'Not easy' to get a conviction in George Floyd killing, Harris says

[RandySF]

Sen. Kamala Harris, a former Democratic presidential contender and potential vice presidential pick, spoke out Monday about her efforts to pass a federal anti-lynching bill, which will now be included in a new package of policing reforms being proposed by Senate and House Democrats in the wake of the George Floyd killing.

She joined ABC's "The View" as Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis officer charged with second-degree murder in the case, makes a court appearance, and speaking as a former prosecutor, said "it will not be easy to get a conviction" because juries tend to believe police officers.

"It is still the case that jurors are inclined to trust -- because that's part of the social contract -- to trust police officers and that has been part of the difficulty that so many prosecutors have had when they brought these cases," Harris told the program's hosts. "But there's no denying that this officer and those who were his accomplices should pay attention real consequence and accountability for what they've done."



https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/not-easy-to-get-a-conviction-in-george-floyd-killing-harris-says/ar-BB15cnr2?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout

[Thomas Hurt]

1. Be prepared for round two if they acquit Chauvin.

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. This

Hoo-boy..

[RandySF]

4. And Biden might have to deal with it

If we don't get a verdict until 2021.

[customerserviceguy]

15. There's no possible way

that the trial could be held before the election, or even before Inauguration Day.

[mobeau69]

5. They ain't seen nothing yet. There will be hell to pay.

[qwlauren35]

6. I wish.

When the killers of Freddie Gray in Baltimore were acquitted, it did not get the same national attention, and there was no uproar.

There will be a lot of time for things to die down. An acquittal will not get as much play as the actual crime.

That's why I'm hoping for prison justice.

[Hoyt]

3. They have video this time. Even then, prosecution has to be ready.

[RandySF]

7. It only takes once juror.

Don't forget Rodney King.

[Hoyt]

8. That's the scary part of just about any trial.

[no_hypocrisy]

12. I wouldn't want to be that hold-out juror in the jury room.

[doc03]

9. Don't they need a unnanamous vote to convict them

of murder?

[PTWB]

11. Yes. Of all serious crimes.

Most states already required unanimous juries but two did not. There was a recent Supreme Court case on this subject:

https://minnlawyer.com/2020/04/20/u-s-supreme-court-unanimous-jury-verdict-required-to-convict/


U.S. Supreme Court: Unanimous jury verdict required to convict

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution requires jurors to be unanimous before criminal defendants can be convicted of a serious crime.

The justices on Monday threw out the conviction of Evangelisto Ramos, a Louisiana man who was convicted of second-degree murder on a 10-2 jury vote and sentenced to life in prison in 2016.

The high court’s 6-3 decision nullified a 1972 Supreme Court ruling that said the Constitution’s Sixth Amendment doesn’t require states to have unanimous verdicts. The Supreme Court has long said that unanimity is required in federal courthouses.

The latest case produced an unusual split, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan in dissent, saying the court should have abided by the 1972 precedent.

Louisiana and Oregon were the only two states that let some defendants be convicted even if one or two jurors disagreed. Louisianans voted in 2018 to start requiring unanimity, but only for crimes committed in 2019 or later. Louisiana already required a 12-0 verdict in death penalty cases.

Like the rest of the Bill of Rights, the Sixth Amendment was originally aimed only at the federal government. Starting in the 1960s, the court began “incorporating” many of those rights into the 14th Amendment’s due process clause, which binds the states.

The case is Ramos v. Louisiana, 18-5924.

[customerserviceguy]

16. It is not unimaginable

that the verdict is guilty only on third-degree murder, and that the three other cops get acquitted. At least one of them has the defense that he was a trainee and had to leave matters in his supervisor's hands.

[Jim__]

10. I agree, it won't be easy to convict him.

Chauvin murdered George Floyd on video; but convicting a cop who is on duty at the time he commits the crime is extremely difficult.

[beachbumbob]

13. facts back up harris with other such trials,

[tulipsandroses]

14. Sadly, I agree with her. Walter Scott's case ended up with a hung jury

I remember arguing with my now ex about this when I first saw the Walter Scott video. I thought for sure this time, this cop will be found guilty. My ex laughed and said, "keep hope alive" - his sarcastic way of saying it ain't gonna happen. I said I watched that man shoot him in the back while he was running away. Everybody saw it. How could he not be found guilty? Naively I thought, unlike Eric Garner - where they argued whether it was a banned choke hold, this was crystal clear. Walter Scott was running in the opposite direction of Slager. He was in no danger to Slager. Slager fired 8 shots at Walter Scott running away from him.
But yet - The jury hung.
People still have a hard time convicting police officers of murder.

[InnocentOne]

17. It's sad but likely true. nt

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

18. Yeah that's my big fear

Remember how it was after the Rodney King verdict.

[SheltieLover]

19. Perhaps

Much more media coverage about the way police frame people, plant evidence and lie on witness stands would help.