Federal judge nominee Jerry Blackwell ’84 on the story behind the Chauvin trial as special prosecutor

Catalyze

Trial lawyer Jerry Blackwell ’84 sat down with Catalyze hosts Sarah O’Carroll and Benny Klein ’24 to share his story of joining the prosecution team, some of the strategies behind the case, and what it was like to deliver the closing remarks of the trial.

Jerry has been nominated by President Biden to become a federal judge for the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. The alumnus is the founding partner, CEO, and chairman of Blackwell Burke P.A.

Listen to the episode.

“You were told . . . that Mr. Floyd died because his heart was too big,” Blackwell said to the jury on April 20, 2021.

“And now, having seen all the evidence and having heard all the evidence, you know the truth, and the truth of the matter is that the reason George Floyd is dead is because Mr. Chauvin’s heart was too small,” he said.

Jerry will deliver the keynote address at the 2022 Morehead-Cain Alumni Forum this October. Listen to his Alumni Speaker Series talk from fall 2021.

Read more about Jerry’s work on the trial.

Music credits

The intro music for this episode is by Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul. This episode also includes the song, “Jazz Mango,” by Joey Pecoraro.

How to listen

On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed.

Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at [e-mail].