Judge Peter Cahill said that the trial would begin 9:15 a.m. CDT, 10:15 EDT, 8:15 MDT, 7:15 PDT. He did indicate that there may be some Motion housekeeping that the jury would not be privy to. That should be on camera, however.
Good morning. I hope all except Chauvin are rested up after a very stressful week of testimony. Testimony from 3 teenage and one 9 year old witnesses was hard enough, but then there was the emotional testimony of Mr. McMillian who broke down sobbing, George Floyd’s girlfriend, Courtney Ross, and other shell shocked witnesses. The week closed out with Lt. Richard Zimmerman, the highest ranking longest-serving (i.e. highest-ranking in terms of seniority) officer in Minneapolis. [-edit b.r.] He slammed the door shut on whether or not Chauvin’s knee on the neck was appropriate restraint. It was not — no way in hell.
One and possibly the only, of today’s witnesses is Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo who fired Chauvin and the other three cops who abetted murder. According to James Hohmann of WaPo, there’s at least one Motion in Limine by the defense to restrict Arradondo’s testimony. Motions in Limine are generally filed before the start of trial but can also be filed during trial but before particular testimony. Motions in Limine are for the purpose of either precluding or sometimes including specific testimony.
Stated in the most general terms, a proper motion in limine is an evidentiary motion that seeks a determination as to whether to exclude (or admit) evidence before it is offered at trial. Luce v. United States, 469 U.S. 38, 40 n.2 (1984) (A motion in limine is “any motion, whether made before or during trial, to exclude anticipated prejudicial evidence before the evidence is actually offered.”); Bradley v. Pittsburgh Bd. of Educ., 913 F.2d 1064, 1069 (3d Cir. 1990) (“[A] motion in limine is designed to narrow the evidentiary issues for trial and to eliminate unnecessary trial interruptions.”).
From the American Bar Association’s A Guide to the Proper Use of Motions in Limine in Civil Litigation the whole article is an educational read for both lawyers and non lawyers.
The Judge already granted defense’s earlier (before trial) Motion in Limine to preclude testimony that Chauvin was fired right after the murder. Hohmann thinks he will take up most of the day’s testimony. I’m listening to WaPo reporter/lawyer discussing the Motions and it sounds like it is going on in Chambers. Not sure if any will be on camera once the trial resumes at 9:15 again, without the jury.
It is, of course, rare for an officer-involved death to make it to criminal trial, but it is rarer still – perhaps unprecedented, experts say – for a police chief to testify against one of their own former officers.
Arradondo’s testimony is likely to be a powerful weapon in the prosecution’s case as the defense will attempt to argue that Derek Chauvin’s protracted use of a knee-to-neck restraint was in line with use of force guidance.
From: The Guardian
Chief Arradondo is Minneapolis’s first Chief who assumed the position in 2017. He courageously bucked the powerful and corrupt police union when he fired all four cops.
The critical testimony will be upcoming from competing pathologists and medical witnesses.
I am watching via WaPo. You can also view it on multiple other venues including NYT, CSpan, and multiple live streaming news outlets.