# Peter Cahill *Minnesota judge who, on September 11, 2020, disqualified Hennepin County Attorney Michael O. Freeman and three of his staff lawyers from the George Floyd cases.* Peter Cahill is a [[Minnesota]] judge. Sources on the career of [[Michael O. Freeman]] record that on September 11, 2020, Cahill disqualified Freeman, then the [[Hennepin County Attorney]], and three of his staff lawyers from the [[George Floyd cases]].[^1] Those sources state the ground as staff meetings with the [[medical examiner]], in alleged violation of attorney conduct rules.[^1] Freeman had charged [[Derek Chauvin]] and three other officers in 2020. According to the same sources, a recall petition drive followed, citing the delay in charging and Freeman's refusal to recuse.[^2] The sources also record that after the disqualification, Freeman supplied "strategic advice and coordination" to the team of Attorney General [[Keith Ellison]]. That team obtained Chauvin's conviction on April 20, 2021.[^3] The record establishes the date of Cahill's order, the persons it removed, and its stated ground. The pack does not include the order itself. The record does not establish the judge's reasoning beyond the stated ground.[^1] ## Who Cahill appears in the record only in his official capacity, as the judge who issued the September 11, 2020 disqualification.[^1] The order removed Freeman and three of his staff lawyers.[^1] Freeman, an elected officeholder, served as Hennepin County Attorney from January 7, 1991, to January 5, 1999, and from January 3, 2007, to January 2, 2023. He earlier represented District 40 in the [[Minnesota Senate]] from 1982 to 1991.[^4][^5] His party record includes losing the 1994 DFL endorsement to [[John Marty]] and winning the 1998 DFL endorsement before losing the primary to [[Skip Humphrey]].[^5] ## When - **2020:** Freeman charged Derek Chauvin and three other officers.[^2] - **September 11, 2020:** Cahill disqualified Freeman and three staff lawyers from the George Floyd cases after staff met with the medical examiner.[^1] - **April 20, 2021:** The Attorney General's team obtained Chauvin's conviction.[^3] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue record carries one pair on the order: [[At issue 003 - Michael O. Freeman held the Hennepin County Attorney's]]. The pair is dated September 11, 2020. It restates the disqualification and records that Freeman held the office for twenty-four years across two tenures.[^1][^4] The pair names a March 2025 presidential action, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos*, as its federal anchor. That document does not address Cahill's order.[^6] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Michael O. Freeman* — source cited in the project's validated Freeman record for the September 11, 2020 disqualification by Judge Peter Cahill of Freeman and three staff lawyers after staff met with the medical examiner. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_O._Freeman [^2]: Wikipedia, *Michael O. Freeman* — Freeman's 2020 charging of Chauvin and three other officers, and the recall petition drive citing the charging delay and his refusal to recuse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_O._Freeman [^3]: Wikipedia, *Michael O. Freeman* — Freeman's "strategic advice and coordination" to Attorney General Ellison's team, and Chauvin's conviction on April 20, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_O._Freeman [^4]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Legislator record: Michael Orville Freeman* — Senate District 40 service, 1982–1991, and Hennepin County Attorney terms as compiled in the project's record. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10197 [^5]: Wikipedia, *Michael O. Freeman* — county attorney tenures, Senate service, and the 1994 and 1998 DFL endorsement and primary results. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_O._Freeman [^6]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (March 2025) — the presidential action named as the federal anchor of the at-issue pair; it is not a source for the September 11, 2020 order. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/