Harry's Gang: Legal definitions crucial in high-profile police charges

Criminal cases take up about 80 percent or so of the district court’s time in Minnesota, so it’s no surprise that people think all lawyers should know and understand criminal law. But for a civil lawyer like me, I do so little criminal work that I thought I should ask an expert criminal defense attorney, such as Joanna Wiegert, whose office is right next to the Pine Knot News, to explain what it means to be charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, like the policeman in Minneapolis.

Here’s what she told me.

“Third-degree murder has been called the “depraved heart” murder. There’s no intent or premeditation. It means the perpetrator acting in an inherently dangerous manner that resulted in the death of the victim,” Wiegert said. The textbook example is the person randomly shooting a gun without regard for who’s around. “The act must cause the death; and if a superseding event causes the death, like a heart attack, then the defendant is not guilty.”

Wiegert then explained the lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter. “It’s when death occurs as the result of a perpetrator creating unreasonably risky circumstances that clearly could result in death or great bodily harm. Again, death caused by a superseding event, like a heart attack, is a defense,” she said.

Wiegert then went on to explain the process. “At trial (if it makes it that far — most cases get settled by plea bargain) the prosecution needs to convince the jury that the officer’s act of kneeling on Mr. Floyd caused his death, that the officer intended to kneel on Mr. Floyd, and did so recklessly and with wanton disregard, knowing that it could result in death. (i.e., the officer kneeled on Mr. Floyd knowing that it could kill him, but didn’t care about the risk to life and did it anyway.) In the manslaughter count, prosecution needs to convince the jury that the officer’s kneeling created a clear risk of death or great bodily harm that a reasonable person would have realized,” she said.

I also asked Joanna why there’s even a trial, since so many people have seen the video and think it’s an open-and-shut case.

“There is always information that is not readily available to the public,” she said. “Cases should never be tried in the media and left to the court of public opinion. Every defendant is entitled to untainted due process.”

Wiegert mentioned she wondered why they didn’t charge the cop with second-degree felony murder.

“That’s when death occurs during the commission of a felony,” she explained. “Here, the prosecution pretty much just needs to show that the perpetrator was in the course of committing a felony when the victim died. Normally, prosecutors charge the most serious offense they think they can potentially cobble together, understanding that they will probably plea it down to a lesser included offense. Here, it seems prosecutors don’t have a great deal of confidence in their case.”

And sure enough, the day after I talked to Joanna, the state went ahead and added second-degree felony murder. See? I told you she was an expert criminal defense attorney.

I believe the court system works, and justice is served well in our courts, even though the public doesn’t always agree. That’s because the courts don’t ask for votes on sentences and charges, but rather follow a complex and fair system to dole out justice. The courts should not be swayed by public opinion; they should rule based on the law and justice. Pontius Pilate tried to dole out criminal justice by will of the people, and look how that turned out.

I’m confident justice will be served in the case of Derek Chauvin, even though we may be outraged at the end. Many will feel he wasn’t punished enough; some will feel he was treated too harshly. But it’s comforting to know that if you ever have to face the criminal justice system, your case will be treated without bias or passion, and your rights will be protected at every turn. Take comfort knowing the justice system works. But buy some plywood and a fire extinguisher just in case — there’s no telling how the public will react when this cop’s justice comes due.

Pete Radosevich is the publisher of the Pine Knot News community newspaper and an attorney in Esko who hosts the talk show Harry’s Gang on CAT-7. He can be reached at [email protected].