The Defense Rests Its Case in the Derek Chauvin Trial (Podcast)

Defense attorney Eric Nelson had a big task to accomplish this week in the murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin as he set out to rewrite the narrative of George Floyd’s final moments that prosecutors diligently laid out over a two-week period.

All told, the prosecution called nearly 40 witnesses to the stand over two weeks, including fellow police officers, medical experts and eyewitnesses as young as nine years old. The defense took just two days to call seven witnesses.

Nelson argued that Floyd died of a sudden cardiac arrest caused by a combination of fentanyl, methamphetamine, high blood pressure, an enlarged heart, and adrenaline—and not by his restraint by Chauvin, who was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck and back for more than nine minutes.

Bloomberg Law reporter Ian Lopez joins [Un]Common Law host Adam Allington to discuss what Chauvin’s defense team was trying to accomplish as the trial heads toward closing arguments and a verdict that could be returned as early as next week.

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