MINNEAPOLIS — As a young civil rights lawyer almost 20 years ago, Keith Ellison took on a client who accused two Minneapolis police officers of sodomizing him with a toilet plunger. The case had echoes of an earlier police brutality case in New York, in which four officers were sent to prison in connection with the sexual assault of Abner ...
Apr 21, 2021 · MINNEAPOLIS — As a young civil rights lawyer almost 20 years ago, Keith Ellison took on a client who accused two Minneapolis police officers of sodomizing him with a toilet plunger. The case had echoes of an earlier police brutality …
How Civil Rights Lawyer Keith Ellison Led the Chauvin Prosecution Years before he won a murder conviction for the death of George Floyd, Mr. Ellison, the Minnesota attorney general, was a young civil rights lawyer taking on police misconduct.
Apr 25, 2021 · As a result, Attorney General Keith Ellison has been hailed as a legal hero. However, Ellison is quick to point out that there are many individuals who played an important role in the Chauvin trial. The state’s first Black attorney general told the MSR that, besides the 12-person jury, there are others who deserve recognition.
Meanwhile, Nelson also noted that Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison’s son, Jeremiah, sits on the city council that unanimously approved the settlement, and questioned the timing, though he said he was not making accusations. Keith Ellison heads the prosecution team and often has been present in the courtroom.
Floyd, a Black man, was declared dead on 25 May after Chauvin, who is white, kneeled against his neck for almost nine minutes, while Floyd begged for his life. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter and denies the charges.
The judge said he would recall seven jurors to ask if they had seen news of the settlement and whether it would affect their impartiality. Photograph: Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty
There was tension in the Hennepin county court in downtown Minneapolis on Monday, where the building is surrounded by barriers and guards in what some observers see as an aggressive gesture of fortification, the court room itself is severely restricted because of the pandemic.
Philonise Floyd, George Floyd's brother, speaks during a press conference outside the U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minn., on Wednesday, after Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges in George Floyd's murder.
Still facing federal charges are J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao, the three former police officers who were with Chauvin when he pinned Floyd's chest and face to the asphalt and knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes, resulting in his death.
Kueng, Lane, and Thao have pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, as well as to state charges related to Floyd's death. They're slated to go on trial for the state charges in March of 2022.