The lawyers for convicted murderer Derek Chauvin have filed an appeal alleging jury misconduct and the inability of Chauvin to have a fair trial in Minneapolis because of pretrial publicity, NBC News reports.
The jury found Chauvin guilty of second- and third-degree murder as well as second-degree manslaughter after he was filmed kneeling on the back and neck of George Floyd for more than eight minutes.
Chauvin’s attorneys claim that he could not receive a fair trial in Minneapolis, and the judge unfairly denied their motion for a change of venue. The defense had 30 days after the verdict to file its notice to appeal.
The appeal happens on the same day it was revealed that one of the jurors in the case had attended a Black Live Matter rally in Washington, DC on August 28th in commemoration of Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Photos of the juror, Brandon Mitchell, reportedly wore a t-shirt with the words “Get Your Knee Off Our Necks” and a BLM symbol.