# Chauvin verdict *The April 20, 2021 jury verdict in State of Minnesota v. Derek Michael Chauvin, and the federal and state civil-rights proceedings against the Minneapolis Police Department that ran alongside and after it.* The Chauvin verdict was the guilty finding a 12-member jury returned on April 20, 2021 in *State of Minnesota v. Derek Michael Chauvin*. The case was the prosecution of former [[Minneapolis Police Department]] (MPD) officer [[Derek Chauvin]] for the murder of George Floyd, who died during an arrest on May 25, 2020. The jury convicted on all three counts: unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The trial had opened on March 8, 2021 at the Hennepin County Government Center in [[Minneapolis]].[^1] On April 21, 2021, the day after the verdict, the U.S. Department of Justice opened a pattern-or-practice investigation of the [[City of Minneapolis]] and MPD under 34 U.S.C. § 12601.[^2] That federal instrument produced findings of reasonable cause in June 2023 and a filed consent decree in January 2025.[^3][^4] In May 2025 the Department moved to dismiss the case with prejudice and retracted its own findings.[^5] A separate state instrument followed a different course. The Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) filed a charge against the City and MPD on June 1, 2020 and found probable cause on April 27, 2022.[^6] A court-enforceable settlement was approved on July 13, 2023. It terminates only on a judicial finding of compliance.[^7] ## Who Hennepin County Judge [[Peter Cahill]], a judge since 2007, presided over the trial.[^1] On May 31, 2020, Governor [[Tim Walz]] announced that Attorney General [[Keith Ellison]] would lead the prosecution. That role would otherwise have fallen to Hennepin [[county attorney]] [[Michael O. Freeman]], who was afterward disqualified from the case. Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank served as lead prosecutor, with [[Jerry W. Blackwell]], Steven Schleicher and Erin Eldridge. Defense attorney Eric Nelson represented Chauvin; the Minneapolis Police and Peace Officers Association paid for his services.[^1] The federal pattern-or-practice investigation was conducted by the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division.[^2][^3] The May 2025 dismissal was announced in release 25-534, which quotes Assistant Attorney General Dhillon.[^5] U.S. District Judge [[Paul A. Magnuson]] ruled on the dismissal.[^8] On the state side, MDHR brought the charge.[^6] Hennepin County District Court Judge Karen Janisch approved the settlement.[^7][^9] ## What ### Trial, sentence and appeal The trial was the first criminal trial in Minnesota to be televised in full and the first to be carried live. More than 23 million people watched the verdict on live television.[^1] Cahill sentenced Chauvin to 22½ years on the second-degree murder count. That was ten years longer than the 12½-year presumptive guideline term. The court based the departure on Chauvin's abuse of power and the particular cruelty he inflicted on Floyd. The count carried a possible maximum of forty years.[^1] Chauvin then appealed to the [[Minnesota Court of Appeals]]. He argued that pretrial publicity and the fortified courthouse had denied him a fair trial, and he sought a new trial at another venue. A three-judge panel rejected those arguments on April 17, 2023. It held that his force on Floyd was excessive and unlawful and that the trial had been fair. The [[Minnesota Supreme Court]] declined further review, and the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] refused to hear the case.[^1] ### The federal investigation and its retraction The Civil Rights Division's June 16, 2023 findings stated reasonable cause that MPD "uses excessive force, including unjustified deadly force and unreasonable use of tasers." The findings also stated that MPD "unlawfully discriminates against Black people and Native American people in its enforcement activities."[^3] The full findings report ran to 89 pages.[^10] The consent decree in *[[United States v. City of Minneapolis (MPD consent decree)]]*, No. 0:25-cv-00048 (D. Minn.), was filed on January 6, 2025. It ran to 169 pages and provided for an independent monitor.