MINNEAPOLIS – A judge set March 8 as the tentative date to begin the trials of four former Minneapolis police officers for the hand-cuffed killing of Gorge Floyd. In the meantime, Judge Peter Cahill admonished attorneys against media interviews about the merits of their cases, about possible evidence, or about guilt or innocence. The judge stopped short of issuing a gag order. He noted that “improper public comment” could contaminate the local jury pool and that he has authority to move the trial out of Minneapolis if fairness is jeopardized. In court for Monday’s preliminary hearing through a video hookup from jail was the main defendant, Derek Chauvin. He was wearing an orange jail jumpsuit and coronavirus face mask. The other defendants, J. Alexander Kueng, Tou Thao and Thomas Lane, appeared in person in business suits. Judge Cahill set a second preliminary hearing probably on September 11.
