MINNEAPOLIS — A second attorney representing one of three former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd's death is asking a judge to prohibit livestreaming his trial next year.
Some witnesses are reluctant to testify after seeing other witnesses treated poorly following the recent livestream of a co-defendant's trial, the attorney argued in a motion filed Wednesday.
Earl Gray, who represents Thomas Lane, is asking Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill to ban a public livestream in order to protect Lane's constitutional right to a fair trial.
Cahill had issued an order last November ordering that the trials of all four former officers charged in George Floyd's death be publicly livestreamed because the COVID-19 pandemic severely limited in-person courtroom attendance due to social distancing protocol.
The weekslong trial in March and April of former officer Derek Chauvin was watched live around the world, making witnesses reluctant to testify at Lane's trial, Gray argued.
Jurors convicted Chauvin on April 20 of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao are scheduled to be tried in one trial starting March 7 for aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter.
Gray's motion is nearly identical to a motion filed Tuesday by Kueng's attorney, Thomas Plunkett.
"It is Counsel's hope that eliminating the extensive worldwide coverage will allow the defense to present a reasonable defense," Gray wrote. "The defense is not yet moving for a dismissal or a further continuance based on the television of Mr. Chauvin's trial, but may need to in the future."
Gray and Plunkett both wrote that some witnesses will not cooperate with their defenses because of the treatment received by expert witnesses who testified for Chauvin's defense.
According to both motions: Vandals left a pig's head outside the former California home of Barry Brodd, a retired police officer who testified for Chauvin's defense. Blood was also smeared on the home. After former Maryland chief medical examiner Dr. David Fowler testified for Chauvin's defense, the state said it would conduct an independent review of deaths in police custody that occurred during his tenure.
"Multiple expert witnesses have stated they do not want the notoriety that would come from this matter," Gray and Plunkett wrote.
They noted that the trial could instead be livestreamed into an overflow courtroom or courtrooms so the public and media could attend. Several local and national media outlets publicly livestreamed and archived Chauvin's trial on their websites.
Thao's attorneys, Robert and Natalie Paule, have not weighed in on the issue.
Gray and Plunkett's requests are a change from their previous stance on the issue. Attorneys for all four former officers had initially asked that Cahill allow the trials to be recorded and broadcast by the media to ensure fairness because several local officials had commented about the case.
The Minnesota Attorney General's Office, which is leading the prosecution, has objected to cameras in the courtroom.
The four former officers also face charges in federal court for allegedly violating Floyd's civil rights when they arrested him on May 25, 2020. Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes while Kueng and Lane held his body stomach-down in the street. Thao kept a group of angry bystanders at bay.
