If you watch the Tour de France on the telly then you know that they have a thing called the virtual yellow jersey. This indicates the person who at that moment in time in the race, if it were stopped at that moment would be the winner of the yellow jersey for the day (or the race depending on circumstances). This person usually NOT the actual race leader by the end of the stage because most times the "actual" leader gains enough time back to "restore" his lead. But the hand over does happen often enough that tracking the virtual leader is interesting and something to note.
Similarly in a criminal trial we can think of each day as a stage race. There are days where the prosecution will make a stronger "case" than the defense and depending on the circumstances, the defense makes a stronger case than the state. If I were to hand the virtual yellow jersey to a team as of today, it would be to the prosecution. This makes sense because they get to go first and their witnesses will be hostile to the defense. As I mentioned in my last posting, I think the state has made it's argument clear, though not necessarily "reasonable doubt" proof. They contend that Floyd died due to positional asphyxiation caused by Chauvin's "excessive use of force". Their argument is underscored by claims made by various experts that Fentanyl, to the extent that it affected Floyd would not allow him to be "excitable" and thus the resistant behavior of Floyd as seen by the various videos is proof that the drugs had no bearing on his death. I want to emphasize this point because it goes to the point of this post.
More than one time did an expert for the state state that Fentanyl causes a person to fall asleep and that the slowdown in respiration and heartrate is what leads to death.
Today during the morning proceedings the defense was asking the judge to allow Mr Hall's testimony to be entered into the record via the federal agent who interrogated him in Texas where he had fled to. Mr. Hall who was with Floyd on the day of his death made statements to the agent that, from the statements of the defense attorney go directly to Chauvin's defense in that he is said to have indicated that Floyd had fallen asleep at the wheel of the vehicle to the extent that they, Hall and the female companion, were concerned for their safety had Floyd actually driven.
This is important because IF it can be shown that Floyd had taken Fentanyl (among other things) that caused his body to start shutting down, then it would show that Floyd was well on his way to dying regardless of what Chauvin did to him. It would underscore why Floyd was stating that he couldn't breath prior to being placed on the ground. His apparent "spike" in behavior may have been a temporary effect of the "excitement" of being arrested or something else that I am unaware of. But once he calmed down, or the adrenaline wore off, he continued his inevitable slide to the "great beyond".
Hall is in a position to provide that information. The state apparently knows this and has decided to block Hall from testifying. Hall's testimony has the potential to blow many reasonable doubt holes into the state's case. The state could and should grant Hall immunity so that he can testify without having to take the 5th, which is his right.
Now the Jury doesn't know about this. I'm not even sure if they know that Hall has invoked a blanket 5th amendment stand., If he doesn't testify and his statement given to the FBI agent is not put into the record and presented to the jury, I would think it would be grounds for appeal should Chauvin be found guilty.
I don't think the Judge can force the state to grant Hall immunity. I definitely know that the judge cannot force Hall to not "plead the 5th". Since defense has made it clear that Hall's testimony establishes an, if not THE important lines of defense for Chauvin, I believe the judge will allow some if not all of his testimony to the agent to be entered into record.
