Judge: Rep. Waters' remarks 'may result in this whole trial being overturned'

Judge Peter Cahill told Derek Chauvin’s defense team that statements made in Brooklyn Center by Rep. Maxine Waters over the weekend "may result in this whole trial being overturned." 

Cahill’s statement was directed to defense attorney Eric Nelson after he called for the case to be thrown out because of Waters’ remarks. Cahill denied the motion, saying, "The congresswoman’s opinion doesn’t matter a whole lot."

Cahill said, however, that Waters’ words could be grounds for an appeal of the case.

"Well, I’ll give you that Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned," Cahill said.

Over the weekend, in front of reporters, Waters said, "I hope we get a verdict that says guilty, guilty, guilty. And if we don’t, we cannot go away. We’ve got to stay on the street. We get more active, we’ve got to get more confrontational. We’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business."

The jurors began deliberations after closing arguments Monday afternoon.