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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

You seem knowledgeable.  I heard something on a podcast discussion that said the prosecutor must feel confident that he can get a conviction because Chauvin was open to a plea but the prosecutor declined to have that discussion.

I thought at one time a plea had been on the table but maybe I misunderstood.

I'm guessing the prosecution thinks they'll get a conviction on at least the lowest charge so went to trial- what is your assessment? [/quote]

The prosecutor’s office did not decline. It was recently (within the last couple months) leaked that early on they were going to accept a plea deal with Chauvin that had potential sentencing of 10 years in prison, but it was contingent on dropping the federal investigation. AG Barr wouldn’t accept the deal, which is what led to the awkward press conference that started like two hours late and where the spokesperson said something cryptic like “we were hoping to have some news” or something along those lines. This was super early on in the investigation. I suspect that very very early on Chauvin realized it would be in his best interest to try not to draw too much attention to himself. By the time the plea deal was on the table, things had evolved rapidly. This case has some unprecedented elements to it. For example in the Tony Timpa case, if one of the cops accepted a plea deal with a potential 10 year sentence, that would have been significant. Their charges were dropped.

They obviously aren’t allowed to bring up the plea deal during trial, and during jury selection potential jurors were questioned and those who mentioned the plea deal were dismissed in every instance I can recall. Those who had heard about the settlement were not necessarily dismissed unless they said it would affect having an open mind about the evidence. A few of the seated jurors had heard the settlement news but said it wouldn’t affect their ability to follow jury instructions.

The prosecutors (it’s a team of several people handling the case in court) are going to work hard on this - as they should - but it is a jury trial and there’s no guarantee with juries. They have to know they have a strong chance of conviction, but they will need to address each element and break it down for jurors, who at times will be exposed to complex medical information, etc.

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