MINNEAPOLIS — A judge lifted his soft gag order on attorneys in the criminal case against four former police officers charged in death of George Floyd. County Judge Peter Cahill conceded that his admonition to the attorneys to be tight-lipped wasn’t working. Also, the judge accepted the defense attorneys’ argument that the gag order was unfair because it impeded their ability to defend against negative publicity. Although he lifted the gag, Judge Cahill expressed disappointment that some attorneys had tiptoed around the order by speaking as anonymous sources to news reporters. The judge said attorneys would still be subject to court rules to avoid pretrial publicity. On a related matter, Cahill said that he would not hold the lead prosecutor, Attorney General Keith Ellison, in contempt of court. Two defense attorneys had asked for contempt against Ellison for announcing that additional attorneys would be assisting the prosecution. The judge said that Ellison’s announcement was innocuous.
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