Cahill said Friday that four Hennepin County prosecutors including County Attorney Mike Freeman are disqualified from the trial because they met with the county medical examiner to discuss autopsy results. Battleground Tracker: Biden leads in Wisconsin, has edge in Arizona, A behind-the-scenes look at how mail-in ballots are processed. Gray said if trials were separate and Chauvin was tried first and acquitted, the others would essentially be cleared. Postal Service awards $5 million contract to DeJoy's former company, Battleground Tracker: Latest polls, state of the race and more, 5 things to know about CBS News' 2020 Battleground Tracker, CBS News coverage of voting rights issues. The trial is set for March 2021. By Jason Silverstein July 5, 2020 / 7:33 PM / CBS News In the video, Thao is seen standing by and keeping pedestrians away as Chauvin keeps his knee on Floyd's neck, while Floyd begs for his life and says "I can't breathe." A joint trial “would allow the community to absorb the verdicts at once. Katyal also said publicity about a verdict in a first trial could prejudice the jury pool for later trials. The announcement came more than a week after Floyd was killed while in police custody in Minneapolis. One of the former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd was released from jail on July 4 after posting $750,000 bond. "We made these decisions based on the facts that we gathered since this matter occurred and made these charges based on the law that we think applies.". Nelson wrote that Chauvin could argue their inaction led to Floyd’s death. Some lawyers said they have received angry calls from people who think their clients are guilty, and expressed fear that jurors would be subject to coercion if their names become public during the trial. The sides were split on whether the jury should be kept anonymous. Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, wrote that his client’s defence will be different, and the other men are already saying that if Chauvin committed a crime, they did not know about it or assist in it. Defence lawyer Earl Gray, who represents Lane, and other lawyers argued briefly against trying the ex-officers together but relied mostly on written arguments. Lawyers for all four men have also asked that the trial be moved from Minneapolis, saying pretrial publicity has made it impossible for them to receive a fair trial. Freeman has long been out of favour with local activists for the way his office has handled cases against police officers. He did not make eye contact with any of the defendants as he arrived, but Kueng looked at him as he passed and Lane glanced over. Be in the know. Al Sharpton is more hopeful today than ever. By Bill Hutchinson. Tim Walz to take over the case from Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman on Sunday. Chauvin, 44, was arrested last week and is being held at the Minnesota Department of Corrections facility in Oak Park. “They are trying to claim some asinine theory about an overdose. Still, he said that he believes Chauvin should be charged with first-degree murder, which requires intent, and the charges only represent the first steps toward justice. Two autopsies on Floyd determined that he. Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao face charges in the death of George Floyd. "I strongly believe that these developments are in the interest of justice for Mr. Floyd, his family, our community and our state," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in announcing the charges.