An attorney representing one of the former Minneapolis police officers charged with killing George Floyd accused Attorney General Keith Ellison of contempt of court and asked that he be sanctioned, escalating tensions between prosecutors and defense attorneys that have been building for more than a month.
Robert Paule, who is representing Tou Thao, filed a motion Tuesday objecting to Ellison issuing a news release on Monday about the case after Judge Peter Cahill issued a gag order prohibiting either side from discussing such matters.
“Defendant, by and through counsel, respectfully moves the Court for an order holding Keith Ellison, the Attorney General for Minnesota and lead prosecutor in the above-captioned case, in contempt of court and ordering sanctions as a result of his actions,” read Paule’s brief motion, which did not go into further detail.
Paule requested to be heard about the matter at a yet-to-be determined court hearing.
“We have no response,” Ellison’s office said in a written statement issued Tuesday when asked for comment.
Ellison’s office is leading the prosecution of Thao and his three former colleagues with assistance from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
Yesterday, Ellison announced that he had appointed four veteran attorneys as special assistant attorney generals on the Floyd case and listed their professional accomplishments.
“Out of respect for Judge Cahill’s gag order, I will say simply that I’ve put together an exceptional team with experience and expertise across many disciplines,” Ellison said in the news release. “We are united in our responsibility to pursue justice in this case.”
Cahill issued a gag order last week prohibiting prosecutors and defense attorneys from publicly divulging “opinions, strategies, plans or potential evidence” about the May 25 killing.
The attorneys for all of the four accused former officers — Thao, Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane — filed motions Monday objecting to the judge’s gag order.
The defense attorneys filed separate motions that argued, in part, that the order violated constitutional rights to due process, free speech and a fair trial, and that it unfairly penalized the defense after prosecutors and public officials had spent weeks criticizing the former officers’ actions.
They have repeatedly criticized Ellison, Gov. Tim Walz, Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, Mayor Jacob Frey and Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington, among others, of biasing potential jurors by making public remarks about the Floyd killing.
Chauvin, is charged with one count each of second-degree murder, third-degree manslaughter and second-degree manslaughter for allegedly killing Floyd, who died after he was handcuffed and pinned to the ground for nearly eight minutes. Chauvin knelt on his neck despite Floyd’s pleas that he couldn’t breathe and warning that he was dying.
Kueng, Lane and Thao are charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.
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July 14, 2020 at 11:14PM
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Defense attorney in George Floyd case accuses AG Ellison of contempt of court - Minneapolis Star Tribune
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