Retired Judge in Derek Chauvin Trial Speaks Out for the First Time, Says Proceedings Were a 'Highlight' of His Career

Judge Peter Cahill is reflecting on his legacy as a Minnesota judge — and speaking out for the first time about the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murdering George Floyd in 2021.

In a new interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune, the retired judge, 66, opened up about his “biases” going into the tumultuous trial and said that while he believes the case is a “highlight” in his decades-long career, it doesn’t define it.

“Part of my training is to check my bias. And to be honest, I think I have a pro-police bias … that I have to be careful not to act on,” Cahill told the outlet, further explaining that his brother was previously an officer in Wisconsin, and another one of his relatives works in law enforcement.

Cahill also spoke about how the political nature of the case annoyed him, as politicians spoke out about Floyd’s death, and some called for system-wide change.

“It did not help that people were saying ‘defund the police’ — all these idiots on the Minneapolis City Council,” he said, adding that he wanted a “good, nice, clean trial” in which the jury would not be influenced by the news or politicians.

The judge also quipped about denying Chauvin’s attorney’s request to change the venue to another county, telling the Star Tribune, “What, are we going to change the venue to Mars?”

According to the judge, he knew from the moment that Chauvin was arrested and later charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter that he might be on the list of judges asked to take on the case. But despite feeling qualified to oversee the highly politicized trial, he still didn’t necessarily “want it.”

“It’s duty, honor, country when it comes right down to it,” he said.

The Star Tribune reported that Cahill received some advice and well-wishes from other U.S. judges who took on similarly high-profile court cases that were heavily covered by the media — including Lance Ito, who oversaw O.J. Simpson’s 1995 murder trial.

Cahill said he got a card from Ito, 74, wishing him “peace and wisdom” in Chauvin’s trial.

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Cahill also opened up about his decision to broadcast the entire criminal trial, which marked the first time that a trial had been broadcast in Minnesota’s history and set a precedent that allowed for more cameras in the state’s courtrooms.

“I thought, no one will trust the result — from either end — if they don’t see what’s going on,” Cahill told the Star Tribune. “All of us hate the spotlight, and we’d rather just do our jobs, but I certainly don’t regret it.”

The judge also shared that he received tons of hate mail at his office and personal address, as well as voicemails and more.

“I hate extremists on both ends. Most of the hate mail was, ‘You should have given him life.’ You had pastors condemning me to hell for my ‘light sentence,'” he said, adding that others called for him to pardon Chauvin, which judges cannot legally do.

Jurors eventually found Chauvin guilty of all three charges in the 2020 killing of Floyd, an act which was caught on viral video and fueled a national reckoning on social justice, race and police brutality.

Cahill sentenced Chauvin to 22.5 years in prison for the murder, and he said at the time that the length of the sentence — which exceeded the state’s sentencing guidelines that recommended 12.5 years — owed to Chauvin’s “abuse of a position of trust and authority, and also the particular cruelty shown to George Floyd.”

In a written sentencing memo, Cahill said Chauvin “treated Mr. Floyd without respect and denied him the dignity owed to all human beings.”

The judge told the Star Tribune that while he is now retired and doesn’t often reflect on the case, he still counts the trial as one of the most significant in his career.

According to Cahill, he donated items from the trial — including his COVID-19 mask, robes, notes, several boxes of hate mail and even his glasses — to the Minnesota Historical Society.

“I changed my look so I don’t look like ‘that Chauvin judge,’ ” he added.