Mark Osler

In the News: Mark Osler on Derek Chauvin's Federal Civil Rights Trial

Law professor Mark Osler commented for KSTP News on how pleading guilty to violating George Floyd's civil rights would impact the amount of time that Derek Chauvin spends behind bars.

From the article: Under sentencing guidelines, Chauvin could get a federal penalty ranging from 27 years to more than 33 years in prison, with credit for taking responsibility, said Mark Osler, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. But the guidelines are not mandatory, and Osler estimated Chauvin would be sentenced toward the lower end of the range.

As part of the plea deal, Chauvin also pleaded guilty to violating the rights of a then-14-year-old boy during a 2017 arrest in which he held the boy by the throat, hit him in the head with a flashlight and held his knee on the boy's neck and upper back while he was prone, handcuffed and not resisting.