I saw this article from NBC NEWS:
amsnbc.com/…
Lawyers and legal experts said that Chauvin’s conviction helps prosecutors but that they will still face a battle in court.
“On the one hand, it’s definitely empowering for the prosecution, and on the other it’s pressure,” criminal defense lawyer Nicole Hochglaube said.
She said the trial would be complicated because the three officers played different roles from Chauvin’s and had different levels of experience.
“The prosecution’s work is certainly not over,” she said.
Kueng and Lane are accused of helping Chauvin restrain Floyd on the ground. Lane also drew his gun on Floyd after he first approached Floyd’s car and began speaking with him. Thao watched bystanders who had gathered.
Cevallos said the officers may have “a more defensible case because they didn’t put the knee on the back of the neck,” as Chauvin did. “But, in a sense, they have a harder case, because the prosecution really just needs to link them into helping their brother officer at the time,” he said.
Interestingly, I had just read with some alarm, this Twitter thread from Baltimore Courtwatch
See the Thread Unroll here:
threadreaderapp.com/…
Some highlights:
CASE 5: a man with 4 children at home. Cops had an arrest warrant for someone else for an incident this man wasn't involved in, and found him at this man's home. After the arrest, despite knowing he wasn't involved in that incident, they got a warrant for his house.
Defense atty points out there is a significant question as to whether the search of his client's home should have happened. The person they arrested at his house is out on pretrial release, and he is still in jail for items found during this improper search.
The items he is charged with possessing were brought into his house by the person cops arrested, and he didn't know anything about the contents of the bag that person was carrying. ASA Hartford recites cops' tales as facts. State is seeking HWOB.
Pretrial recommends HWOB. Judge Jackson orders HWOB.
CASE 7: a man with asthma and other serious underlying medical conditions that make him high risk for COVID. Cops searched him on the street during a chaotic scene after people had gotten into a dispute outside a club.
He isn't charged with anything related to the dispute, only charges are related to what was found by the cops. ASA Hartford recites cops' tales as facts. State is seeking HWOB. Pretrial recommends HWOB. Judge Jackson orders HWOB.
CASE 3: another young man with serious health issues. He has contracted COVID in jail. His atty says his conditions need treatment outside of an unsanitary jail. His trial isn't likely to happen until 2022 and may be even later than that.
State has no forensic evidence or eyewitnesses, and the video the state claims to have hasn't been turned over to the defense. An ASA from another jurisdiction (it is not clear why he is arguing this motion) recites cops' tales as facts. State is seeking HWOB.
Pretrial recommends HWOB. Judge Jackson orders HWOB and then asks the ASA to send his regards to the SA for that jurisdiction. Barf.
So in the case of Police Officers who aided and abetted a homicide, Gee, we just don’t know if there is enough to convict, but in the case of citizens with NO discernible connection to a crime other than being in the vicinity, HELD WITHOUT BAIL pending Trial…
Methinks lady Justice is peeking out from behind her blindfold.
