(MINNEAPOLIS) — Derek Chauvin’s murder trial kicked off Wednesday with Judge Peter Cahill quashing a subpoena for Morries Hall, who was in a car with George Floyd the day he died, to testify.
Hall was in the car with Floyd before he was restrained on May 25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Hall has been identified during trial testimony as a suspected drug dealer from whom Floyd obtained narcotics.
He said he wanted to invoke the Fifth Amendment to avoid any incriminating testimony.
“I’m fearful of criminal charges going forward. I have open charges that’s not settled yet,” Hall said Wednesday.
Judge Cahill wanted to hear limited questions that he believed wouldn’t incriminate Hall, but his lawyers argued any questions would jeopardize his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
The defense wanted to hear about Floyd’s behavior in the build up to his arrest, in their argument that drugs led to his death, more than Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck.
The prosecution in the high-profile trial rested its case Tuesday and the defense called several witnesses to the stand, including use-of-force expert Barry Vance Brodd, who said he felt Chauvin was “justified” in restraining Floyd.
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