While any federal sentence is served concurrently with the state sentence, the federal sentence is likely to be longer.
Chauvin has also been formally charged with 9 counts of
state tax fraud.
Funding legal defense options:
Most Police Officers Can Draw From Law Enforcement Legal Defense Funds For Court Fees
The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association is paying Derek Chauvin's legal fees. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to Samantha Michaels of Mother Jones about how officers use these legal defense funds.
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
The trial of Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis for the death of George Floyd is expected to go on for weeks. And that means a lot of money going to lawyers.
Chauvin's defense attorney is being paid in full by a legal defense fund specifically for law enforcement officers being prosecuted in Minnesota. Most police officers around the country can freely draw from these types of funds to push through long legal battles. Samantha Michaels reported on this for Mother Jones, and she joins us now.
SHAPIRO: So you report that
the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association has hundreds of thousands of dollars set aside for these kinds of cases.
MICHAELS: I think these funds are one factor in that outcome.
It ensures that they have enough money to sustain potentially very long criminal trials.
The
Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association has a million dollar fund for Minnesota law enforcement officer's legal defense.
How much more can the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association pay for Chauvin when they know Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao are going to trial this summer? The officer that shot Daunte Wright will need legal funds. Chauvin could be looking at a retrial for his Minnesota charges. Chauvin had a
12 lawyer team for his Minnesota trial.
I doubt that the association is able/willing to drain their entire legal fund on 5 officers.
Those officers charged for state and federal crimes related to law enforcement can draw money from the
National Fraternal Order Of Police IF they are members.
Imo, Chauvin is fucked financially. He has to pay for the tax evasion charges himself. He and his fellow officers might have to fund their federal legal defense themselves.