Published April 21, 2021

Elie Honig:

From CAFE and the Vox Media podcast network, this is Third Degree. I’m Elie Honig.

That feeling you had when you heard that there was a verdict around 3:30 p.m. yesterday, that burst of adrenaline spiked with some dread and some hope, let me tell you, you weren’t alone. I sure as hell felt it. I think everyone in the country and beyond did. It sounded like a conviction. It felt like a conviction. Logically and using my prosecutor brain, it almost had to be a conviction.

It was a quick verdict. That’s usually good for prosecutors, not always, but usually. There were no notes sent out by the jury asking questions. That means they didn’t struggle with any legal issues. That means they probably got along and you knew the jury did not hang. They had a unanimous verdict.

“It had to be a conviction,” I kept thinking to myself, almost, but then how many times have juries surprised us in high profile cases, in cop cases, in race cases? Forget about the big cases, the famous cases. I’ve been surprised many times in my career by juries in cases that nobody has ever heard of.

It actually took me right back in time to when I was at the Southern District. I felt like I was about to receive a verdict in a case of my own, in a case I had tried. I think everyone now knows how that feels because every single one of us was personally invested in this case. Yes, on the most basic level, this was about what Derek Chauvin did to George Floyd. But of course, this was also about race and racism and policing and justice in America. This was about who we are. This verdict does not mean everything is fixed by no means. Don’t let it lull you, but it was a watershed moment. Things are changing, not all the way, but in some very important ways.

The first thing that happened in this trial that I think was so important is the process worked. Back at the Southern District, we used to have a saying, do your job. I know it’s not super clever, but it was a good reminder. Everybody just do your job as a prosecutor, no politics, no drama. Get the job done. Everybody in this trial of Derek Chauvin did their jobs. The prosecutors certainly did theirs. They were professional, understated, at times, dramatic. They really rose to the moment. They put on an unimpeachable crystal clear case.

I tend to be a tough judge, especially of prosecutor performances, but I got to tell you, I have no significant complaints about the way they put this case on. The defense lawyer, Eric Nelson. Look, I know people are hating on him. The man did his job. He fought hard for his client and don’t forget that constitutional principle, any defense lawyer under the constitution has to do what Eric Nelson did. He gave his client a full and zealous and competent defense, and he handled himself like a professional. I’ve seen defense lawyers do way, way worse than anything we saw from Eric Nelson.

The judge, Peter Cahill, bravo. I mean, he ran that courtroom like clockwork. Everything was organized, orderly, on time. He kept everyone in line. He got this trial done quickly and clean and fair and bonus, he did it with a pleasant demeanor.

Finally, the jury. One thing that really jumps out to me is it was such a powerful reminder of the power of the civilian jury. We talk about symbols of democracy and you think maybe of the white house or the Capitol building. To me, I think of the jury because the jury is the most fundamental democratic process we have. It is comprised of regular people who are unfortunate or fortunate enough to get that jury notice in the mail, and they did their jobs as well.

So much could have gone wrong here. You could have had a judge who couldn’t control his courtroom. You could’ve had prosecutors who may be towed the ethical line, or even crossed it, made inappropriate arguments. You could’ve had a defense lawyer determined to turn this trial into a spectacle. You could’ve had a rogue juror. I’ve seen cases with overwhelming evidence like this one where one rogue juror with personal beliefs or some other issue will hang a jury. We had none of those things, and as a result, I think we just had a criminal trial process that the whole country and really the world can look at as being fair and legitimate.

Second of all, systemic changes, longer term beyond this case. What types of changes has this case heralded in? I see three big developments that I think now are firmly established by this case. First, the power of video. Everything is different now. It’s even different from 10-15 years ago when I was starting out my career as a prosecutor. Everyone’s got cellphones now. Surveillance cameras on stores on private homes picks up virtually everything that happens on streets and body cameras. When I started working on body cameras when I was at the New Jersey Attorney General’s office in around 2014, under 10 departments in the whole state out of 500 plus departments used body cameras. Now they’re virtually everywhere. Virtually every cop wears them. We could see the value of all that evidence in this trial.

Now importantly, I think police officers know and understand better than they ever have before, you can’t get away with abusive conduct anymore. By the way, if you want a reminder of that, check out the initial press release from the Minneapolis police department, right after George Floyd was killed. They titled their press release “Man dies of medical incident after police interaction”. that kind of coverup BS should be over now. They can’t get away with it anymore. It won’t be. I’m not saying it’s cured, but that’s changing fast.

Second, relatedly, the blue wall. The blue wall refers to this idea that cops are reluctant to come forward and testify against each other, and in fact, sometimes cover up for each other. It’s a real thing. Now, I’m not saying the blue wall came down all at once like the Berlin wall or something, but it’s absolutely starting to crumble.

I keep thinking back to the testimony of the chief of the Minneapolis police department, Chief Arradondo, plus the most senior lieutenant, the training officer. One leader after another stepped up and without hesitation said, “This was not okay. This was excessive. This was a crime.”

The chief to me exemplifies all that a good police officer can be and should strive to be the model of a protector of the community, not an occupier.

Third, the concept of trauma went mainstream to me and collective trauma. Scholars have been writing about and studying the idea of trauma, particularly in the African-American community for decades. But I heard my dad refer to trauma sort of just casually in conversation, first time I think I’ve ever heard him use that word. That tells me that this notion of trauma has really gone mainstream and gained wide understanding and acceptance. We saw it on display during this trial, from those witnesses that took the stand, the people who saw this with their own eyes. You could see they’re still traumatized by it. Of course, it goes broader than that to anyone who watched this trial and to entire populations of this country.

The final point that I take away from this trial is that justice is not easy and it’s not perfect. When you try cases, especially murder cases, you realize that, of course, you can’t ever undo what was done. Nothing can ever undo what was done and bring George Floyd back to his family. Nothing can cure the trauma that’s been visited on the Floyd family, the Minneapolis community, and the nation. All you can do is rely on our criminal justice system and hope that it delivers some measure of justice and accountability. In this case, there is accountability. Derek Chauvin killed a man who was helpless, rear handcuffed, face down on the asphalt. Now Derek Chauvin is behind bars, likely for much of his remaining life.

Our policing process failed in this instance terribly, but our court system worked and that matters. Thank you for being with us and listening throughout this trial. We will continue to talk about it, but it’s so important to me that we had a chance to really go through it in such depth. This was the most important trial I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. I think its impact will resound for a long, long time.

Thank you for listening to Third Degree and as always, I love to hear your thoughts, questions and comments at letters@cafe.com.