Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of second-degree murder in the death of George Floyd, has filed a new appeal in an effort to overturn his conviction and secure a retrial. According to filings submitted last month in Hennepin County District Court, Chauvin argues that several legal and procedural errors compromised the fairness of his trial.
In the appeal, first reported by Fox News, Chauvin claims that the court relied on flawed medical testimony when establishing the cause of Floyd’s death. He disputes the conclusions of four physicians who reviewed the medical examiner’s findings, accusing them of using methods that leaned heavily on video evidence rather than widely accepted scientific practices. Chauvin says he now has expert witnesses prepared to testify that the methodology used by those doctors is not standard within the medical community.
Beyond the medical debate, Chauvin also takes aim at testimony from Minneapolis Police Department supervisors, who told the court that kneeling on a suspect’s neck was not part of MPD training. The filing now includes sworn statements from 34 current and former Minneapolis officers who say the maneuver was indeed taught during use-of-force training — a key point Chauvin believes undermines the prosecution’s argument that he violated departmental policy.
Chauvin further claims the court violated his constitutional right to due process, arguing that the jury received improper instructions and that the intense public scrutiny surrounding the case created an environment that prevented an impartial verdict.
Chauvin is currently serving two sentences: a 21-year federal sentence for violating George Floyd’s civil rights, and a 22.5-year state sentence for second-degree murder. He is being held at a low-security federal prison in Big Spring, Texas, with a scheduled release date of 2038.
The appeal is the latest development in a case that sparked global protests, ignited conversations about policing and racial justice, and remains one of the most defining moments in recent American history. Chauvin’s legal challenge is expected to draw significant public attention as the court reviews whether any of his arguments warrant reopening one of the most consequential cases of the decade
