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Monday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals heard arguments on whether a third-degree murder charge should be reinstated against former police officer Derek Chauvin, who killed George Floyd.
Three appellate court justices asked questions of attorneys on both sides of the Chauvin trial and said they will issue an expedited decision.
The state is asking the Court of Appeals to reinstate a third-degree charge because of this same court’s recent decision in the Mohamed Noor case.
Legal experts say reinstating the lesser count could increase the prosecution’s odds of getting a murder conviction in what will be one of Minnesota’s highest-profile trials ever.
“Without action from this court, a landmark criminal case, one of the most important in our nation’s history, will take place with a major part of the case — third-degree murder — missing. Nowhere in it whatsoever,” prosecutor Neal Katyal told the appeals court. “That can’t possibly be the law.”
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