• A federal judge has ordered a new trial for three former Memphis police officers convicted in Tyre Nichols' death.
• Concerns of judicial bias arose after the original judge suggested gang affiliations with the defendants.
• Tyre Nichols died following a brutal police encounter in January 2023, leading to nationwide protests.

A U.S. District Judge has ordered a new trial for three former Memphis police officers—Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith—convicted of federal charges related to the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols. Judge Sheryl H. Lipman’s decision came after defense attorneys argued that the pre-trial judge, Mark S. Norris, exhibited bias by suggesting one officer had gang affiliations. Such comments, which were unsupported by trial evidence, prompted the necessity for a retrial to ensure a fair process, according to Newsweek, Reuters, and CBS News.

The federal judge's ruling underscores a significant setback for prosecutors in a case that shocked the nation following the release of video footage depicting the officers violently striking Nichols during a traffic stop on January 7, 2023. Nichols, who died three days after the assault, was subjected to pepper spray and physical abuse, leading to widespread outrage and demands for police reforms across the United States, as reported by BBC and Africanews.

Judge Lipman took over the case in June 2025 after Norris recused himself just days before sentencing due to remarks linking the officers to gang activity following an incident involving his law clerk. This unsettling backdrop contributed to the decision to later grant a retrial, emphasizing that the risk of bias in this case could potentially compromise its constitutionality, according to NPR and CBS News.

In their legal arguments, defense attorneys pointed out that no evidence was presented during the trial to support claims of gang affiliation among the defendants, asserting that the original judge's comments violated their rights to a fair trial. In an unusual move, U.S. prosecutors maintained that there was no indication of bias in Judge Norris's previous trial management, while Judge Lipman concluded that a new trial was necessary to uphold judicial integrity, as detailed in Reuters, Africanews, and BBC.