[^4] On May 21, 2025 the Department moved to "dismiss with prejudice" both the Minneapolis suit and a parallel suit concerning [[Louisville]], and it closed both investigations. The same release retracted the findings for both cities. It also retracted findings concerning [[Phoenix]], [[Trenton]], [[Memphis]], [[Mount Vernon]], [[Oklahoma City]] and the [[Louisiana State Police]].[^5] In that release, the Department described the action as "ending the Biden Civil Rights Division's failed experiment of handcuffing local leaders."[^5] The documented outputs stand beside that description. The 89-page findings and the 169-page decree were withdrawn, and the court was left to rule on a decree that no party still supported.[^10][^4] Magnuson dismissed the case with prejudice and denied the motion to approve the settlement as moot. He wrote that he had "grave misgivings about the proposed consent decree serving the public interest."[^8] The sources disagree by one day on the date of the order. Sahan Journal reports that it was issued May 28, 2025, while the Clearinghouse docket dates the dismissal May 27, 2025.[^8][^2] ### The state investigation and settlement MDHR found "probable cause that the City and MPD engage in a pattern or practice of race discrimination in violation of the [[Minnesota Human Rights Act]]."[^6] The settlement in *Minnesota v. Minneapolis Police Department*, [[No. 27-CV-23-4177]], was filed March 31, 2023. Hennepin County District Court approved it on July 13, 2023.[^7][^9] It ends only on a court finding of "full, effective, and sustained compliance."[^7] The [[independent evaluator]], ELEFA, began work on March 18, 2024.[^7][^11] ## When - **May 25, 2020** — Floyd dies during an arrest by four MPD officers. The officers were responding to a suspicion that he had used a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin, kneeling on Floyd's neck while Floyd lay handcuffed and face down, held the position for nine minutes and 29 seconds.[^1] - **May 29, 2020** — Chauvin is arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.[^1] - **May 31, 2020** — Walz announces that Ellison will lead the prosecution.[^1] - **June 1, 2020** — MDHR files its charge against the City and MPD.[^6] - **June 3, 2020** — An unintentional second-degree murder count is added.[^1] - **October 7, 2020** — Chauvin posts a $1 million bond and is released on conditional bail.[^1] - **March 8 – April 20, 2021** — The trial runs; the verdict is announced on its last day.[^1] - **April 21, 2021** — DOJ opens its pattern-or-practice investigation of the City and MPD.[^2] - **April 27, 2022** — MDHR issues its probable-cause finding.[^6] - **January 18, 2023** — The Court of Appeals panel hears argument.[^1] - **March 31, 2023** — The state settlement is filed.[^7] - **April 17, 2023** — The Court of Appeals affirms the conviction.[^1] - **June 16, 2023** — DOJ issues its findings (release 23-674).[^3] - **July 13, 2023** — Hennepin County District Court approves the state settlement.[^7] - **July 19, 2023** — The Minnesota Supreme Court denies review.[^1] - **November 20, 2023** — The U.S. Supreme Court rejects Chauvin's petition.[^1] - **March 18, 2024** — ELEFA begins work as independent evaluator.[^7] - **January 6, 2025** — The federal [[consent decree]] is filed, No. 0:25-cv-00048.[^4] - **May 21, 2025** — DOJ moves to dismiss with prejudice and retracts the findings (release 25-534).[^5] - **May 27 or 28, 2025** — Magnuson dismisses the federal case. The Clearinghouse docket gives May 27; Sahan Journal gives May 28.[^2][^8] ## How many MDHR's 2022 report states that 13 of the 14 people killed by MPD officers since 2010 were people of color or Indigenous.[^6] It found that Black residents made up 19 percent of the city's population. Over the same period they were the subject of 63 percent of recorded use-of-force incidents (2010–2020). They also accounted for 54 percent of officer-initiated traffic stops and 78 percent of all searches (2017–2020).[^6] The DOJ findings report was 89 pages; the consent decree was 169 pages.[^10][^4] The May 2025 release retracted findings covering Minneapolis, Louisville and six other jurisdictions.[^5] ## In the at-issue record The at-issue entry [[At issue 029 - DOJ opened the Minneapolis pattern-or-practice investigation on April|No. 029]] pairs the verdict with the opening of the federal investigation one day later. The entry states that the investigation was announced the day after the county's prosecution concluded, "by the sovereign that had not brought it."