Having weeks ago made their first impressions, rival attorneys in the Derek Chauvin murder trial are poised to make their final arguments to jurors Monday in Hennepin County District Court.
The lawyers in the long-running trial hope to do their best to make their words resonate as they spell out to jurors why they should acquit or convict the fired Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd late last spring.
The prosecution, carrying the burden of providing proof to the jury beyond a reasonable doubt, goes first and will have Steve Schleicher take the lead. Then comes defense attorney Eric Nelson's one shot at persuasion before Jerry Blackwell stands poised for rebuttal before jurors weigh charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
For the state, said Mitchell Hamline Law School adjunct Prof. Richard Petry, it's crucial to "go element by element through each crime [Chauvin] has been charged with, and making sure you covered everything that you need to cover."
At the same time, he cautioned, "This jury is probably tired and has heard a lot. If they are fading off, you should probably take a cue from that."
David Schultz, law professor at the University of Minnesota and at Mitchell Hamline Law School in St. Paul, agreed that jury fatigue should be taken into account. They started hearing testimony on March 29.
"You don't want to reargue the case again," Schultz said. "I don't think the jury wants to be sitting in the jury box until 3 in the afternoon" after starting at 9 a.m. Monday.
Rachel Moran, associate professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, countered that the prosecution must take all the time it needs, especially when it comes to the medical evidence put before the jury.