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Motion Filed To Urge George Floyd Murder Trial Judge To Reinstate Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman To Case

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Hennepin County Attorney's office has filed a motion Monday to urge the judge presiding over the George Floyd murder trial to reinstate County Attorney Mike Freeman and three other county lawyers to the case.

Freeman and his colleagues were disqualified Friday by Judge Peter Cahill during a pre-trial hearing to consider motions. The move was requested by the attorneys representing all four of the former Minneapolis police officers charged in Floyd's death: Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng.

READ MORE: 'Floyd Family Attorney: 'Overdose Of Excessive Force And Racism By The MPD' Killed George Floyd

At the hearing, Cahill said the county prosecutors engaged in "sloppy" conduct for conferring with Chief Hennepin County Medical Examiner Dr. Andrew Baker two days after Floyd's death in May.

Mike Freeman
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman (credit: CBS)

Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Joshua Larson defended his colleagues' interview of Baker in his motion, stating it was not a violation of Rule 3.7 of the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct, which Cahill cited as his main reasoning for removing Freeman and his associates.

"There is no rule which requires the inclusion of a non-attorney witness when speaking to an experienced and routine government witness," Larson wrote.

Judge Cahill has not been asked to reconsider the motion by any particular date.

READ MORE: The People's Floyd Commission Seeks To Spur Minneapolis Police Reform

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