Nationwide — Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder for the 2020 death of George Floyd, is now seeking a new trial, arguing that multiple errors and misconduct during the proceedings violated his constitutional right to due process. Chauvin’s latest filing, submitted on November 20, 2025, asks the court not only for a retrial but also for an evidentiary hearing to examine what he claims were serious problems with jury instructions and the handling of forensic testimony central to the case.
According to Fox News LA, this new appeal, Chauvin argues that the instructions given to jurors misstated Minnesota law, which he believes prevented them from properly evaluating the charges. He also revives arguments previously rejected by the Minneapolis Court of Appeals in 2023, asserting that the trial court failed to safeguard the fairness of the proceedings. His defense team says the new filing presents evidence and expert analysis that were not fully considered during the original trial.
A major focus of Chauvin’s request involves the medical findings surrounding George Floyd’s death. The filing recounts the work of Dr. Andrew Baker, the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy and concluded that Floyd died from “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression,” while noting he did not find injuries consistent with asphyxia. According to the appeal, four other physicians later reviewed the case and attributed Floyd’s death to asphyxia—opinions Chauvin argues were influenced heavily by video footage rather than universally accepted medical methodology.
Chauvin’s filing also states that he has retained a group of physicians from the Forensic Panel, who he says will testify that the state’s expert witnesses relied on techniques that are not widely accepted in the scientific community. In addition, a forensic video analyst from Critical Incident Review is expected to highlight limitations of relying on video recordings to determine the precise cause of death. Chauvin’s team alleges that the exclusion or mishandling of these perspectives during trial amounted to a violation of his due-process rights.
The filing further challenges testimony related to Minneapolis police training. At trial, three police supervisors stated that pinning a suspect with a knee to the neck was not consistent with department policy. However, Chauvin now submits 34 sworn statements from current and former Minneapolis officers who say the knee-to-neck restraint technique was, in fact, part of their training and had been used within the department. Other law-enforcement experts maintain that the maneuver is no longer found in modern training manuals and should only be used briefly until a suspect is restrained.
Chauvin remains incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Big Spring, Texas, where he is serving his federal sentence connected to the same incident. His scheduled release date is November 2037, but the outcome of this latest legal effort could shape future developments in his long-running appeals process.