In a new bombshell court filing, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s attorney is seeking dismissal of the charges against his client, alleging “unlawful” and “fraudulent” conduct by Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
In a new 31-page court petition filed Tuesday morning, attorney Greg Joseph argues that Chauvin’s due-process rights were violated because a grand jury was never convened to review the charges.
“Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill presided over a year-long due process violation by failing to convene a grand jury to consider the State’s evidence at any point between the moment he was assigned to the case, and the verdict. He lacked jurisdiction over the charges, as this Court does, because they were never lawfully brought,” the filing says.
Joseph also argues that Walz’s appointment of Ellison to lead the case was itself unlawful. Ellison went on to add the more serious charge of second-degree murder to the complaint.
Notably, a Hennepin County prosecutor withdrew from the case against the officers and, according to court documents, “she (Amy Sweasy) also disagreed with a decision to add additional charges against Chauvin.”
“Because Hennepin County’s unlawful charges against Mr. Chauvin were not severe enough for the mob, Walz referred the case to Keith Ellison, who signed and e-filed a second unfounded complaint against Derek Chauvin that included the murder charge it wanted,” the petition reads.
Chauvin received two concurrent sentences: 22.5 years on state charges for second-degree murder of George Floyd, and 21 years on federal civil rights violations.
“It is impossible to assess the trial errors in State v. Chauvin because the entire trial was a fraud; it was based on unfounded charges that were never properly before the Court,” the petition says.
Joseph explained to Collin why this argument was never made before in other post-conviction relief efforts.
“In a very short period of time there were very fundamental and basic violations of due process. And those aren’t necessarily things that defense attorneys normally look for,” he said.
Alpha News has reached out to Gov. Walz, Attorney General Ellison, and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for comment on this latest petition and is awaiting a response.
“The political fruits of this unlawful prosecution have shaped the trajectory of this State and the world,” Joseph says in the petition.
An exclusive interview with Joseph with more on what this could mean for the case will be released soon on the Alpha News YouTube channel.
Alpha News has reported extensively on the case with exclusive interviews. A legal defense fund for Chauvin has been launched on GiveSendGo.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
Liz Collin
Liz Collin is a multi-Emmy-Award-winning investigative reporter, news anchor, and producer who cares about Minnesota. She is the producer of The Fall of Minneapolis and Minnesota v We the People documentary films, and author of the Amazon best-selling book, They’re Lying: The Media, the Left, and The Death of George Floyd. Her work has prompted important state laws. Yet perhaps most of all, Liz has been giving a voice to the truth—and helping others tell their stories—for more than 20 years.
