St. Thomas Law Professor Mark Osler spoke with The New York Times on ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's recent sentencing and civil rights charges.
From the article: They also faced federal civil rights charges in addition to state murder charges, a move that Mark Osler, a former federal prosecutor and law professor at the University of St. Thomas in the Twin Cities, said was more than a practical safeguard against acquittals or successful appeals in state court.
“It was the federal government making a statement about this case being important nationally,” he said. “And it also was a conviction on something beyond what we saw in the state — it was about the deprivation of civil rights, not just the killing of George Floyd.”
