Found someone impressed with the prosecution on the first day...

Certainly an outlier, but worth a look

Although I was surprised by his detached tone, I thought Blackwell did an excellent job. I was not surprised by his use of the famous bystander video that everyone has seen.

An opening statement is not argument. It is to be limited to a summary of the evidence that will be introduced in the case. It should provide a roadmap to the case the attorney will present to the jury.

The underlying message of Blackwell’s opening is that the State has a ton of evidence they will introduce to prove up the charges against Derek Chauvin. Among the witnesses who will testify against Chauvin are the Minneapolis Chief of Police and other Minneapolis police officers.

Blackwell anticipated and undercut the testimony of Hennepin County Medical Examiner Andrew Baker. He will call a raft of experts to deal with it, including a doctor who trained Dr. Baker as medical examiner.

I watched the testimony of martial arts expert David Williams II on my cell phone. Williams was a bystander on the scene at the time of the incident. He can be heard on the video. I didn’t realize that martial arts experience made him an expert on cause of death, but he opined on the “blood choke” he observed Chauvin working on Floyd. He watched it kill him like a fish.

Williams’s testimony beyond his observations at the time are objectionable in my opinion, [UPDATE: but Judge Cahill disagrees. See his order on defendant’s motions in limine paragraph 22. I regret this oversight in my original comments here. Consistent with his ruling, Judge Cahill struck Williams’s assertion that Chauvin’s choke killed Floyd, but the jury heard it.]

This guy is a devastating witness for the State. Williams continues this morning.

Not everyone was impressed with the prosecutions opening statement or dismissive of the defense, and there was others who felt that a local bouncer trained in MMA was a not a very good choice of experts on the subject of choke holds.

But clearly the man who shares most of my name believes in the prosecutions case. There is no doubt that they have both a litany of powerful people working on behalf of the state and will provide compelling testimony from other important people from the Minneapolis area. 

More clearly,  this is a David vs Goliath sort of match up where the State will be throwing everything but the kitchen sink at these Police officers and they appear to have the help and support of most local officials including the Police Chief (who has plenty of incentive to not want to see the city burn down again if Chauvin is acquitted). The defense, on the other hand, is one local attorney with limited support from anyone.