FOG BLOG U.S. NEWS LOG: DEREK CHAUVIN TRIAL IN THE DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD

The Black Lives Matter movement and the debate it sparked over police practices and funding after the death of George Floyd has played a central role in selecting jurors for the first trial of a police officer charged with killing him.

During the first week of jury selection in the trial of Derek Chauvin—who can be seen in widely circulated video footage with his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck—lawyers on both sides often focused their questioning on Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter and how jurors answered a questionnaire item about “defunding the Minneapolis Police Department.”

Animating the line of questions: a desire to divine whether potential jurors can put aside their personal opinions while evaluating evidence presented in court—though lawyers haven’t always been swayed by such pledges.......On Thursday, Eric Nelson, Mr. Chauvin’s attorney, pressed one potential juror who said the viral video made him think of scenes from a war. He said he had a favorable view of Black Lives Matter, the movement that among other things aims to restrict police use of force and transfer police funding to other services. And he said he supports the idea of defunding police, saying he means that he thinks “police are asked to do too much, way too much, and other entities should take that burden off them.”