Derek Chauvin's legal team filed a new court petition Tuesday morning seeking to dismiss the charges against the former Minneapolis police officer and vacate his convictions, arguing that the case that sent him to prison for the death of George Floyd rested on a foundation that never had legal standing to begin with.
Attorney Greg Joseph submitted the 31-page filing in Hennepin County, alleging that Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and the Hennepin County Attorney's Office engaged in unlawful and fraudulent conduct when they brought the case against Chauvin. The central claim is procedural: a grand jury never reviewed the state’s evidence, and, under Minnesota law, Joseph argues that this omission means the state never lawfully brought the charges in the first place.
“Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill presided over a year-long due process violation by failing to convene a grand jury to consider the State’s evidence at any point between the moment he was assigned to the case, and the verdict,” the filing reads. “He lacked jurisdiction over the charges, as this Court does, because they were never lawfully brought.”
Joseph told Alpha News reporter Liz Collin the conduct amounted to a serious breach.
"What was done here is shocking," Joseph said. "It's inexcusable."
The petition places much of the blame on the trial court itself. It states that Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill
