President Biden on Wednesday nominated Jerry Blackwell, one of the attorneys who prosecuted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, as a federal judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota (article available here).
The White House did not mention Blackwell’s role in the Chauvin case in the announcement of the nomination.
Minnesota Attorney General appointed Blackwell to serve as a special assistant attorney general during the trial, which resulted in Chauvin’s conviction for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. Chauvin is currently serving a 22.5 year prison sentence. He appealed the conviction in April.
Blackwell is a founding partner of law firm Blackwell Burke. He received law and bachelor’s degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.