Derek Chauvin murder trial was 'unusual,' UW professor says
Steve Soliz
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As the eyes of the nation closely watched the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, legal scholars weighed in on how unique this case is.
Mary Fan, the Jack R. MacDonald endowed chair professor of law at the University of Washington, called the case against the former Minneapolis police officer "unusual."
“We’re getting more cases like this but, I mean, rare is it that you have a person killed on video, the pleas for a person’s life, capturing the moments right before death, captured on video to replay for a jury,” said Fan, a former prosecutor with a background in criminal law. “And, so certainly that makes this case unusual and then the callous indifference to not just repeatedly cries for help, for mercy from the victim - but also members of the public. That makes this case unusual and then the fact that law enforcement stepped forward to testify for the prosecution in this case, breaking down that so-called 'Blue Wall of Silence,' you know, that makes this case also stand out.”