Chauvin Attorney Jerry Blackwell sworn in as federal judge

Jerry Blackwell stands on the podium, taking the exam during the trial. He was wearing a light blue collared shirt, a burgundy striped tie and a dark blazer.

Jerry Blackwell questions witnesses during the trial of Derek Chauvin (via Law & Crime Network).

Special prosecutor played key role in ex-Minneapolis police officer’s alleged killing, convicts him george floyd Served as a federal judge.

lawyer Jerry Blackwell The District of Minnesota announced in a news release that it was sworn in Wednesday as a U.S. District Judge for the District of Minnesota.president joe biden He nominated Blackwell to the bench in June, more than a year after he served as lead special assistant attorney general on the prosecuting legal team Derek Chauvin Because of Floyd’s murder.

In May 2020, Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes despite pleas from bystanders to stop and Floyd repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe.” Floyd’s death sparked nationwide protests over racial injustice and police brutality, and Chauvin was convicted of murder in April 2021.

Earlier this month, the US Senate confirmed Blackwell’s appointment in a 51-43 vote.He fills the vacancy left by the top U.S. district judge susan nelsonwho was appointed Barack Obama year 2013.

“Jerry Blackwell is one of the most experienced and respected trial judges in the state of Minnesota. It is hard to imagine a more qualified attorney to serve as a U.S. District Judge,” said the Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick ShiltsA sort of george w. bush appointment, at a news conference on Wednesday. Blackwell is the third African-American to serve as a federal judge in Minnesota.

During Chauvin’s trial, Blackwell delivered opening statements laying out the case that the prosecution team would ultimately succeed, emphasizing Chauvin’s position of authority and telling jurors that Floyd would have been alive had it not been for the disgraced police officer. with.

Blackwell also delivered forceful closing arguments that focused on the helplessness of bystanders over Floyd’s death and pushed back on Chauvin’s defense that he was a “reasonable police officer.”

Blackwell is not only known for his role on Chauvin’s prosecution team.As detailed in the district court press release, in June 2020, Blackwell and his law firm, Blackwell Burke PA, obtained an appeal against the Max Mason, a young black man wrongly convicted of raping a white woman in Duluth in 1920. With three other black men charged with the same charges — which may not even have happened — being stormed out of jail by a mob of white men and lynched by hanging from lampposts would end up being one of the city’s most troubled times.

Blackwell was the founder of the Minnesota Negro Bar Association. He is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill on a Morehead-Kane Scholarship and earned a law degree from UNC School of Law.

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