Former officer Derek Chauvin faces sentencing this afternoon

Before sentencing former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for murdering George Floyd last year, a Hennepin County judge denied requests from Chauvin's attorney for a new trial and a hearing to vet alleged juror misconduct at Chauvin's trial.

In a two-page order issued Friday morning, Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill rejected defense attorney Eric Nelson's motions before Chauvin's sentencing is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. Chauvin, 45, will be sentenced on one count of second-degree unintentional murder. Jurors also convicted him on April 20 of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Nelson had argued in a May filing that Chauvin should receive a new trial because of prosecutorial misconduct, judicial error and impropriety by jurors. He also requested a Schwartz hearing, a proceeding in which jurors are recalled to court and questioned about possible misconduct.

Nelson's filing came after juror Brandon Mitchell went public about his role in the case, prompting many commentators online to criticize Mitchell for attending last August's 57th anniversary of the March on Washington in Washington, D.C. The event commemorated Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream Speech" and included events rallying support for police reform and featuring Floyd's family members, among others.

Nelson also wrote that Cahill abused his discretion by denying Chauvin's request for a change of venue before trial began, rejecting a previous request Nelson made for a new trial, failing to sequester jurors for the entirety of the trial and refusing to compel Floyd's friend to testify at trial.

Jurors convicted Chauvin, 45, on April 20 of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Chauvin will be sentenced on the second-degree murder count. The offense carries a statutory maximum term of 40 years in prison, but state sentencing guidelines call for between about 10 ½ and 15 years in prison for someone like Chauvin who has no criminal history. The presumptive term for the offense is 12 ½ years.

Many local attorneys have said they believe Chauvin will receive between 20 and 25 years in prison.

Nelson, filed a memorandum earlier this month asking for probation and time served, or alternately, less time than recommended by the guidelines. He argued that Chauvin deserves leniency because he has no criminal history, has a supportive family and ex-wife, and would face violence in prison.

The Minnesota Attorney General's Office, which is leading the prosecution, is asking for 30 years in prison, noting that there are four aggravating factors in the case that support a higher sentence than recommended by the guidelines.

The sentencing will be publicly livestreamed like Chauvin's six-week trial that began March 8.

Mitchell Hamline School of Law Prof. Ted Sampsell-Jones said Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill, who presides over the case, is under "a lot" of public pressure to give close to 30 years.

"Part of what a judge is trying to do is accomplishing deterrence and sending a message … and that does take into account the impact on the community," Sampsell-Jones said. "We have important factors in play that have never been in play before.

"This is a Minnesota case that has received national and international attention unlike any other case in Minnesota. It's a case where the threat of violent response has hung over the entire proceeding. That's highly unusual. You can't deny that those things matter. You can't deny that they have shaped the proceedings at certain points."

The Hennepin County Government Center where Chauvin will be sentenced, and which houses county government offices and Hennepin County courts, will be closed to the public Friday. County appointments have been moved to other locations, according to county officials. Jury trials that are in progress will suspend activity Friday and other court hearings that day will take place remotely, according to court officials.

Unprecedented security measures were put in place during Chauvin's trial: courthouse access was limited to trial participants and a few employees; concrete barricades, fencing and barbed and razor wire were erected around the building and county jail; and several armed National Guard members and sheriff's deputies were stationed outside and inside the building. Gov. Tim Walz said Thursday that there has been no request for state assistance.

"There's obviously communication going on, and the ability to be able to react," Walz said Thursday afternoon.

Court officials declined to say how much time they've set aside for the sentencing, but it could take an hour or two. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office has said he expects to hold a news conference after sentencing — about 2:30 p.m., 3 p.m. or later.

Sentencing procedure

Before the sentence is announced, prosecutors and Nelson will reiterate their sentencing arguments, some of Floyd's family members will likely give victim-impact statements and Chauvin will be given an opportunity to address the court. Chauvin has no obligation to speak, and many veteran attorneys expect that he won't because of a pending federal case against him in Floyd's death and a possible appeal. His statements at sentencing could be used against him in federal court or in a new state trial if one is granted.

"There's nothing [Chauvin] can say at this sentencing that will change Judge Cahill's mind when he comes out on the bench," said defense attorney Joe Friedberg. "He's already going to decide what sentence he's going to give [Chauvin]."

Cahill will likely reject Nelson's requests for leniency while refraining from granting the prosecution's full request, several attorneys said.

"He's known as a pretty fair and moderate sentencer, so he's generally not going to give people the most sentence allowed," Sampsell-Jones said. "Overall, judges have wide latitude for sentencing."

Chauvin's clean criminal history could compel Cahill to refrain from assigning Chauvin 30 years, said Joseph Daly, Mitchell Hamline School of Law emeritus professor. Daly, who believes 20 years would be an appropriate sentence, said defendants with a criminal history typically get more time because their past indicates a propensity to reoffend.

