MN Supreme Court Overturns Mohamed Noor's Murder Conviction

Racial Reckoning: The Arc of Justice

The ruling will likely result in a shorter sentence for Noor and has implications for the conviction of former police officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd.

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Georgia Fort reports:

The conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor was overturned Wednesday by the Minnesota Supreme Court. Noor was convicted of 3rd degree murder and second degree manslaughter for fatally shooting Justine Ruszczyk in 2017.

“Now we have Noor who is going to get a lesser sentence,” said legal analyst Lee Hutton. “And I believe if I calculated right, when this goes back to the trial court to determine the correct sentence he may be out in October of this year.”

Hutton says the Supreme Court ruling has broader implications; Noor’s case was used as a legal precedent to charge former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin with third degree murder.

“Chauvin has an appeal circulating in the court of appeals and so the court of appeals is going to take direction from the Supreme Court. And I do believe this 3rd degree murder charge is going to be erased or overturned because of these new developments. Now that doesn’t mean that Chauvin is going to be a free man and get out of prison because he is still convicted on other charges.”

Meanwhile, Chauvin and the other three former officers involved in George Floyd’s death plead not guilty in federal court Tuesday. They’re charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights. More than a dozen

more pretrial hearings are expected before the federal trial will begin.