[^2][^12] The Clearinghouse docket supports the April 21, 2021 opening date.[^2] The record shows that the prosecution was brought in the name of the State of Minnesota and led by the Attorney General after the county attorney's disqualification. The trial was held in Hennepin County, and the United States is not named in the caption.[^1] The entry gives as its anchor a January 2026 White House fact sheet on a new Department of Justice fraud-enforcement division.[^12] In this article, the date of the 2021 investigation rests on the Clearinghouse docket rather than on that fact sheet.[^2] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Trial of Derek Chauvin* (revision 1371975246, retrieved 2026-10-27, CC BY-SA 4.0) — arrest, charges, bail, trial dates, counsel, verdict, sentence and appeal history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Derek_Chauvin [^2]: Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, case 18178 (docket, *United States v. City of Minneapolis*) — DOJ investigation opened April 21, 2021 under 34 U.S.C. § 12601, the day after the verdict; dismissal dated May 27, 2025. https://clearinghouse.net/case/18178/ [^3]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, release 23-674 (June 16, 2023) — reasonable-cause findings against MPD and the City, quoted language. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-finds-civil-rights-violations-minneapolis-police-department-and-city [^4]: U.S. Department of Justice, release announcing agreement with the City of Minneapolis and MPD (January 6, 2025) — 169-page consent decree filed in No. 0:25-cv-00048 (D. Minn.), with an independent monitor. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-reaches-agreement-city-minneapolis-and-minneapolis-police-department [^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, release 25-534 (May 21, 2025) — motion to dismiss with prejudice the Minneapolis and Louisville suits; findings retracted for those cities and six other jurisdictions; quotation of AAG Dhillon. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-department-justices-civil-rights-division-dismisses-biden-era-police-investigations-and [^6]: Minnesota Department of Human Rights, *Investigation into the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department* (April 27, 2022) — charge filed June 1, 2020; probable-cause finding under the Minnesota Human Rights Act; deaths, use-of-force, traffic-stop and search figures. https://mn.gov/mdhr/assets/Investigation%20into%20the%20City%20of%20Minneapolis%20and%20the%20Minneapolis%20Police%20Department_tcm1061-526417.pdf [^7]: Minnesota Department of Human Rights, newsroom civil-rights update (2023) — settlement filed March 31, 2023, approved July 13, 2023 by Judge Karen Janisch in No. 27-CV-23-4177; termination standard; ELEFA began March 18, 2024. https://mn.gov/mdhr/news-community/newsroom/civilrightsupdates.jsp?id=1061-584578 [^8]: Sahan Journal, report on dismissal of the Minneapolis federal consent decree (May 28, 2025) — Judge Paul A. Magnuson's dismissal with prejudice, denial of the approval motion as moot, and quoted language. https://sahanjournal.com/public-safety/minneapolis-federal-consent-decree-dismissed/ [^9]: Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, case 43326 (docket, *Minnesota v. Minneapolis Police Department*, No. 27-CV-23-4177) — state settlement filed and approved in Hennepin County District Court. https://clearinghouse.net/case/43326/ [^10]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Minneapolis findings report (June 2023) — the full 89-page findings. https://www.justice.gov/d9/2023-06/minneapolis_findings_report.pdf [^11]: Minnesota Department of Human Rights, MPD settlement agreement document hub — agreement and evaluator documents. https://mn.gov/mdhr/mpd/agreement/ [^12]: The White House, fact sheet on the establishment of a new Department of Justice division for national fraud enforcement (January 2026) — anchor cited by at-issue entry 029. https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/01/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-establishes-new-department-of-justice-division-for-national-fraud-enforcement/