In the social media photo that surfaced this week, Mr. Mitchell, smiling alongside two other men, is wearing a T-shirt with an image of Dr. King and the phrase, “Get Your Knee Off Our Necks.”
The anniversary event in Washington, promoted by the Rev. Al Sharpton and his National Action Network, the N.A.A.C.P. and other groups, was known as the “Get Your Knee Off Our Necks” rally, a reference to the more than nine minutes that Mr. Chauvin knelt on Mr. Floyd’s neck before he died. Mr. Floyd’s relatives were among the speakers at the rally.
Judge Peter A. Cahill, who oversaw the Chauvin trial, could convene a hearing to question Mr. Mitchell and probe whether he lied on his questionnaire. But even if Judge Cahill determined that Mr. Mitchell intentionally misled the court on his questionnaire, that alone likely would not be enough to throw out the verdict, legal experts said. The 12 jurors took about 10 hours to convict Mr. Chauvin of all three charges he faced: second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Jurors are allowed to have opinions, legal experts said, but they have to be willing to set them aside and agree to decide a case based on the evidence. For example, a juror in the trial of Paul Manafort, an adviser to former President Donald J. Trump, told Fox News that even though she was a strong supporter of Mr. Trump, she had voted to convict Mr. Manafort.
Experts also said that given the evidence in Mr. Chauvin’s case, a court would be hard pressed to throw out the jury’s decision. Mr. Chauvin could receive decades in prison during his scheduled sentencing next month.
“Given that the evidence was pretty overwhelming, it would take a lot for an appellate court to reverse his conviction,” Ms. Moriarty said.
Benjamin Brafman, a criminal defense lawyer in New York who did not have any involvement in the Chauvin case, said the court would also be cognizant of the public view of the case.