Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has filed an appeal contesting a judge's decision that rejected his bid for a new trial in the murder case of George Floyd. Chauvin's legal team is challenging the judge's May 1 order, which denied his entire petition for post-conviction relief.
The petition, filed in November 2025, argued that prosecutors improperly used video evidence, that jury instructions were legally flawed, and that police officials provided false testimony. However, the judge applied Minnesota's Knaffla rule, which typically bars defendants from raising issues in post-conviction proceedings that were already addressed on direct appeal or could have been raised earlier.
The judge concluded that Chauvin's claims fell into one of these two categories, thus denying the petition. Chauvin was convicted in April 2021 for the murder of George Floyd, who died after Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds while Floyd was handcuffed and face-down on the ground. This resulted in a fatal lack of oxygen to Floyd's brain.
Gregory Joseph, a criminal defense attorney, is representing Chauvin in his appeal efforts. Joseph was not Chauvin's attorney during his initial trial. Chauvin was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for the killing.