"I think that 20 years is a really long time," Daly said. "One of the primary functions of punishment in a crime is to deter future crime in terms of the individual who has been convicted, but also the general society — that they know that if you commit a crime you're likely to be punished."

Local attorneys did not expect Cahill to give the highest sentence allowed under the law — 40 years, noting that maximum terms are rare and typically used as a fear tactic to prevent someone from committing the crime to begin with, or, are reserved for defendants with lengthy criminal records.

Cahill reviewed five proposed aggravating factors presented by the prosecution and ruled last month that four were proven and will be considered at sentencing: Chauvin "abused a position of trust and authority" as an officer, he treated Floyd with "particular cruelty," children were present when Floyd was pinned to the pavement at 38th and Chicago for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, and he committed the crime with three fellow officers.

Only one aggravating factor is needed for the judge to give a sentence higher than recommended by sentencing guidelines. But, defense attorney and former Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner said, "More factors serve to justify more time."

When aggravating factors are present it's not uncommon for judges to magnify the presumptive term by 1 1/2 to come up with the sentence, or, 18 3/4 years in this case, Gaertner said.

Before handing down his sentence, Cahill will have an opportunity, if he chooses, to express his opinions about Floyd's murder, its impact on Floyd's family and the community, and Chauvin's ownership of the crime.

Cahill should deliver remarks, said Fred Fink, who served as a prosecutor for 40 years in Washington and Ramsey counties and in Wisconsin.

"I think it's important in many cases, because this is the person that is and should epitomize fairness and justice to not just the community, but the defendant also," Fink said.

Safety risks in prison

The Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) declined to say where Chauvin will be taken immediately after sentencing and where he will serve if he were given prison time.

Chauvin is the second officer in modern Minnesota history to face possible prison time for killing a civilian on the job. Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor apologized at his sentencing in 2019, and was sentenced to 12 1/2 years in prison on second-degree murder for fatally shooting Justine Ruszczyk Damond while responding to her 911 call about a possible sexual assault in an alley. There were no aggravating factors in Noor's case.

Chauvin will likely encounter violence, isolation and extreme challenges in prison, said several attorneys.

"He faces very significant safety risks in prison, and I think the rest of his life is going to be a totally barbaric existence," Sampsell-Jones said. "He's going to be basically in solitary [confinement], which is an absolutely horrific, brutal condition. It destroys people."

The prospect of violence in prison was one of several points Nelson outlined in his June 2 sentencing memorandum as cause for leniency in Chauvin's sentence.

"Independent of the long-term damage a prison sentence would inflict upon Mr. Chauvin's life prospects, given his age, convictions for officer-involved offenses significantly increase the likelihood of him becoming a target in prison," Nelson wrote. "Such safety concerns are evident by his presentence solitary confinement in a high-security prison."

Nelson also noted that Chauvin has been preliminary diagnosed with heart damage that could shorten his life. Nelson had argued at trial that Floyd died from a combination of drug use and heart issues, including an enlarged heart and clogged arteries, and not his client's actions.

Chauvin is being held at the DOC's Oak Park Heights prison in a form of solitary confinement for his safety while he awaits sentencing. The DOC has said he is being held in the Administrative Control Unit (ACU), the state's most secure unit, under administrative and not disciplinary segregation.

According to the DOC, Chauvin's current conditions are: he is allowed up to 10 photos, subscriptions to periodicals, a radio and extra canteen food. He is let out of his cell for about an hour a day for exercise alone. ACU cells are monitored by cameras and corrections officers conduct rounds at least every 30 minutes.

Noor was held at Oak Park Heights after his sentencing in 2019 but was transferred about a month later to a state prison in Bismarck, North Dakota for his safety.

According to DOC spokeswoman Sarah Fitzgerald: inmates are reviewed upon intake for medical needs, programming needs, length of sentence, incarceration history and "institutional risk" before being assigned to a facility. Inmates can be relocated to facilities outside of Minnesota at any point. As of late April, 82 DOC inmates were held in 29 other state prison systems and two were in the federal prison system.

The location of inmates outside Minnesota is not public information, Fitzgerald said, adding that the DOC does not track the number of former officers in its custody and does not have a policy governing their management.

If the DOC wants to relocate a defendant, the defendant can offer their opinions based on issues such as proximity to family, Fink said, although defendants don't determine where they are held.

Chauvin will likely face "immediate danger" in prison, which Cahill should consider in his sentencing, Friedberg said.

"I don't know how he can do his time other than in 23-1 [hour] lockdown in solitary," Friedberg said. "I don't think he can be trusted with anybody."

Star Tribune staff writers Paul Walsh and Jessie Van Berkel contributed to this report.