Defense attorney Eric Nelson argued for a mistrial over comments Rep. Maxine Waters made regarding the trial over the weekend.
“We’ve got to stay on the street, and we’ve got to get more active, we’ve got to get more confrontational,” Waters said at a demonstration in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on Saturday night when asked what protesters should do if Derek Chauvin is found not guilty.
Nelson brought up the comments after the jury was sent to deliberations Monday, saying he interpreted them “to be threats against the sanctity of the jury process” by “demanding that if there’s not a guilty verdict that there would be further problems.”
Judge Cahill denied the motion for a mistrial, saying jurors had been instructed not to watch the news and therefore couldn’t be prejudiced by the comments, but noted that “Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned.”
“I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that is disrespectful to the rule of law, or to the judicial branch in our function,” he later added. “I think if they want to give their opinions, they should do so in a respectful, and in a manner that is consistent with their oath to the Constitution.”