A US judge has begun selecting jurors in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis policeman facing murder and manslaughter charges for his role in the death of George Floyd during an arrest that caused an outcry around the world.
Judge Peter Cahill of the Hennepin County District Court did so over the objections of state prosecutors, who say the high-stakes trial should not begin until a higher court resolves how many criminal charges Mr Chauvin should face.
The prosecutors asked the Minnesota Court of Appeals yesterday, originally scheduled to be the first day of jury selection, to order Judge Cahill to delay the trial, which has involved barricading parts of downtown Minneapolis for fear of civil unrest.
"There is no need for this kind of uncertainty in any case, let alone a case of this magnitude," the prosecutors from the Minnesota attorney general's office wrote in their petition to the appeals court.
It was not clear whether the higher court would intervene, and Judge Cahill said he believed he had jurisdiction to proceed unless he was ordered otherwise.
The court posted prospective jurors an unusually detailed16-page questionnaire last year asking them what they know about Mr Floyd's death, and asking for their opinions on the Black Lives Matter movement.
The judge called in six potential jurors, who have been promised anonymity for the duration of the trial, asking them if they knew any of the parties involved.
Mr Chauvin briefly stood when his lawyer introduced him to the panel.
The judge and lawyers then sent out the group and called potential jurors in one at a time for questioning about possible biases.
The 44-year-old accused's lawyers have up to 15 peremptory challenges by which they can exclude a juror without having to cite a reason, while the prosecutors have nine.
The first potential juror conceded that she did not speak English well and wrote that she wanted to be on the jury because she would like to give her "opinion on the unjust death of George Floyd."
Mr Chauvin's lawyers used up one of their peremptory challenges and she was dismissed.
The clear plexiglass screens arranged around the court as a precaution against the coronavirus were then adjusted after Judge Cahill realised potential jurors could be seen as a faint reflection on the video broadcast of proceedings.
The second potential juror, who appeared to be white, described himself as a chemist working in an environmental testing laboratory who said he "somewhat disagreed" with the assertion that Minneapolis police generally use disproportionate force against Black people.
He said he supported the Black Lives Matter movement, saying he understood it to mean that "all lives matter equally."
The judge told him soon after that he would be the first juror to be selected.
Also chosen was a young woman who appeared to be biracial who said she would be "super-excited" to serve on the jury and would not be influenced by the fact her uncle is a police officer.
The trial on charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter had been scheduled to begin yesterday.
But the judge was stopped by an 11th-hour ruling by the Minnesota Court of Appeals on Friday that ordered him to reconsider the request by prosecutors to reinstate a third charge of third-degree murder.
Lawyers for Mr Chauvin asked the state Supreme Court yesterday to prevent the additional charge being applied.
He was released from jail on a $1 million bond last October and is being tried in a courtroom in the Hennepin County Government Center, a tower in downtown Minneapolis now ringed with barbed-wire fencing and concrete barricades for fear of disruption by protesters.
Mr Chauvin, who is white, and three other police officers were fired the day after the arrest on 25 May on suspicion that Mr Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, used a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes at a supermarket.
Hundreds of anti-racism demonstrators chanted in the streets around the courthouse yesterday, blocking traffic. A small number of soldiers called in from the Minnesota National Guard watched from a distance.
The judge has set aside three weeks for jury selection alone, mindful of the difficulties finding impartial Minneapolitans in the landmark case.
The image of the victim - a selfie of Mr Floyd smiling faintly - has become an international icon of racial justice.
Mr Chauvin would face up to 40 years in prison if convicted on the most serious charge.
His lawyers say he properly followed the training he was given by the Minneapolis police department.
