Past experience includes prosecuting for a domestic-abuse clinic…
Peter Cahill / PHOTO: mncourts.gov
(Liberty Headlines) The judge appointed hear the cases in the death of George Floyd has deep professional ties to Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., but his background hints at bad news for state Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Ellison’s announcement in the immediate aftermath of race-riots over the police killing that he would oversee the prosecution had raised many eyebrows as to his true motives.
The former congressman and deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee resigned in disgrace amid accusations of domestic abuse from a former girlfriend but was elected, nonetheless, to be the state’s top lawyer in 2018.
His ties to radical black movements such as the Nation of Islam worried some that he might be invested more in an outcome that would disrupt the November elections than in one that would serve the cause of justice.
Already, GOP state senators had discussed filing a legislative motion to remove Ellison from the direct oversight of the case.
But the appointment of fourth state district Judge Peter Cahill will test his resolve either way.
Among the details in Cahill’s background, while teaching at the University of Minnesota Law School, he served as a domestic abuse prosecution clinic supervisor, according to his online bio.
Cahill also began his career in the county public defender’s office in 1984, the Star Tribune reported. He also worked for 10 years in the county attorney’s office, serving as the top advisor to Sen. Amy Klobuchar when she was the county’s head prosecutor.
He has been a judge since 2007 and has experience in high-profile cases. He has also served as the county’s chief judge.
The four Minneapolis police officers who face charges are Derek Chauvin, J. Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. All four are scheduled to appear before him at 12:15 p.m. on June 29, according to a court filing Friday.
Defense attorneys have 10 days to file a request to remove Cahill as the judge. They would have no say in who replaces him and they could not remove his replacement, the Star Tribune reported.
Earl Gray, Lane’s attorney, told The Associated Press he wouldn’t think of removing Cahill.
When asked if all four officers will face trial together or ask to be tried separately, Gray said that issue hasn’t been discussed yet, but it will be now that a judge has been assigned.
Attorneys for Chauvin and Kueng had no comment. Messages left with Thao’s attorney were not immediately returned Friday.
Chauvin, who kept his knee on Floyd’s neck even after Floyd stopped moving, has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Lane, Kueng and Thao have been charged with aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and manslaughter. All four officers have been fired.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press.
