MINNEAPOLIS — Editor's Note: The video above originally aired on KARE 11 on May 18, 2022.
Attorneys for former Minneapolis police officers Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng have asked a judge to delay their upcoming state trial or move it out of Hennepin County.
In documents recently filed in Hennepin County Court, Thao's attorney Robert Paule cited "overwhelming pretrial publicity" that would "violate Mr. Thao’s state and federal constitutional rights to a jury trial with a fair and impartial jury" as the reason for a venue change.
Thomas Plunkett, Kueng's attorney, asked for the trial to be moved to "preferably Olmsted or Dakota County."
The trial for Thao and Kueng, both charged with aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and aiding and abetting second-degree murder in connection to George Floyd's death, is scheduled to begin with motions on Monday, June 13, 2022.
In court documents, Plunkett cited an analysis by Dr. Bryan Edelman, who evaluated pretrial publicity around Floyd's death, as a reason to move the venue.
"It is Dr. Edelman's opinion that the jury pool in Hennepin County has been saturated with extensive prejudicial news coverage," he wrote.
In his motion filed before Judge Peter Cahill, Paule pointed to questionnaire responses from potential jurors as evidence that the jury pool is already biased against Thao and Kueng.
"All of the officers involved in this incident are absolutely in the wrong," one of the responses said, according to court documents.
In May, fellow former officer Thomas Lane pleaded guilty to the state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
Lane, Thao and Kueng were all convicted of violating Floyd's civil rights in a federal trial back in February by not intervening when former officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd's neck. A federal judge denied motions by the three former officers to acquit them after their convictions.
If a change of venue is denied, Paule and Plunkett asked Judge Cahill to delay the trial until one year after sentencing in the federal case, to grant time for pre-trial publicity to fade.
In his motion for a venue change or continuance, Paule also said extensive coverage of Derek Chauvin's trial, the federal trial for the three officers, Lane's guilty plea, a settlement against Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, recent events surrounding the two-year anniversary of George Floyd's murder and a new PBS series called "Police on Trial" would impact the court's ability to secure an impartial jury pool.
The state filed an opposition to the change of venue or continuance on May 30, "rejecting" arguments made by Thao and Kueng's lawyers. "The time has come for Defendant Kueng and Defendant Thao to stand trial in Hennepin County for their respective roles in the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020," the document, signed by Attorney General Keith Ellison and Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank, said.
If Judge Cahill denies the motions for a venue change or continuance, jury selection in the case will begin on June 14, with opening statements slated for July 5. Judge Peter Cahill has said he expects the evidence phase to take four or five weeks, meaning the trial could last into early August.
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