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Nelson was hired by the police union to represent Chauvin after the former Minneapolis Police officer’s first attorney, Tom Kelly, retired because of health issues, Fox News reported.
Association guidelines require all police units across the state to contribute to the fund, and despite the heightened attention around Chauvin's case, he is still technically entitled to the defense funds.
Originally, Chauvin’s defense was assigned to attorney Tom Kelly, but Kelly retired and Nelson replaced him. WHAT IS NELSON'S BACKGROUND? Nelson is an attorney with the Minneapolis firm Halberg Criminal Defense.
They include former U.S. acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal; former federal prosecutor Steven Schleicher; and Jerry Blackwell, who last year won a posthumous pardon for a man wrongly convicted of rape in connection with the Duluth lynchings of 1920, and is a founder of the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers.
Derek Chauvin' s Legal Bill Is Being Footed by His Former Co-Workers. George Floyd's tragic death on May 25, 2020, after an encounter with Minneapolis police has brought former officer Derek Chauvin' s name front and center. His trial has become the focal point of the fallout from Floyd's death.
Association guidelines require all police units across the state to contribute to the fund, and despite the heightened attention around Chauvin's case, he is still technically entitled to the defense funds.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump paid the legal fees for ex-Minneapolis cop, Derek Chauvin, who was eventually convicted of murdering George Floyd.
On April 17, 2021, the America’s Last Line of Defense website published a new article. The story claimed that former U.S. President Donald Trump was paying for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s legal fees. Three days later, Chauvin was convicted on murder and manslaughter charges for the killing of George Floyd.
2 jurors dismissed from trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin. The jurors told the judge that a settlement between the city and George Floyd’s family signaled the city believed Chauvin did something wrong, making it hard to be impartial. The Associated Press.
He's had success in previous murder cases. He helped win an acquittal for a Minnesota man who was charged with fatally shooting his unarmed neighbor in 2017. He also won an acquittal for a Wisconsin man who testified that he feared for his safety when he fatally stabbed a man who confronted him in 2015.
The issue with police legal defense funds goes beyond that of criminal cops. Some of the groups in charge of legal defense funds also contribute heavily to district attorney candidates. It is the district attorney, after all, who determines whether to bring charges against law enforcement officers.
While cops are supposed to pay for their own legal expenses when accused of crimes, that may not prove a concern for Chauvin. The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, which boasts of having “a rich tradition of improving the lives of its 10,000 members,” also has a rich tradition of paying the legal fees of accused police officers.
Police organizations have generally condemned Chauvin’s actions. Even the executive director of the MPPOA told interviewer Gayle King that Chauvin “betrayed the badge.” Perhaps, but not enough of a betrayal that the organization refuses to pay for his defense.
Nelson is a Minnesota native and graduated from Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis in 1992, according to his LinkedIn profile. Nelson then attended Eastern University, a private Christian university affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. Nelson graduated in 1996 with a degree in history.
Chauvin Attorney Fears Impact of $27 Million Settlement With Floyd's Family An attorney for the former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd's death said Monday that he's "gravely concerned" that the announcement of a $27 million settlement for Floyd's family makes it impossible for his client to get a fair trial.
Our first look this morning into the courtroom. Derek Chauvin sits with his attorney Eric Nelson. The former MPD officer has a yellow legal pad in front of him. We saw during jury selection that he was frequently taking notes @KSTP pic.twitter.com/sQhcQgNbnF
NOW: Defense Attorney Eric Nelson begins for the defense..Nelson has practiced exclusively in the area of criminal defense for 20 years