06/12/2023
Minnesota attorney general Ellison debuts with a detailed insider’s account of the 2021 trial of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, whose death in 2020 ignited protests around the nation and invigorated the Black Lives Matter movement. Ellison begins by offering a litany of earlier cases in which prosecutors failed to convict defendant police officers for murder. He presents reasons why such convictions are so difficult, among them jury bias in favor of police, judicial rulings that benefit the defense, and prosecutors’ tendency to dismiss charges. Recounting his role as lead prosecutor in the Chauvin case, Ellison describes how these and other obstacles factored into the trial. “No aspect of the Floyd case more out of the ordinary than the governor’s decision to appoint the attorney general for the prosecution,” writes Ellison, claiming that this was essential for overcoming the “embedded conflict of interest” present when local prosecutors bring a case against local law enforcement. He also highlights the critical role of the judge in the Chauvin trial, who took extra measures to weed out biased jury members and clamp down on prejudicial comments from counsel. Grounding his argument in hard-won experience, Ellison presents a lucid and comprehensive template for the prosecution of police officers accused of violent crimes. Readers will come away feeling cautiously optimistic. (May)
An intimate account of a truly consequential courtroom confrontation, in BREAK THE WHEEL, Keith Ellison has written a searing, compelling tale of the struggle for justice. Ellison reminds us well how the death of George Floyd will not—must not—be forgotten and how that tragic death has truly made a difference in our legal system. BREAK THE WHEEL is an unforgettable reading experience.”—Eric Holder, former U.S. attorney general Sherrilyn Ifill, former president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund Ben Crump, civil rights attorney Van Jones, CNN host Barry Scheck, director, The Innocence Project Neal Katyal, former U.S. deputy solicitor general Kirkus Review Booklist Review
2023-03-25
In a lucidly written narrative that deftly handles a variety of legal tangles, Ellison, Minnesota’s attorney general, observes that, though he was deeply troubled by Floyd’s murder and its place in a “wheel of policing” of deeply embedded racism, he was obligated by his oath of office to be evenhanded and fair—and more, “to be perceived that way.” In a season of unalloyed injustice, a swirl of police killings of other young Black men, this was easier said than done. The Minnesota AG’s office assumed ownership of the case from the start, unusually, with some legal experts assuming that the officer charged in the killing, Derek Chauvin, could not receive a fair trial in the city. Instead, Ellison and his team, sometimes against and sometimes with the cooperation of the defense, selected “the single most diverse jury I had ever impaneled”—no easy matter in itself. The argument Ellison and his team mounted was not simply that Chauvin had gone murderously rogue as his fellow officers stood by (and refused to allow a passing paramedic to examine Floyd), but that Chauvin and company knew they were violating procedure. On that note—and of systematic application in examining police brutality elsewhere—Ellison writes, “Something buried inside the culture of the MPD determined the behavior Chauvin displayed and the other three mirrored, regardless of training, policy, or strategy.” That culture, he suggests, requires thoroughgoing reform that may not be politically popular; the test for him came soon after the trial. “Can a prosecutor charge, prosecute, and convict an officer and survive reelection?” Ellison asks meaningfully. “The voters said yes. But so much more needs to be done.”
A vital contribution not just to the literature of the Floyd trial, but to that of police reform generally.
An intimate account of a truly consequential courtroom confrontation, in BREAK THE WHEEL, Keith Ellison has written a searing, compelling tale of the struggle for justice. Ellison reminds us well how the death of George Floyd will not—must not—be forgotten and how that tragic death has truly made a difference in our legal system. BREAK THE WHEEL is an unforgettable reading experience.
former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder
Despite what we all know about the torture and murder of George Floyd, the story of the Herculean legal effort to bring the officers who killed Floyd to justice has never been told—until now. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison takes us through the compelling story of the painstaking, extraordinary effort he led to prosecute the officers who committed the most infamous racial murder by police in the history of our country.
former president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund Sherrilyn Ifill
BREAK THE WHEEL is a compelling tale of standing up for George Floyd. Keith Ellison has produced an engaging, anecdote-laden account that leaves the reader with an increased respect for his pursuit of justice and life in the law.
civil rights attorney Ben Crump
Keith Ellison’s book is the definitive work on the George Floyd murder trial. As one of his special prosecutors in the case, I saw everything firsthand and cannot imagine a more gripping and incisive account of this historic trial. It’s truly must-read.
former U.S. deputy solicitor general Neal Katyal
Keith Ellison has written a complete and courageous account of the trial of Derek Chauvin. Without Ellison’s diligence, Chauvin might have walked free. BREAK THE WHEEL engages all stakeholders in a bold and honest conversation.
Narrating with authority, author Keith Ellison brings his research and life experience to the listener. The Minnesota Attorney General examines the history of police violence and the roles various participants in the U.S. justice system have played in perpetuating or trying to end this historic cycle. Ellison's voice is deep, animated, and appropriately compassionate in detailing the life, murder, and subsequent trial surrounding the death of George Floyd. Each chapter reveals another spoke in the wheel of the system as he details the trial of Derek Chauvin. Ellison's delivery is natural and meaningful as he covers the roles of prosecutors, heads of police unions, defendants, activists, judges, legislators, politicians, and media figures. C.F. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Narrating with authority, author Keith Ellison brings his research and life experience to the listener. The Minnesota Attorney General examines the history of police violence and the roles various participants in the U.S. justice system have played in perpetuating or trying to end this historic cycle. Ellison's voice is deep, animated, and appropriately compassionate in detailing the life, murder, and subsequent trial surrounding the death of George Floyd. Each chapter reveals another spoke in the wheel of the system as he details the trial of Derek Chauvin. Ellison's delivery is natural and meaningful as he covers the roles of prosecutors, heads of police unions, defendants, activists, judges, legislators, politicians, and media figures. C.F. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
