Derek Chauvin: Judge reinstates murder charge against officer who knelt on George Floyd's neck

Jury selection is under way in trial of former Minneapolis police officer

Derek Chauvin in court on 8 March 2021 (Reuters)

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer on trial for killing George Floyd, is facing a newly-reinstated charge of third-degree murder.

A Hennepin County judge reinstated the charge - which was dismissed in October - but the state appealed the decision, ordering Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill to reconsider.

The third-degree murder charge - sometimes called a "depraved mind" murder - was brought against Mr Chauvin in the days following the death of Mr Floyd, but was later dropped by Mr Cahill, who said the charge did not apply to the circumstances of the case.

Mr Chauvin has pleaded not guilty.

Third-degree murder charges are not common. Only three states use the charge - Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Florida.

Typically, murder charges are broken up between first-degree and second-degree murder, both of which require the proof that there was intent behind a killing.

A third-degree murder is essentially when someone unintentionally kills someone while doing something dangerous.

In most states, a death occurring under those circumstances would result in manslaughter charges. The third-degree murder and manslaughter charges differ in that the former requires the killer to have been acting with malice, or in a depraved way - hence the "depraved mind" moniker.

The state previously tried another Minneapolis police officer, Mohamed Noor, using the charges.

Noor was convicted of third-degree murder after prosecutors alleged he shot his gun at someone outside his car window. The prosecutors argued that Noor killed the person he was shooting at, Justine Ruszczyk, and put his partner in danger.

Mr Chauvin's defence team has tried to distance itself from Noor's case, arguing that the two are procedurally different and that third-degree murder should not be applied to their client. However, prosecutors pointed to the legal precedent set by Noor's case, and said the judge was bound to follow.

Last month, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a motion asking the court to reinstate the charge, again relying on Noor's case as precedent.

Appellate court Judge Michelle Larkin ruled on the motion and agreed with the state. Ms Larkin said the district court "erred by concluding that it was not bound by the principles of law set forth in Noor and by denying the state's motion to reinstate the charge of third-degree murder on that basis."

"We therefore reverse the district court's order and remand for the district court to reconsider the state's motion to reinstate the third-degree murder charge in light of this court's precedential opinion in Noor," Ms Larkin said in a summary.

Under Minnesota law, the maximum prison sentence for a second-degree murder is 40 years and for a third-degree murder is 25 years.