Derek Chauvin files a new legal appeal claiming his George Floyd murder conviction was unlawful

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, currently serving a 22.5-year sentence for the 2020 murder of George Floyd, has launched another legal challenge in an effort to vacate his state murder conviction.

On Tuesday, Chauvin’s defense team filed a formal motion requesting the Minnesota Court of Appeals to temporarily freeze his active appeal. The legal maneuver is designed to send the case back down to the local trial court, allowing his attorneys to present a brand-new argument: that the original criminal charges brought against him were legally invalid from the very beginning.

Chauvin was convicted in April 2021 on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. Court records and bystander video established that Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds while Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down on the pavement, causing fatal oxygen deprivation to his brain.

This latest filing marks Chauvin’s third attempt at securing post-conviction relief after a trial judge rejected his previous petition. In the new motion, Chauvin’s attorneys allege that his due process rights were violated when Minnesota Governor Tim Walz assigned State Attorney General Keith Ellison to lead the prosecution, arguing the transfer of power was unlawful.

The defense contends that this improper assignment, combined with the state's failure to convene a grand jury, created non-waivable "structural errors," a lack of court jurisdiction, and judicial bias that corrupted the integrity of the original trial.

The ongoing legal battles have kept the high-profile case in the public spotlight. Tech billionaire Elon Musk weighed in on the development on X, asserting that Chauvin was "unjustly convicted" and claiming the facts show Chauvin was not the direct cause of death nor did he intend to kill Floyd.

The Meridian is monitoring the Minnesota Court of Appeals as judges consider whether to grant the stay and allow the trial court to evaluate Chauvin's new claims.