Derek Chauvin Appeals Judge’s Denial of New Trial in George Floyd Murder Case

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is again challenging the court system, asking judges to revisit his bid for a new trial.

According to court filings, Chauvin has appealed a judge’s ruling that rejected his request for post-conviction relief.

Chauvin was found guilty in April 2021 in the murder of George Floyd. Court records show the former officer pressed his knee onto Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds as Floyd lay face-down, handcuffed on the pavement; Floyd died after being deprived of oxygen to the brain.

On June 29, Chauvin, through criminal defense attorney Gregory Joseph, appealed the judge’s May 1 denial of his petition.

“None of the claims raised in this Petition for Post-Conviction Relief warrant relief,” the 41-page order stated.

The judge denied Chauvin’s entire post-conviction petition more than five months after it was initially filed in November 2025.

The petition’s arguments include prosecutors improperly relying on video evidence, jury instructions being legally flawed, and police officials giving false testimony among others.

In the May 1 order, the judge repeatedly applied Minnesota’s Knaffla rule, which generally prevents defendants from using post-conviction proceedings to raise issues that were already decided on direct appeal, or could have been raised earlier but were not.

The judge concluded that essentially every one of Chauvin’s claims fit into one of those two categories.

Joseph was not Chauvin’s defense attorney for his initial trial, KTTC reported. Joseph has represented him following his conviction and continued appeal efforts.