Below is my column in The Hill on the Derek Chauvin trial in Minneapolis. Last week, at least one juror was excused after he expressed fear that he or his family could be attacked after a verdict. (Conversely, another juror called the rioting necessary to advance the Black Lives Matter movement). The man explained that his neighbors had to flee the area after the riots following the death of George Floyd. That fear was shared by various jurors. It is not surprising when the courthouse is ringed in fencing and barbed wire and even police stations in the city are bunkered down. There are already protesters outside of the courthouse and a new “autonomous zone” in the city that is being criticized by police groups. Once again, the news coverage is highly siloed and divergent in such coverage with vastly different images emerging from the city as it prepares for possible rioting. However, it is the divergent coverage of the case itself that is my greatest concern.
The voir dire responses highlight the concern over venue in the case and the decision not to shift the trial to a different city. There is clearly a fear among jurors that there might be rioting if there is an acquittal for Chauvin. The voir dire selection also magnifies the concern over how the case has been covered in the media with the omission of critical defense arguments and evidence. I believe that there was a legitimate basis for a trial, but this is a stronger manslaughter than a murder case. The trial will give us a better view of the evidence but the coverage thus far has been dangerously incomplete in my view, as discussed below.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “The Media and The Mayhem: The Chauvin Trial Coverage Follows A Dangerous Pattern” →
We recently discussed the impeachment of students for espousing support for police or opposing views on police abuse or racial reforms. Now University of North Carolina law student Sagar Sharma, who is a student of color, has faced a recall election as the first-year class co-president for simply stating that he did not consider an argument between two fellow students to be racist. This follows another incident triggered by a converation touching on race. Two Georgetown professors were recently forced out of the faculty over a conversation on the performance of African American students in their class including one professor who faced termination for “failing to correct” Professor Sandra Sellers when she expressed regret that her black students tended to end up at the bottom of her class curve. Law School Dean Bill Treanor fired Sellers for expressing that view to her co-teacher in the course. Even the failure to object to a statement from another colleague was deemed grounds for a formal inquiry and possible termination. We previously discussed the student senate at Georgetown sanctioning a student for simply publishing opposing views of police abuse in a journal.
