Fox News Guest Accuses BLM-Supporting Derek Chauvin Juror of ‘Lying’ to Get on Jury
A criminal defense attorney on Fox News made the argument that Derek Chauvin’s murder trial was “infiltrated” by a biased jury member, which could create fertile ground for a new trial over the death of George Floyd.
Jonna Spilbor joined Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer on Wednesday and declared that Chauvin’s defense has a “slam dunk reason” to overturn his conviction.
“The irony is not lost that most people lie to get out of jury duty. I think what we have here is somebody who lied to get on jury duty, specifically for this case, because we now have newly discovered information that a person on the juror is either a member of, or proponent of [Black Lives Matter]. You cannot have a member of BLM on this particular jury any more than than you could put a mother against drunk driving on a DWI trial. You absolutely cannot do that.”
Spilbor was referring to the recent news that Brandon Mitchell, one of the jurors in the Chauvin trial, once posted a picture of himself on social media wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt emblazoned with the words “Get your knee off our necks.” Since all the jurors in the trial had to fill out a questionnaire beforehand on whether they or anyone close to them “participated in protests about police use of force or police brutality,” Mitchell’s shirt has prompted questions about his impartiality to the case.
Mitchell told the Minneapolis Star Tribune he wore the shirt while attending a D.C. march to honor the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.‘s “I Have a Dream” speech. He said he didn’t view the event as a statement against police brutality, but its possible Chauvin’s lawyers will incorporate Mitchell’s shirt into their argument to appeal their client’s conviction.
Hemmer noted that Mitchell was “honest and upfront” about his support for the Black Lives Matter movement when he filled out his questionnaire before the trial. The Fox host also questioned Spilbor on whether the annual MLK rally would connect to the Chauvin case.
“I can make an argument he lied on his jury questionnaire,” Spilbor responded. “We’re looking at a picture of a t-shirt that he is wearing with basically a phrase that was born from this particular case…If you want to be anti- Derek Chauvin, that’s fine ,but you cannot participate on the jury that decided his fate if that’s how you believe. You can march in the streets, you can have any kind of belief you want, but you cannot also sit on that jury.”
Hemmer asked her after that how she could determine if this had an impact on the jury.
“No. Now it is going to be completely impossible [to determine],” she answered. “It would be hard under any circumstances which is why this judge, Judge Cahill needs to say to himself what will the appellate court do if I don’t give this man a new trial?”
Watch above for her response, via Fox News.
