I can't stand Chauvin's attorney.

[barbtries]

I'm just now catching up on testimony and have to skip past his, then watch the prosecution's rebuttal testimony. What I noticed today is that Nelson does almost all of the talking when he cross examines. All he wants from the witness is confirmation of his twisted attempts to create reasonable doubt, so he says what he says and all he gets is a yes or correct from the witness.

basically, he uses his time ostensibly examining the witness to testify. Is this objectionable? I certainly find it objectionable, but I'm not a lawyer.

[BlueJac]

1. I dislike his voice as much as his approach.

[barbtries]

3. yeah, i find i'm very annoyed by his

fake friendliness and the measured, deceptively calm manner he effects. but the way he fashions his questioning is especially annoying to me to the point i fast forward through it.

[Deminpenn]

10. Thought I was the only one

What gets on my last nerve is the constant "Agree?". I wonder if that's turning off any of the jurors.

As for Nelson's approach, he doesn't have a lot with which to work. He's trying his best to make lemonade out of lemons.

[Maru Kitteh]

21. Agreed? Right? Right? Right? Correct? Correct? Agreed? Right? Right?

Oh my GOD. It's not just you.

[Treefrog]

30. Drives me nuts.

I loved the older lady doc yesterday. She simply was not having it.

[Siwsan]

2. I agree that the only chance for acquittal is attempting to plant 'reasonable doubt'

Sometimes he seems to ask questions, to which the answers are evidence for the prosecution. Such as asking the medical examiner if he watched any of the videos before doing the autopsy. Kind of inferring that he was influenced. And the answer was 'No'.

He also seems to try to hone in on one little issue without taking the whole of the picture into consideration. Like his constantly inferring that Chauvin was distracted or even intimidated by the people filming him. The video evidence sure doesn't show that. It shows Chauvin seemingly trying to assert his dominance over them by that look of defiance he wore on his face. He wasn't in the least distracted or worried about the crowd. Well, that's how I interpreted it, anyway.

It will be interesting to see what kind of defense witnesses they have. Unless payment for Chauvin's defense is being supplemented by outside sources, I can't see them being able to bring in a whole lot of experts - certainly none as stellar as the prosecution has called.

[True Dough]

4. I detest what he's attempting to do

but Nelson is a formidable adversary. He's crafty. He doesn't have much to work with, but he's making the most of it (or pretty close to the most).

I could never do his job in a million years. My conscience wouldn't allow it. But he's a different sort of cat, I guess.

[barbtries]

5. i really hope the jury

can see past all the smoke he's blowing at them.

i'm fairly certain that he won't, but i would like to see Chauvin testify. I know some of what I'd be asking if I got to cross examine him. He murdered George Floyd willfully in front of many witnesses, who took many pictures. shoulda pled guilty.



"the people they were scaring me!"

[True Dough]

7. I wouldn't believe anything that comes out of Chauvin's mouth

He has no credibility and would surely say whatever he thinks might get him off the hook.

It would be intriguing television to see him on the stand, but I can't imagine it doing his defense any good.

[barbtries]

8. i agree.

he'd be a fool to testify and i would be shocked if it happened. but i fantasize about it. i really do. it would be so good to put the pictures up with him kneeling on Floyd with all his weight and not a scintilla of concern in his face, and then see him say he was afraid of the crowd and afraid of the dying man he was killing and that's why he did it.

the more i watch and see, the more convinced i am that chauvin wanted nothing more than to kill floyd, and if truth could be told, he's glad he did.

[True Dough]

23. Just imagine the damage that Chauvin did throughout his career

I read here on the forum that he had 18 or 19 complaints against him during his years on the force. There are likely many, many more offenses he committed that were never reported.

Being a cop is a terribly difficult job much of the time, and some people clearly aren't cut out do to it. When they expose themselves as such, the least the state (or municipality) could do is take away his badge.

[Deminpenn]

12. That picture is worth the 1000s of words said by both sides

Chauvin doesn't look worried or scared. It's so casual with the look and his hand in his pocket. I know it's a still from the video, but it almost looks posed for the camera.

[rgbecker]

15. I, too, thought Chauvin had his hand in pocket, but a closer look shows it not to be.

Take a close look....it was pointed out to me that the black gloves hide his hand but the video picture shows he is resting his hand on his thigh. Doesn't impact your point, which is very well taken.

[Deminpenn]

17. Good catch

A closer look does show his hand, in a half fist, resting on his thigh. It's still a very casual pose, nonetheless.

[yardwork]

16. I've read that he might have put his hand in his pocket to add force.

That position allowed Chauvin to press down even more on the victim's neck.

