Derek Chauvin Files New Petition to Vacate Murder Conviction

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin requested the Minnesota Court of Appeals to stay his pending appeal to present new claims challenging the legality of his prosecution in the 2020 murder of George Floyd.

Attorneys representing Chauvin filed the motion on August 18, 2026, seeking to return the case to the local trial court. The defense argues that procedural violations occurred when Governor Tim Walz assigned Attorney General Keith Ellison to lead the prosecution.

The defense team asserts that this transfer of authority, along with the lack of a grand jury proceeding, created non-waivable structural errors that deprived Chauvin of due process during his original trial.

"Mr. Chauvin became aware of additional violations of Mr. Chauvin’s due process rights in the unlawful assignment of authority by Governor Tim Walz to Attorney General Keith Ellison to prosecute State v. Chauvin," defense attorneys stated in the court filing.

This latest legal action follows a May 1 decision in which a judge denied Chauvin's third petition for post-conviction relief. Chauvin subsequently filed an appeal against that denial in June, which his legal team now seeks to pause.

Public figures have weighed in on the ongoing legal proceedings surrounding the conviction.

"Derek Chauvin was unjustly convicted of murder, therefore he should be freed. The facts show that he was not the cause of death, nor did he at any time intend for a death to occur. Whatever else he may be, he is not a murderer. That is the truth," Elon Musk wrote in a post on X.

Chauvin was convicted in April 2021 of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter after kneeling on Floyd's neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds. Previous appeals by his legal team were rejected in 2023 and 2025.

Separately, Minneapolis union leader Marcia Howard referenced anti-ICE enforcement efforts during a speech at the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario convention held August 17 to 20 in Toronto.

"[p]eople that are actively engaged in ICE watch, in being vigilant in protecting our neighbors, in Signal chat groups, running plates, in their cars doing patrols," Howard said during an interview detailing community surveillance efforts.

Howard noted that local union leadership and public officials participated in these organizational communication channels.

"Our bosses are in the Signal chats with us," Howard said in the interview.

Howard further stated that local educators joined the active monitoring efforts.

"Our elected officials are in the chats with us," Howard said.

Chauvin remains incarcerated in federal prison, where he is serving a concurrent 21-year sentence for federal civil rights violations alongside his state conviction.