ST. PAUL, Minn. (Legal Newsline) - The fact that the Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday denied Derek Chauvin’s request for a public defender could become the basis for yet another appeal question, according to a law professor.
“If he has to get the case all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, this will become one of the issues in addition to any other appeal questions he tries to preserve,” said University of Minnesota Law School professor David Schultz. “He may allege that he couldn't get a fair appeal because they didn't provide a public defender.”
Schulz was responding to a critic's post on Twitter stating that ‘The Boston Bomber had 5 public defenders.’
“The Boston bomber was a death penalty case and I wonder if they gave him more public defenders because of the death penalty,” Schultz told Legal Newsline. “Second, maybe the Minnesota courts are turning their back on Derek Chauvin, which may eventually factor into an appeal.”
Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer, was convicted on April 20 of three murder and manslaughter charges in the death of George Floyd, which lead to widespread calls for police reform, as well as calls for "defunding" police.
The 45-year-old Chauvin is currently preparing an appeal.
“Everybody in the country knew about the Boston bomber case,” Schultz said. “It was probably the most famous case in the country for a while and so given the interest in Derek Chauvin, not just local but national, it would've struck me that he should have probably been given a public defender."
In her order denying access, Chief Justice Lorie Gildea wrote that Chauvin did not prove that he is indigent enough to require a public defender but she stopped short of disclosing details about his finances.
“They may not want to deal with this case,” Schultz said. “Chauvin had a divorce with his wife and there’s some concerns or allegations out there that him and his wife might be trying to hide assets. Maybe the court believes that he still has some assets out there that might materialize.”
Earlier this year, Chauvin’s divorce from Kellie Chauvin was granted after a Washington County District Judge declined to approve a settlement that would have transferred most of their assets to Kellie Chauvin, according to media reports.
“I suspect there are some alt-right leaning attorneys who would really relish the opportunity to come to his defense unless he’s toxic possibly in terms of people not wanting to be associated with the case,” Schultz added.