To me, the look on Chauvin's face is one of defiance. The more bystanders begged him to stop, the more he bore down. Seems sociopathic.

[Maru Kitteh]

33. If you look at the picture, his hand is not in his pocket, but

propped on his leg on the first set of knuckles. He's wearing black gloves and you can see his fingertips if you look.

[Progressive Jones]

29. Like him, or not, he's doing what he's paid to do -- defend his client. He's failing, of course. nt

[badhair77]

6. I've had to turn it off. Nelson has little to work with so his only

path is to smear George Floyd and try to blame it on drug use or heart problems. It’s a big reach. Can’t stand Nelson.

[fishwax]

9. IANAL, but that's the nature of cross examination--yes/no questions limit the opportunity for

the witness to surprise or to ramble, and since the witnesses you are crosss examining are not going to be as familiar to you and haven't been prepped by you, you want to make sure you are careful in eliciting exactly the information that you want. Usually you want to be quicker about it then this lawyer is, though, I think ... some of his crosses have gone on for a long time with many seemingly unrelated questions.

[sop]

11. I wonder what Chauvin is writing in his legal pad during the trial. Making notes for a future book?

[Ms. Toad]

13. I don't like hm - BUT - you will almost certainly see the same

from the prosecution when the defense puts on its witnesses.

Witnesses put on the the opposing side are presumed hostile to your position. Because of that you have quite a bit more leeway in questioning them (including by asking leading questions).

So when your own witnesses are on the stand (witnesses you have worked with, prepared, and who know what you hope to get from them), you ask brief, more open-ended questions. When witnesses from the opposite side (who you are often meeting for the first time on the stand, who don't generally want to help you) you are allowed to string out a story to elicit a yes/no question that agrees with (or disagrees with) the story you just recited.

[barbtries]

14. you are probably right.

the big difference to me i suppose is that it is abundantly clear to my mind that chauvin murdered him. so all this defense attorney is doing is planting red herrings in an effort to get as far away from the truth as possible. in this case, my opinion, the prosecution is bringing the truth and the evidence they have is overwhelming.

chauvin should have pled guilty. that this trial is happening is more evidence of what a racist, entitled, murderous fuck he really is. of course he was a policeman and got away with all kinds of shit for a lot of years. he may get away with this. I'm all vaccinated now, so I can join the protests if that happens.

[GoodRaisin]

24. I don't think he will completely get away with it.

I think the prosecution has already established enough to convict him even on a lesser charge if intent can’t be found by the jury. I believe he”s going to be doing some considerable time.

[Ms. Toad]

27. Chauvin was willing to plead guilty -

AND serve more than 10 years.

Barr blocked it.

So any racism you are inferring from the fact that the trial is happening can't be attributed to Chauvin.

[barbtries]

31. 10 years for cold blooded murder is not very long.

and he had some other considerations like no federal civil lawsuit etc. apparently Barr thought the deal was too soon after the event and would precipitate more unrest, but who really knows coming from a huge liar like Barr.

your point is taken. I'll change that to the dead body of George Floyd then. doesn't change my opinion of Chauvin in any way shape or form.

[RamblingRose]

18. I think he looks like Leonard from the Big Bang Theory and can't take him seriously

[Watchfoxheadexplodes]

19. Y'all might not take him seriously

Or think he's a rube but reading up on him he is no slacker. There are also a huge team he confers with.

[Jlz]

20. He's flailing.

Spent 30 years as a courtroom litigator. Friday's cross-examination by the defense scored no points and was incoherent. There is a cross examination technique called a "mosaic"--but a picture favorable to the defense needs to emerge. Not happening here.

[Watchfoxheadexplodes]

22. I thought he scored a few with

Damn forgot her name but he got her flustered and several times she said "I can't remember' or he pulled her into where she wanted to get a bit loud.

Chauvin not getting off more likely he will get about 20 years imo

[Lettuce Be]

25. Rule No. 1 in jury trials - the attorney must be likable. You need to relate to the jury.

This guy is such a turn-off on the whole, but his entire approach is ridiculous. For a defense attorney he's doing a terrible job.

Yes, my client cut off his oxygen supply for 10 minutes but what about his heart condition? My closing argument would conclude with, "Had Mr. Floyd not encountered D. Chauvin on May 25, 2020, he would be alive today."

[SweetieD]

26. He is doing a good job imo. Defending someone who murdered a victim on camera is

Pretty rare and most criminals in that situation take pleas....unless you are a cop. Because juries are sympathetic to cops and will let them off even in egregiously circumstances.

[Treefrog]

28. I don't like him either but when I posted that here,

no one felt the same. Glad to hear I’m not alone.

[barbtries]

32. i would have agreed

if i'd seen the post.