Chauvin sentencing pushed back to June 25

Two men sit behind a desk.
Defense attorney Eric Nelson (left) and defendant former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin (right) listen to the judge ahead of opening statements on Monday
Screenshot of Court TV video

Sentencing for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in George Floyd's killing has been pushed back to June 25, according to online court records.

Chauvin's June 16 hearing was reset by Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill. A brief entry Thursday in the online court docket gave no reason, but court spokesperson Spenser Bickett said it was moved due a scheduling conflict.

The hearing time remains 1:30 p.m.

Chauvin, 45, was convicted April 20 of all three counts against him: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Under Minnesota statutes he’ll only be sentenced on the most serious one — second-degree murder.

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While that count carries a maximum sentence of 40 years, experts say he won’t get that much. They say that for all practical purposes, the maximum he would face is 30 years, and he could get less. The presumptive sentence for a second-degree murder conviction without a previous criminal record is about 12 years. The judge has discretion to sentence Chauvin to more or less time in prison.

Prosecutors in the case have asked the judge to impose a longer sentence because of what they consider five aggravating factors such as Floyd's vulnerability, given that he was in handcuffs while Chauvin pressed his knee to his neck for more than 9 minutes. The deadly restraint also happened in the presence of children.

Cahill has also recently ruled that the identity of jurors will be kept secret for at least another six months to avoid media scrutiny in the case.

The convictions came after a jury deliberated for parts of two days following three weeks of testimony from bystanders, medical experts and police use-of-force trainers.