MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's sentencing date has been pushed back to June 25, Minnesota court records show.
Chauvin's sentencing date was originally set for June 16. At the hearing, Chauvin will likely learn how long he will spend in prison for the murder of George Floyd.
The hearing will happen at the same time of day at which it was originally scheduled: 1:30 p.m. CT. A court spokesman told KARE 11 Chauvin's sentencing was pushed back due to a scheduling conflict.
Chauvin was convicted on April 20 of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter, after a jury found he caused Floyd's death by kneeling on his neck for more than 9 minutes.
Before Chauvin is sentenced, a presentencing investigation will be performed. Retired Judge LaJune Lange tells KARE 11 it is the equivalent of a "background check" for the defendant, in which other factors can be gathered to help the judge determine the length of the sentence.
Because all three charges are for the same course of conduct, the sentence for the most serious count will determine how long Chauvin stays in prison. That crime is second-degree unintentional murder, and under Minnesota sentencing guidelines the presumptive sentence is 12 and a half years for a person without a criminal record.
But prosecutors also filed a "Blakely" motion for an upward departure based on aggravating factors. Chauvin waived his right to have a jury decide whether those factors are enough to justify a longer sentence, and instead chose to have Judge Cahill make the decision on his own.
Cahill could consider a heavier sentence up to the statutory maximum of 40 years based on the prosecution's Blakely motion, or decide there are no aggravating factors and use his discretion to hand down a sentence as short as 10 years and 8 months, or as long as 15 years on the second-degree murder charge.