of Chauvin’s case might reflect a confidence on the part of the defense that the evidence against him is easily picked apart or at least shaky enough to raise reasonable doubt with the jury.

This much is clear: Derek Chauvins trial wont change policing in America | Simon Balto   15%

It’s a mistake to think that this trial has the potential to serve as some sort of sea change in American policing

The trial of Derek Chauvin over the murder of George Floyd is of enormous importance in very specific ways. It is, most importantly, an opportunity for Floyd’s family and friends to gain some semblance of justice for his killing, if a guilty verdict against Chauvin is what justice looks like for them. It’s also, of course, significant for Chauvin himself, who probably faces more than a decade in prison if convicted. And it’s important to people who see the murder trial as a proxy for the larger history of police in the United States brutalizing and killing Black people in egregiously disproportionate ways – often with total impunity. On the last point, a guilty verdict against Chauvin would be significant simply for its novelty. Police officers in the United States who kill people are rarely charged with a crime; they are more or less never convicted of one.

Related: Derek Chauvin trial: defense claims bad heart and drug use killed George Floyd

Derek Chauvin waives right to testify at George Floyd murder trial  

The defence at the murder trial of former US police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd wrapped up its case on Thursday without putting Chauvin on the stand, presenting two days of testimony to the prosecution’s two weeks.Chauvin informed the court that he would not testify, saying he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right not to take the stand.“Is this your decision not to testify?” Judge Peter Cahill asked.“It is, your honour,” Chauvin said.Some prosecution rebuttal testimony…

As trial wraps, why didn't Derek Chauvin testify?  

As the trial of Derek Chauvin – facing murder and manslaughter charges for George Floyd’s death – comes to an end, the jury will have to try to reach a verdict. But they won’t have testimony from Mr. Chauvin himself.

Medical Examiner Accused of Covering Up Police Killing in Maryland Becomes Witness for Derek Chauvin  

In the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, a key witness for the defense was the former Maryland chief medical examiner, Dr. David Fowler, who contradicted most other expert witnesses in the trial and suggested heart trouble and other issues, not the police restraint, caused George Floyd's death. The decision by Chauvin's legal team to rely on Fowler's testimony shocked many in Maryland, where he is being sued by the family of 19-year-old Anton Black, an African American teenager from Maryland who died in 2018 after he was electrocuted with a Taser, pinned in a prone position and crushed under the weight of three white police officers and a white civilian as he struggled to breathe and lost consciousness. After an autopsy, Dr. Fowler ruled Black's death an accident, and no one was charged with a crime. The wrongful death lawsuit says Dr. Fowler delayed release of an autopsy report for months and covered up police responsibility for Black's death. Sonia Kumar, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Maryland, says there is "a pattern of conduct in Maryland involving police violence against Black people that then are characterized as anything other than homicides." We also speak with Richard Potter, the founder of the Coalition for Justice for Anton Black and president of the Talbot County branch of the NAACP, who says officials in Anton Black's case spent months dragging their feet after the teenager's death. "Nobody was giving the family any information in terms of a cause of death," he says.

Derek Chauvin Trial Breaks Down "Blue Wall of Silence" as Police Officials Testify Against Ex-Cop   21%

We get the latest on the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd, with Minneapolis-based civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong. She says prosecutors in the case have successfully chipped away at the "blue wall of silence" by getting current police officials to testify against Chauvin. However, she says it's likely that "the only reason that these officers have testified is because the world is watching."

Key moments at Derek Chauvins trial in George Floyds death  

Medical examiner who ruled George Floyd's death a homicide points to altercation with police  

A forensic pathologist says George Floyd died of a lack of oxygen that damaged his brain and caused his heart to stop, bolstering prior testimony.

Action on racialized police violence   -44%

Over the past few weeks, the nation has seen another series of horrific videos documenting both violent treatment and deaths of Black and brown people at the hands of police. Even as the world was reliving the killing of George Floyd — as videos of his death under the knee of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin were shown repeatedly at Chauvin's televised trial — images were surfacing of Daunte Wright being shot by an officer during a traffic stop in nearby Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

Rep. Bass: 'I'm very worried' about reaction to Chauvin verdict   -7%

Democratic Rep. Karen Bass of California tells CNN's Dana Bash that she's concerned what might happen in Minneapolis if former police officer Derek Chauvin isn't convicted of murdering George Floyd.

Chauvin trial highlights and takeaways   -7%

CBC's Susan Ormiston takes a look back at 14 days of testimony at the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with killing George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who died after Chauvin pinned him to the ground by kneeling on his back and neck for about nine minutes while two other officers held him down.

Elite Universities Welcome More Diverse Freshman Class   -40%

The aftermath of the George Floyd protests and a decreased reliance on standardized tests have led to more diverse admissions at elite universities.

Activists Question Whether Police Reform Bills Are Enough  

States have passed over 140 police oversight bills since the killing of George Floyd, increasing accountability and overhauling rules on the use of force. But the calls for change continue.

How Teachers Are Exploring the Derek Chauvin Trial With Students   -30%

In Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed, educators have used the trial as an opportunity to help their students examine the complex issues of race, policing and the criminal justice system.

A Brooklyn Artist Wants Sports Fans to Wear Their Names   -14%

A Brooklyn artist uses sports iconography to commemorate Trayvon Martin, George Floyd and other Black victims of violence.

Derek Chauvin chooses not to testify at George Floyd murder trial   5%

Former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin waived his right to testify to the jury on Thursday at his murder trial for the deadly arrest last May of George Floyd.

Chauvin defence expert testifies that Floyd died of heart problems   -5%

George Floyd died of a sudden heart rhythm disturbance as a result of his heart disease, a forensic pathologist testified for the defense Wednesday at former Officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial, contradicting prosecution experts who said Floyd succumbed to a lack of oxygen from the way he was pinned down.