header-logo header-logo

The US: jury unanimity needed

45623
Michael Zander QC reports on the George Floyd case, now nearing its end
  • The trial of the officer accused of causing the death of George Floyd in May 2020 is coming to a close.
  • In the US, unlike the UK, a person can only be convicted of a serious criminal offence if the jury is unanimous.

Officer Derek Chauvin faces three counts under Minnesota’s homicide law:

  • Second-degree unintentional murder (40-year maximum sentence)—the defendant unintentionally caused George Floyd’s death while intentionally inflicting or attempting to inflict bodily harm.
  • Third-degree murder (25-year maximum sentence)—the defendant caused the death without regard for human life by an act that was eminently dangerous and evidenced a depraved mind.
  • Second-degree manslaughter (ten-year maximum sentence)—the defendant caused the death by knowingly taking an unreasonable risk and consciously taking the chance of causing death or great bodily harm.

The prosecution case

The prosecution opened its case with the nine minute and 29 second video that went viral at the time of the

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
back-to-top-scroll