Today’s verdict confirms what we all saw with our eyes: that Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd on May 25, 2020. The verdict reinforces a core principle of the rule of law—that we are all entitled to equal justice before the law. That aspiration is not always realized in our imperfect criminal justice system, but it was realized today.
Many police officers crossed the “blue line” and testified against Chauvin. But the true measure of progress in holding police officers accountable for unlawful violence will come when police officers are willing to cross that line to confront misconduct in their own ranks even in cases where there is no video.
We continue to grieve for George Floyd and mourn with his family, and to urge our members to support our colleagues—particularly Black and other lawyers of color—in this extraordinarily challenging time.